Thursday, March 9, 2017

LA JOLLA, Calif. – The fact that Western Washington has made it to this point in the men’s basketball postseason is no surprise. Now the challenge will be seeing how far the Vikings will go.

The No. 3 seeded Vikings will open the NCAA West Regional Tournament on Friday at noon (Pacific), facing No. 6 seed Chico State at UC San Diego’s RMIAC Arena. The GNAC champion and the league’s regular season champion, the Vikings are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time 2013. While Western Washington is the only GNAC team invited to the postseason, head coach Tony Dominguez doesn’t believe that should be an indicator of how well the Vikings will show.

“I’ve been telling the team all year that in the GNAC anybody can beat anybody, so to win both of those titles is a tremendous achievement,” Dominguez told WWUVikings.com. “This is one of the most special teams I have been around. This particular group is bound together. They really believe in family. They wanted to succeed and they did what they needed to do. I’m excited for them because they earned it.”

The numbers certainly stack up in Western Washington’s favor. The Vikings enter the regional averaging 88.3 points per game, which ranks 15th in Division II and is the best of any of the participating teams. As it did agaisnt GNAC teams, Western Washington leads the region in field goal percentage (.495), free throw percentage (.788) and three-point percentage (.406).

Western Washington will continue to ride on the heels on one of the nation’s top scorers in senior Taylor Stafford. The GNAC Player and Newcomer of the Year enters the week 15th in Division II in scoring at 22.7 points. He only trails Cal Baptist’s Michael Smith, who ranks fourth nationally at 24.5 points per game, among players in the tournament.

Stafford is far from the Vikings only weapon. Senior Jeffrey Parker is Western Washington’a all-time leading scorer, setting the record at the GNAC Championships, and enters the tournament averaging 15.9 points per game. Sixth-man Deandre Dickson is averaging 14 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while Daulton Hommes is averaging 12.7 points per game.

In the opening round, Western Washington will face a Chico State squad that is making its sixth straight West Region Tournament appearance, which is now the longest in the West Region (Seattle Pacific’s string of 12 consecutive appearances was snapped this year), after going 23-7 overall and finishing third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.

While the Vikings thrive on their offense, the Wildcats have won games with defense. They have allowed opponents just 63.1 points per game, fourth best in Division II (Western Washington has not scored less than 70 points in a game all season). Chico State has set a school single season record with 134 blocked shots with Justin Briggs accounting for 61 of those. Offensively, Chico State averages 74.4 points per game as four of their starters are averaging over 12 points per contest. Junior guard Corey Silverstrom is the Wildcats’ leading scorer at 12.7 points per game.

AGAINST THE REGION: Combined with its GNAC contests, Western Washington is 22-3 against teams from the West Region and is 2-0 against potential opponents in the regional tournament. The Vikings beat No. 7 seed Sonoma State, a potential semifinals opponent, 72-64 in Hayward, Calif., on Nov. 11. The Vikings also have a win over No. 1 seed and tournament host UC San Diego, having defeated the Tritons 104-81 in RMIAC Arena on Dec. 12.

POSTSEASON HISTORY: Western Washington is 17-6 all-time in NCAA Division II postseason play. The Vikings’ last appearance was in 2012-13. They won the West Region title with a 62-58 win over Seattle Pacific and eventually lost to Drury, 107-97, in the national semifinals. Western Washington was the 2012 NCAA Division II national champion. The GNAC saw Western Oregon advance to the national semifinals last year. The Wolves defeated UC San Diego, 60-55, to win the West Region title before falling to Augustana (S.D.), 74-55, in the Final Four.

SCOUTING THE OTHER WEST REGION OPPONENTS
UC SAN DIEGO: No. 1 seed and regional host UC San Diego is 25-5 on the season. The CCAA regular season champion, the Tritons also won the CCAA Tournament with a 78-63 victory over San Francisco State. UC San Diego averages 70.7 points per game and is third in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 62.6 points per game. Adam Klie leads UCSD offensively with an average of 15 points per game.

HAWAII PACIFIC: The No. 2 seed, Hawaii Pacific opened the season with a 12-game win streak before going on to win the PacWest regular season and tournament championships. The Sharks are 28-2 overall and finished 18-2 in PacWest play. They claimed the conference tournament with an 82-73 win over Point Loma. Hawaii Pacific is 22nd in Division II in scoring at 87.1 points per game and is third in scoring margin at 19.1. Chauncey Orr leads the Sharks in scoring at 19.4 points per game.

CAL BAPTIST: In the beginning of the end of its Division II run, Cal Baptist earned the No. 4 seed after going 25-4 overall and finishing second in the PacWest standings ar 17-3. The Lancers are on a two-game losing streak with back-to-back losses to Point Loma (77-71 in the regular season finale and 72-69 in the tournament semifinals). Cal Baptist is ninth in Division II with a .786 free throw percentage (two spots below Western Washington). Michael Smith leads the Lancers and is fourth nationally in scoring at 24.5 points per game.

SAN FRANCISCO STATE: The surprise of the West Region this year, the No. 5 seeded Gators are playing in the postseason for the first time since 1993-94. San Francisco State won its first 11 games of the season, finishing with a 25-5 overall record and a 16-4 mark in the CCAA to place second. The Gators all but assured themselves a playoff sport by advancing to the CCAA Tournament championship, losing 78-63 to UC San Diego. The Gators average 78.6 points per game led by Warren Jackson’s 17 points per game.

SONOMA STATE: The No. 7 seed in the tournament, the Seawolves tied with Chico State for third place in the CCAA standings at 15-5 and enter the regional with a 20-8 overall record. One of the top defensive teams in Division II, Sonoma State leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing 57.2 points per game. This is Sonoma State’s 11th NCAA appearance, but it has not won since 1983. Jimmy Golden is the only SSU player in double digits in scoring, averaging 12 points per game.

DIXIE STATE: The No. 8 seeded Trailblazers are making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearnace in their 11-year run in Division II. Dixie State are 19-8 overall and finished third in the PacWest regular season standings at 16-4, but fell to Point Loma in the tournament quarterfinals, 71-69. Four Dixie State starters average double figures in scoring, led by Trevor Hill’s 14.3 points per game.