Sacramento State, UC Davis Men's Basketball Teams Face Critical Matchups On Saturday
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Saturday will be a critical test for Sacramento State and UC Davis to see if the road to the NCAA men's basketball tournament could run through the Sacramento area for two conferences.
UC Davis and Sacramento State both sit at the top of their respective conferences, but those leads are tenuous at best.
After a 74-60 loss to UC Santa Barbara, the Aggies' lead in the Big West Conference is down to just one game over UC Irvine with three games to go for both teams.
The race is even tighter in the Big Sky Conference. Sacramento State is in a tie in the hunt for the regular season title with Eastern Washington University. The University of Montana is only a half-game behind after a double-overtime loss to Idaho on Thursday. With a win over North Dakota, Northern Arizona has also pulled within a game of the lead.
The winners would host their respective conference's tournaments. The winners of those conference tournaments get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. While a chance for an at-large bid does exist, winning the conference tournament is the only guaranteed way for the Hornets and Aggies to reach the Big Dance.
All of the teams involved in the title hunts will be in action on Saturday.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE
2 p.m. - Montana @ Eastern Washington
WHY SHOULD I CARE? The Grizzlies and Eagles face off in a critical matchup for the conference lead. A loss for Montana would cripple their hopes of winning with 1 game remaining for them. Eastern Washington took control of the conference with a 64-61 win over the Hornets on Feb. 12, but losses to Portland State and Northern Arizona have them locked in a three-way tie.
6 p.m. - Northern Arizona @ Northern Colorado
WHY SHOULD I CARE? If Eastern Washington wins, this becomes an even more critical matchup for the Lumberjacks. A loss puts them two games out of the lead with two games left. Northern Arizona does own the head-to-head advantage over Eastern Washington for a tiebreaker, but their season wraps up with a home date with the other current conference leader: Sacramento State.
7:05 p.m. - Sacramento State @ Portland State
WHY SHOULD I CARE? It's the Hornets. Have some local pride!
By this time, Sacramento State will know if Eastern Washington or Montana won earlier in the day. At tip-off, the Hornets will be a half-game up on the Eagles, or mathematically tied with the Grizzlies. While Sacramento State's situation isn't as dire as Northern Arizona, a win would go a long way to keeping pace in the conference. The Hornets beat the Vikings at home on Feb. 7, 64-60 for its seventh-straight win.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE
7 p.m. - UC Davis @ Cal Poly
9 p.m. - UC Irvine @ UC Santa Barbara
WHY SHOULD I CARE? It's simple: A win over Cal Poly keeps the Aggies holding at least a one-game lead over UC Irvine with two games left to go. A loss by UC Irvine puts them at risk of falling two back with two games left in the season.
The only day that could be more critical could be next Saturday, March 7. Depending on how this Saturday's and Thursday's games go, the conference titles could be on the line when Sacramento State goes on the road to face Portland State, and UC Davis hosts UC Irvine.
