SAN BERNARDINO—The Chico State men's basketball team's quest for its first NCAA Championship Tournament win since 2017 tips off Friday at noon in the opening round of the West Regional Championship against Academy of Art at Coussoulis Arena. Tournament host Cal State San Bernardino released the game schedule late Monday afternoon, revealing all of the opening-round game times.
 
In other first-round games: Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona will meet at 2:30 p.m., Cal State San Marcos and Alaska Fairbanks will face off at 5 p.m., and Point Loma and Azusa Pacific will play at 7:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's games will reach the regional semifinals, set to take place at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday night. Monday's Regional Championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Every Chico State postseason game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Links to streaming audio, streaming video, and livestats are available at www.chicowildcats.com.
 
The Wildcats—who have now reached the NCAA Tournament in eight of their past 10 seasons of competition—won their second West Region title in four years against UC San Diego on March 13, 2017. They were not picked for the tournament field in 2018 despite a 20-8 campaign, and fell short again in 2019. The Wildcats were the No. 4 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament West Regional, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as was last season.
 
Chico State faced Academy of Art on November 17, at Acker Gym, and beat the Urban Knights 71-61. It was the Wildcats' first home game in 624 days. Isaiah Brooks scored 15 points and Malik Duffy finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Warren chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kelvin Wright Jr. led all players with 13 boards.
 
The Urban Knights won 10 of their last 11 games and five straight down the stretch, including three in a row to win the PacWest Tournament Championship. Mike Asante was named the PacWest Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Klay Brown is the PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, while Latrell Williams earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Brown's 73 steals ranks fourth in the nation, and Academy of Art's 325 as a team ranks third.