#2 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #7 Montana State Billings
[CSUSB preview] [MSUB preview]
Cal State San Bernardino (27-3, 20-2 CCAA) will enter the NCAA West Regional on an 11-game winning streak. The Yotes won both their games in the CCAA Tournament to capture the program's first automatic bid to the NCAA Regional since 2010. CSUSB features the best combinations of offense and defense in the CCAA. It led the conference and ranked sixth in the country at 90.0 points per game while limiting its opponents to .414 percent shooting (first CCAA). All five starters for the Yotes earned All-CCAA honors, averaging at least 8.9 ppg. Brandon Knapper (19.7 ppg) and Dontrell Shuler (17.3) finished second and fourth in the conference in scoring. CCAA Defensive Player of the Year Darius Mickens led the CCAA with 8.7 rebounds per game, and his effort helped CSUSB pace the country in rebounding margin (14.1).
 
Montana State Billings finished second in the GNAC regular season standings but was bounced in their first conference tournament game to fall to the No. 7 seed. The Yellowjackets were second in the GNAC in scoring defense (67.0 ppg) and fourth in steals (7.4). Carrington Wiggins was named the GNAC Player of the Year, and Bilal Shabazz joined him as a first team selection.
 
This will be the first meeting in the history of the two men's basketball programs while in NCAA Division II.
 
#3 Azusa Pacific vs. #6 Cal State San Marcos
[APU preview] [CSUSM preview]
Azusa Pacific (22-7, 16-4 PacWest) placed second in the PacWest regular-season standings and reached the conference championship game. The Cougars had won 11 straight games before falling to Point Loma in the PacWest Championship. Seven student-athletes average 7.6 points or more per game for APU, with Ken West's 14.3 ppg leading the way. The Cougars were second in the PacWest in scoring defense (66.2) and steals per game (7.3).
 
Cal State San Marcos (19-10, 17-5 CCAA) is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA West Regional. The Cougars earned an at-large seed out of the CCAA after placing second in the regular season and making a run to the championship game. Greg Milton III (17.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg) leads a Cal State San Marcos team that ranks second in the CCAA in field goal percentage (.468) and first in assist/turnover ratio (1.37) and scoring defense (67.7). Milton was joined on the All-CCAA team by second-team selections Quinn Denker, Joel Mensah, and Jayce McCain.  
 
The teams have not played since Nov. 2019. APU leads the all-time series 6-2. The teams have never met in postseason play. 

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