Nerves and anticipation filled Woodstock’s Sunday night as Wildcats players, coaches and friends eagerly awaited their names to be called in the NCAA selection show. Chico will look to prove who the apex Wildcat is as they face the Central Washington Wildcats in their regional showdown, their first matchup since 2007. 

For the second straight year, the selection committee paired the Wildcats in a No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup, but this time, Chico State enters as the favorite. Compared to the 2023-2024 season, Chico enjoyed a vastly improved season, with three more wins, a conference championship appearance, and a second-place regular season finish.

Chico will begin their marathon to a national championship on Friday at noon at Golden Gymnasium in San Diego. 

While both Division I and Division II tournaments crown a national champion, their structures differ significantly. Most notably, D1 culminates in the widely known ‘Final Four,’ whereas D2’s journey emphasizes the ‘Elite Eight.’ 

Both tournaments feature single-elimination play, but D1 involves 68 teams with ‘First Four’ play-in games, while D2 has a 64-team bracket with regional tournaments feeding into the Elite Eight.

The selection process also varies, with D1 focusing on national rankings and D2 emphasizing in-region performance and Division II metrics. Key factors include overall Division II and in-region winning percentages and regional strength. The committee also analyzes the strength of the schedule against Division II opponents, head-to-head results and performance against common opponents. Reseeding never occurs in D1, however, in D2 teams are reseeded for the Elite Eight.

Despite the recent conference championship loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills, Chico State enters the regional tournament with significant confidence. A nine-game winning streak and a No.19 National Ranking helps bolster their momentum. 

The Wildcats boast four players with prior NCAA tournament experience: junior guard and conference player of the year Jojo Murphy, junior forward Trae Taylor, sophomore forward and first-team-all-league selection Isaiah Kerr and sophomore forward Caden Harris. This core group gained valuable exposure to the postseason’s intensity, preparing them for the challenges ahead.

“We all know what it takes, we all know how competitive these games are gonna be, and we’re just super excited we’re gonna get a chance to play in the tournament again,” Taylor said.

Taylor finished the season on a tear, securing his firstPlayer of The Week Award, averaging 19.3 ppg in his final seven contests including three double-doubles and a monster semi-final performance against  Cal State San Bernardino, where he scored 24 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and added four blocks. 

Taylor’s confidence on the floor heading into the tournament isn’t just about his performance, but the leadership role that he’s taken on this year, and his responsibility to make sure the whole team is ready for a deep run.

“What gives me the confidence to make a deep run is the self-belief, drive, and fight of this team,” Taylor said. “Although the championship loss hurt a lot, I know it’s given our guys motivation to get in the gym to grind and get ready to dominate.”

Chico will also boast the reigning CCAA scoring champion and Player of the Year Jojo Murphy, who finished the season averaging 20.5 points per game while also leading the conference in three-point field goals per game. 

Murphy has also scored over 20 points 17 times this season, leading Chico State to be the number-one offense in the conference to finish out the year. 

Chico will face a high-powered Washington offense that was the second-highest-scoring team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Perimeter defense will need to be played at the highest level, as Washington shot 40% from three as a team this year while making an average of nine threes a game.

Central Washington is led by Sophomore Cavin Holden, who averaged 14 points per game while leading the conference in three-pointers made per game with 2.9 and Junior Guard Garrett Anderson, who also averaged 14 points per game. 

Central Washington’s performance against CCAA opponents this season has been poor, losing to last-place Cal State Monterey Bay by 14 points and suffering a significant early-season defeat to Cal State San Bernardino.

While containing the perimeter will be crucial for Chico, they will have the opportunity to force turnovers and get out in transition due to Central Washington’s lack of ball security this season.

If Chico can take down Central Washington, they’ll have a quick turnaround on Saturday at 5 p.m. to face the winner between seven-seeded Northwest Nazarene and second-seeded conference rival Dominguez Hills.

The game will be available on the PacWest Network and can be followed live on NCAA.com. 

J.J. Fain can be reached at [email protected]