Stanislaus & Chico in Monday's DII West Regional final

From the CCAA:

Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State will be playing in the NCAA West Region final on Monday night.

That Best of the West title contest is slated 7 p.m. for a rematch of last week's CCAA championship game. The winner on Monday will get the elusive golden ticket to the Division II Elite 8 in Evansville, Ind., March 26-29.

This year marks, not only the first for four CCAA teams to advance to the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament, but the first time that either squad has played for the West Region title.

From Wildcat athletics:

The Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball teams have already gone where none in the history of their programs have gone before. They'll meet in the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional final Monday night at 7 p.m. at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino with a chance to reach the final frontier of Division II basketball – The Elite Eight.

The No. 4 seed Chico State (24-7) advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time with a remarkable 94-77 win against top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night.

Cal State Stanislaus (23-8) earned its first NCAA Tournament berth by beating Chico State for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament title last weekend. The seventh-seeded Warriors knocked off No. 2 seed Seattle Pacific 80-72 in overtime Friday and No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona 75-69 in overtime Saturday.

The winner of Monday's game will advance to face the champion of the Southeast Region at the Elite Eight March 26 at The Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

Mike Baca will bring you all the action Monday night on AM-1290 KPAY beginning with the Pregame Show at 6:35. Links to live video, audio and stats are also available at www.chicowildcats.com...

From Warrior athletics:

The clock has not struck midnight on the Warriors as this late-season run continues for Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball. But don't call this a Cinderella story.

For the second straight night, the Warriors won in dramatic fashion in overtime as they beat No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona, 75-69. The win sends Cal State Stanislaus to the NCAA Division II West Region championship game — also known as the Sweet 16 round of the March Madness, Division II style.

That Best of the West title contest is slated for Monday night at 7 p.m. against Chico State, for a rematch of last week's CCAA championship game. Chico State blew past Cal State San Bernardino, 94-77. The winner on Monday will get the elusive golden ticket to the Division II Elite 8 in Evansville, Ind., March 26-29.

"We're not looking at this as a Cinderella run," said head coach Larry Reynolds. "We got into the conference tournament and thought we had a good opportunity to win it. We were playing pretty good basketball the second half of the season. We weren't looking at it being in the Cinderella role..."