Sunday, March 8, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS – After an exciting GNAC Championships over the weekend in Seattle, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific have earned invitations to the 64-team field for the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship, which begins on Friday.

Seattle Pacific earned the No. 5 seed in the region and will face Chico State in the opening round on Friday. Western Washington earned the No. 8 seed and will face regional host and No. 1 seed UC San Diego.

The remaining first-round matchups will feature No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific against No. 7 seed Cal State San Bernardino and No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona against No. 6 seed Point Loma.

Game times and links for live streaming and live video will be announced soon.

Seattle Pacific the West Regional with a 22-7 overall record and won the program’s first GNAC regular-season championship since 2014 with an 18-2 mark. The No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships, the Falcons were bounced from the tournament in the semifinals with an 86-85 loss to Alaska Anchorage on Friday. This is Seattle Pacific’s 15th NCAA Championships appearance in the GNAC era. The Falcons went 1-1 in last year’s West Regional.

The Falcons are 3-4 against non-conference regional opponents, which includes a 75-53 loss to Chico State in the season opener on November 8. Against the tournament field, the Falcons also took a 64-58 loss to Cal Poly Pomona on November 9 and a 72-57 loss to Azusa Pacific on November 15. Their win against the field was a 96-89 win over Point Loma on November 30.

Western Washington earned the conference’s automatic qualifier thanks to its 81-78 win over Alaska Anchorage in the finals of the GNAC Basketball Championships on Saturday. The Vikings enter the West Regional with a 20-10 overall record after finishing in second place during the GNAC regular season at 13-7. This is Western Washington’s eighth NCAA tournament appearance during the GNAC era and the program’s first since 2017.

The Vikings are 1-4 this season against non-conference opponents. Against teams in the West Regional field, Western Washington took a 76-69 loss to the Tritons on November 9, an 86-85 loss to Cal Poly Pomona on November 12 and a 90-80 loss to Azusa Pacific on November 16.

NCAA DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL
At RMIAC Arena, La Jolla, Calif.
Friday, March 13 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 6 Point Loma vs. No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona, Noon
Game 2: No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino vs. No. 2 Azusa Pacific, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Western Washington vs. No. 1 UC San Diego, 5 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Seattle Pacific vs. No. 4 Chico State, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 - Semifinals
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, March 16
West Region Championship, 7 p.m.