WALNUT CREEK – The Chico State men’s basketball team captured the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season title in 2011-12 – the program’s first conference crown in 18 years – and as far as the CCAA’s head coaches are concerned, it was no fluke. The Wildcats have been picked to repeat as conference champions for the 2012-13 campaign in the annual coaches’ preseason poll, it was announced Wednesday.

Despite being picked to finish seventh in last year’s coaches’ poll, Chico State enjoyed a banner 2011-12 season, tying the program’s record for victories (25) en route to a 16-6 CCAA mark and its first conference title since 1993-94. In this year’s poll, the Wildcats totaled 112 points and received seven first place votes, finishing ahead of Cal Poly Pomona, which garnered three first place votes.

Cal State San Bernardino, Humboldt State and Cal State Dominguez Hills rounded out the 2012-13 poll’s top five teams, with San Bernardino and sixth-ranked Sonoma State each receiving one first place vote.

In preparation for the 2012-13 season, Chico State will play a pair of exhibition games in the next week against Division I opponents. Sunday the Wildcats travel to Stockton to take on University of Pacific, then go head-to-head with the Pac 12’s Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday, Nov. 6 in Tucson.


2012-13 CCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First place votes/total points in parenthesis)

  1. Chico State (7/112 points)
  2. Cal Poly Pomona (3/106 points)
  3. Cal State San Bernardino (1/88 points)
  4. Humboldt State (87 points)
  5. Cal State Dominguez Hills (85 points)
  6. Sonoma State (1/81 points)
  7. Cal State L.A. (62 points)
  8. San Francisco State (61 points)
  9. Cal State Stanislaus (37 points)
10. Cal State East Bay (33 points)
11. UC San Diego (28 points)
12. Cal State Monterey Bay (13 points)