SEASIDE, Calif. -- The CCAA Championship Tournament doesn't start officially until Mar. 6. For the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team, however, the playoffs essentially start this weekend when the Otters host Chico State Friday (Feb. 21) and Cal State Stanislaus Saturday (Feb. 22) in the final home games on the 2013-14 schedule.

With the right combination of results from around the league, it could be possible for CSUMB to lose one of its remaining four games and still reach the postseason. Realisitcally, however, the Otters must win both home games against teams above them in the CCAA standings.

Fans who can't make it to the games may listen and watch on www.OtterAthletics.com. Rob Ponce will call the action from courtside with former CSUMB Assistant Coach Alex Hudson handling the color duties. As always, live stats and video will be available HERE.

After this weekend, the Otters will conclude their regular season on the road with games at Sonoma State (Feb. 28) and at San Francisco State (Mar. 1). Should things go the Otters' way, they'll travel to the CCAA Tournament Mar. 6-8 at Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (17–5, 13–5 CCAA): After dropping consecutive games to CSUMB and Cal Poly Pomona, the Wildcats have picked up steam again, winning six of their last seven entering this week's action. Sean Park leads four Wildcats averaging in double figures at 14.8 points per game. Jordan Semple has come off the bench in 17 of 22 games but still adds 12.5 ppg and a team–best 7.9 rebounds per game.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters capped a furious late comeback with an Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) buzzer–beating 3–pointer to upend then No. 25 ranked Chico State 73–72 in Acker Gym on Jan. 18. CSUMB had used a 12–2 run to trim a 70–59 deficit to two points at 72–70 when Sean Park missed the front end of a 1–and–1 opportunity with 12 seconds to play. The Otters missed a tying layup attempt but Fertig grabbed a long rebound in the corner and tossed in the winning trey. Fertig and Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) led five Otters in double figures with 15 points apiece. Amir Carraway led Chico with 17.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, OTTER EDITION: The Otters just missed their third win over a nationally–ranked opponent in three tries when No. 17 Cal State San Bernardino broke a 77–77 tie with 1.5 ticks remaining to win 79–77. The game was every bit as close as the final score indicated, with the teams playing through seven ties an 11 lead changes in the second half alone. Ryan Nitz led the Otters with 20 points while freshman Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) chipped in a season–high 19.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, WILDCAT EDITION: Chico used an early 25–6 run to put Cal State Dominguez Hills away en route to an 85–60 win in Acker Gym last Saturday night. Sean Park led five Wildcats in double figures with 19 points.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: The Otters played their final regular season game as a member of the California Pacific Conference, defeating Cal–Maritime 71–57 on Feb. 21, 2004. Nick Johnson led a balanced Otter offense with 12 points.

BEATING THE BEST: After not defeating a nationally–ranked NCAA Division II opponent for their first 15 seasons, the Otters have vanquished two in the past three weeks—both on the road. CSUMB took down then No. 25 Chico State, 73–72, in Acker Gym on Jan. 18 before beating No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona, 60–57, Feb. 6 in Kellogg Gym.

HOW SWEEP IT IS: The Otters will be trying for their first season sweep of Chico State since the 2008–09 Otters won 87–84 in The Kelp Bed and 78–71 in Acker Gym.

BREAKING THE SPELL: CSUMB's 73–72 win at Chico State on Jan. 18 snapped a 6–game losing streak to the Wildcats that dated back to the 2010–11 season. Having said that, the Otters have not defeated the Wildcats in The Kelp Bed since that 78–71 win on Jan. 31, 2009.

THE FANTASTIC FIVE: Twice this season, five Otters scored in double figures, including the Jan. 25 win at Chico State. The scoring quintuplets were: Alex Fertig (15), Ryan Nitz (15), Greg Anderson (Murietta/Palomar College) 14, Kris Gallop (11) and Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) (10). If you're wondering, the other occurrence was an 89–83 win over Cal State East Bay on Dec. 21.

WHAT A STEAL: In addition to twice matching the CSUMB team high for steals in a game this season (5 at Cal State East Bay on Dec. 14 and vs. Cal State East Bay on Dec. 21), Ryan Nitz enters the week ranked No. 3 in the CCAA with 35 steals (1.7 spg). He needs two more thefts to tied Alex Fertig (2013) and Cedrick Petty (1999) for the No. 10 spot on the Otter single season list with 37.

STEALING IS TEAM GAME: Led by five steals from Greg Anderson, the Otters compiled 13 steals in the Jan. 25 Sonoma State game. That's a season high and tied for No. 15 in the CSUMB single–game record book. As a team, the Otters enter the week with 141 steals, good for No. 11.

NITZ ON THE LIST (ALMOST): Ryan Nitz enters Friday's game needing 10 points to crack the CSUMB single season top 20 list for scoring. At his current pace, he will reach the cusp of become just the 14th player in Otter history to score 400 points in a single season.

FERTIG FLYING HIGH… Not only was the 30–point night by Alex Fertig Jan. 10 at San Bernardino a career–high, it marked the first 30–point game by an Otter since Brandon Ward scored 31 at Sonoma State on Feb. 2, 2012.

…WITH AN ASTERISK: Though it didn't count on the official stats, the San Bernardino game was actually Fertig's second 30–point game of the season. He dropped 31 points on San Jose State in the Otters' 78–69 exhibition win over the Spartans on Nov. 4.

No. 14 WITH A BULLET: Alex Fertig continues to shoot up the CSUMB career scoring chart. His 24 points last week raised his career total to 661 moving him to within 16 points of Derrick Anderson in 13th place (677).

CLOSE ONLY COUNTS… Against Sonoma State and Cal State Dominguez Hills, not only did the Otters lose consecutive games by two (or one) points for just the second time in school history, but they've played consecutive games decided by that margin for just the third time. The Otters lost to Notre Dame de Namur (71–70) and Cal State L.A. (62–60) on Dec. 10 & 18, 2011. The Otters beat Chico State (106–104) and San Francisco State (75–74) on Feb. 3 & 6, 2008.