Chico State Again Tabbed as Preseason CCAA Men's Basketball Favorites
SAN RAMON, Calif. – Coming off an Elite Eight tournament appearance last season, the Chico State Wildcats have been selected to earn the 2017-18 CCAA men’s basketball crown, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
This marks the third consecutive season that the Wildcats enter the year as the preseason favorites.
Chico State collected 137 points and received 11 first place votes to finish ahead of last season’s CCAA regular season and tournament champion UC San Diego who received 118 points. A tightly-bunched pack at the top follows the Tritons, with Cal State San Marcos netting 112 points, and Cal Poly Pomona finishing with 110 points and a first-place vote.
Following the top four squads in the preseason prognostications, 2016-17 regular season runner-up San Francisco State comes in with 95 points, followed by Cal State LA (81), Cal State Dominguez Hills (74) and Cal State San Bernardino (72) for the top eight slots in the league. Rounding out the poll is Sonoma State (68), Stanislaus State (58), Cal State East Bay (39), Humboldt State (31), and Cal State Monterey Bay (19).
Ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II preseason coaches poll, Chico State returns four starters and seven letterwinners from last season's 26-8 squad. The Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the second time in four years after earning an NCAA Tournament bid for the sixth straight season. The 2017-18 squad is led by All-Conference performers in senior trio Isaiah Ellis (13.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Jalen McFerren (12.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.6 apg) and Corey Silverstron (12.9 ppg), and sophomore Justin Briggs (.571 FG%, 66 blk).
UC San Diego is coming off its best season in program history where the squad tallied UCSD-bests of 27 overall wins and 17 victories in CCAA play. The team won its first-ever CCAA regular season title and added a second banner by winning the league's tournament for a second time. For the second-straight season, top-seeded UCSD advanced to the NCAA West Region championship game before falling to Chico State in the bid to represent the West in the Elite Eight.
For Cal State San Marcos, this will be the first season the squad is eligible for post-season play. Last year, the Cougars recorded an 18-10 record in league play and would have qualified for the CCAA Tournament had the club been postseason eligible during the NCAA Division II transition. It was the best winning percentage for CSUSM men's basketball under head coach B.J. Foster in its short NCAA tenure.
Cal Poly Pomona finished last year’s campaign as one of the top defensive teams in the league, allowing only 64.7 points per game, the third lowest total in the conference. The team ended 2016-17 on a high, winning nine of their last 11 games of the season to earn a sixth-place finish and an appearance in the CCAA postseason tournament.
Already in the thick of exhibition action, all 13 teams will take the court on Friday, Nov. 10 in regular season play with 11 schools hosting on the first day of the 2017-18 campaign.
The 2018 Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament continues with its eight-team format with first round contests played at campus sites. The semifinal and final contests will stay in the south for consecutive seasons, as the final rounds will take place at Kellogg Arena on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona. Tournament play is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 27, with the semifinal and championship rounds set for March 2-3 in Pomona.
2017-18 CCAAMen’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Place |
School |
Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Chico State |
137 (11) |
| 2 |
UC San Diego |
118 (1) |
| 3 |
Cal State San Marcos |
112 |
| 4 |
Cal Poly Pomona |
110 (1) |
| 5 |
San Francisco State |
95 |
| 6 |
Cal State LA |
81 |
| 7 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
74 |
| 8 |
Cal State San Bernardino |
72 |
| 9 |
Sonoma State |
68 |
| 10 |
Stanislaus State |
58 |
| 11 |
Cal State East Bay |
39 |
| 12 |
Humboldt State |
31 |
| 13 |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
19 |