With two games left in the regular season, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball knows it will be playing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tournament, the question is what seed the Otters will be.
Whether the Otters will host their first game or travel near or far will be determined by their play on Wednesday and Thursday at home against San Francisco State and UC San Diego. Both games tip off at the Otter Sports Center at 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco State (10-8) is currently in a three-way for the fourth seed. The Otters beat SFSU 85-75 on Jan. 23. CSUMB's Joe Mitchell had a superb game with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Alex Thomas led the Gators that night with 16 points. SFSU's Robert Hayes leads the team in scoring this season with 12.3 per game.
The Gators are averaging 70 points per game and are allowing 66.9, sixth and fifth in the conference. CSU Monterey Bay has the second-highest scoring offense in the CCAA with 78.5 points per game. CSUMB's defense is ranked 10th, at 79.5 points per game.
UC San Diego (11-7) is currently third in the conference, but CSUMB defeated the Tritons 97-93 in double overtime on Jan. 26. Mitchell had 24 points and nine rebounds in the game to lead to the Otters. D'Shon Cannon scored 18 and had nine assists, his highest assist total of the season. San Diego was led by Henry Patterson, who scored 37 points while hitting 18 of 20 shots. Patterson, a 6' 5” forward, is the team's leading scorer this season with 12.8 points per game.
If the Otters win both games, they have a chance at moving all the way up into the third seed and hosting UC San Diego in the first round of the championships. A loss will mean a definite road game in the first round.
