INDIANAPOLIS – As conference championship week begins for NCAA Division II men's basketball, the national championship committee released its final regional poll Wednesday before the contending teams go at it and Chico State moved up one spot to No. 5 in the West.
The Wildcats appear to be in good shape in the region, but they will have a hill to climb as they head to Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino for the CCAA Tournament. Chico State, the No. 4 seed, will take on sixth-seeded Cal State East Bay in the quarterfinal round Thursday at 8 p.m. The game can be seen on the CCAA Network or heard on via audio on KPAY 1290 AM, FM 102.9 and the KPAY Sports app with Mike Baca on the call. The winner will meet the current top team in the region San Bernardino in the semifinal round Friday.
With a 19-7 in-region record, No. 5 Chico State swapped spots with now-No. 6 Saint Martin's, which is now 18-7 in the West Region. The Wildcats took care of business by beating Cal Poly Humboldt in the regular season finale while the Saints were swept on the road at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.
The defending West Region champions San Bernardino remains the top seed in the region at 21-6. Following their win at Cal Poly Pomona last week, the Coyotes will now share the CCAA championship with Cal State Dominguez Hills after the Toros took a defeat on the road to Cal State LA.
All members of the NCAA Championship Committee seemed to have had their eyes on the Cal State LA-Cal State Dominguez Hills matchup last week as the Golden Eagles' big win over the co-champions leaped them two spots to No. 2 while the Toros fell one spot to No. 4.
Montana State Billings, the GNAC champions, was knocked to No. 3 after falling to unranked Alaska Anchorage on the road for the regular-season finale.
With the Toros, Wildcats and Saints in the middle of the poll, rounding out the West Region are Point Loma at No. 7, Northwest Nazarene at No 8, Academy of Art at No. 9 and Cal State East Bay at No. 10.
The NCAA will take the top eight teams into the regional playoffs. All three conferences will be awarding automatic berths to the winner of their respective tournaments on Saturday. The remaining five spots will be determined and selected by the NCAA Championship Committee.
NCAA West Regional Poll (March 6)
1. Cal State San Bernardino (21-6)
2. Cal State LA (21-7)
3. Montana State Billings (17-6)
4. Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-6)
5. Chico State (19-7)
6. Saint Martin's (18-7)
7. Point Loma (20-7)
8. Northwest Nazarene (15-8)
9. Academy of Art (19-8)
10. Cal State East Bay (17-10)
Note: All records are in-region
