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2015 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
West Regional • Felix Event Center • Azusa, Calif.
•Webcasts & LiveStats: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/apu/
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 (First Round)
Game 1 – (#6) Chico State vs. (#3) California Baptist, 12:00 pm
Game 2 – (#7) Seattle Pacific vs. (#2) BYU-Hawaii, 2:30 pm
Game 3 – (#5) Cal Poly Pomona vs. (#4) Dixie State, 5:00 pm
Game 4 – (#8) Western Oregon vs. (#1) Azusa Pacific, 7:30 pm
 
SATURDAY, MARCH 14 (Regional Semifinals)
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:00 pm
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 pm
 
MONDAY, MARCH 16 (Regional Championship)
Game 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7:00 pm
 
For the second straight season the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team starts its playoff journey in Southern California. The newly crowned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champion Falcons (23-7) drew the No. 7 seed in the West Region. They travel to Azusa, California to participate in their 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament. That is the longest current streak among Division II men's basketball programs. SPU starts with a first-round matchup versus No. 2 seed BYU-Hawaii on Friday, March 13 at 2:30 p.m. at the Felix Event Center on the Azusa Pacific campus. The 16th-ranked Seasiders (24-5) won their last six games. They finished fourth in the regular-season standings before storming through the PacWest Tournament with three consecutive victories, capped by an 84-79 title-game triumph over California Baptist. These two teams met earlier this season, on Nov. 22 at BYU-Hawaii. SPU let an 11-point halftime lead slip in an 87-74 loss.
 


West Region Field
The winner between SPU and BYU-Hawaii advances to Saturday's semifinals for a 5 p.m. matchup against the first-round victor between No. 3 seed California Baptist (24-6) and No. 6 Chico State (22-7). The other half of the bracket has No. 4 seed Dixie State (20-7) squaring off with No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona (23-6). The winner of that game will meet the survivor of the clash between top seed Azusa Pacific (24-5) and No. 8 Western Oregon (23-6), the GNAC regular-season titlist. The regional championship game is set for Monday, Mar. 16 at 7 p.m. The first three rounds will be played in Azusa.
 
Notable
This is the 26th all-time NCAA Tournament berth for SPU, which advanced to the national semifinals in 2000 and 2006, placing third both times.
 
NCAA Format
The NCAA Division II Tournament features a 64-team field broken into eight regionals comprised of eight teams from that geographic area. Each of the region champions earn a trip to the Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. The national quarterfinals are set for Mar. 25 with the semifinals on Mar. 26. The NCAA Division II championship game will be televised live on CBS on Mar. 28 at noon Pacific Time. Central Missouri captured the 2014 Division II crown with an 84-77 win over West Liberty.
 
First-Round Report
Opening NCAA opponent BYU-Hawaii had the highest shooting percentage this season against the Falcons (62.5%) and was the only team to outrebound them (27-25) ... Despite an 80-72 overtime loss last year against No. 7 seed Cal State Stanislaus, SPU has a stellar 16-9 record in opening-round playoff contests.

 

Three-Peat
Seattle Pacific secured the league's automatic NCAA berth with Saturday's 81-68 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament victory over Western Washington, its third consecutive conference crown. No other GNAC school has won more than one title. Senior center Cory Hutsen earned MVP honors after erupting for a tournament-record 34 points, on 15-for-23 shooting, in the title tilt.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
The Falcons won 20 games for a school-record sixth straight season and the 23rd overall in school history ... The Falcons lead all GNAC teams in field goal accuracy (50.4%), rebound margin (+13.3), scoring defense (63.5), field goal defense (41.8%), scoring margin (+15.5), free throws made (491) and 3-point defense (31.0%) ... SPU has recorded three 100-point games for the first time since the 2006 season. The last time the Falcons hit the century mark more often was in 2000 with five 100-point performances ... Sophomore center Joe Rasmussen's father, Blair, had a eight-year NBA career in Denver and Atlanta.
 
Scouting BYU-Hawaii (24-5, 15-5 PacWest)
> The 16th-ranked Seasiders, seeded No. 2 in the West, won their last six games, including an 84-79 decision over Cal Baptist in the PacWest Tournament title game.

> Coached for the 26th year by Ken Wagner, BYUH was the national runner-up in 2011 after losing 71-68 to Bellarmine in the NCAA championship game.

> Senior guard Pablo Coro averages 15.7 points per game to lead BYUH, which won all four of its meetings this season against GNAC opponents.

> The Seasiders are the only team to outrebound SPU in a game this season, posting a 27-25 edge on the glass in their 87-74 win on Nov. 22 in Laie, Hawaii.

> Prior to this season's loss, the Falcons had won four straight meetings versus BYUH. They own a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Seasiders.

> These teams met once before in the playoffs with BYUH posting a 76-72 first-round win over the Falcons during the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Bellingham, Wash.

> In his sixth season at SPU, Ryan Looney has a 5-2 record against the Seasiders.

 

Straight Shooters
The Falcons rank No. 9 nationally in field goal accuracy at 50.4 percent. SPU reached the 50-percent mark in half (15) of its 30 games and outshot opponents 23 times, winning 22 of those.
 
California Bound
For just the second time since 2008, SPU will leave the state of Washington to start the playoffs. The West Regional was conducted four times in Bellingham during that span and in Ellensburg in 2011. The 2008 West playoffs were held in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the second straight season SPU starts the tournament in Southern California. Last year SPU suffered an 80-72 overtime setback against Cal State Stanislaus in the opening round at San Bernardino, Calif. "For us right now, we're just excited to be in," said SPU coach Ryan Looney. "Where it's at, and who we play are secondary to that."
 
Dynamic Defense
The SPU defense is ranked No. 17 nationally and tops in the GNAC, surrendering just 63.5 points per game. The 2013 squad established the school record in that category, limiting foes to 60.7 points. Falcons' foes are shooting 41.8 percent and just three of them reached the 50-percent plateau in a game this season.
 
On the Rebound
The Falcons lead the nation in rebound margin, collecting an average of 13.3 more caroms per game than their opponents. On Jan. 8, SPU gathered a remarkable 36 more rebounds than Simon Fraser (53-17), on Feb. 26 they had 35 more than Central Washington (60-25) and on Nov. 18 they limited Rollins to just 14 rebounds while hauling in 41. The Falcons have been outrebound just once this season, on Nov. 22 at BYU-Hawaii (25-27).
 
Famous Uncle
Senior guard Riley Stockton is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, who compiled a record 15,806 assists during his 19-season career with the Utah Jazz (1984-2003). Riley was a first-team All-GNAC honoree in 2015 and a two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Year (2015 & 2013). He prepped at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. In 2013, the 6-foot-4 guard became the shortest player to lead the GNAC in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game. He has 116 assists this season to become the eighth player in SPU history with three 100-assist campaigns. Stockton is arguably the Falcons finest all-around player ever as attested by his lofty career rankings in numerous statistical categories.

 

Hutsen Joins 1,000-Point Club
Cory Hutsen scored his 1,000th career point on Dec. 12, becoming the 34th player in SPU history to reach that milestone. The 6-foot-8 senior center currently ranks 10th on SPU's scoring list with 1,313 points. He needs 16 more to take over the No. 11 spot, moving past Chris Banchero (1,327 from 2007-11) and Dave Wortman (1,328 from 1958-62). Hutsen leads SPU with a 16.1-point average, including 12 games of 20 points. He matched his jersey number with a career-high 34 points on Mar. 7 in the GNAC championship game versus Western Washington. That performance earned him tournament MVP honors.
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney, the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year, directed Seattle Pacific to three consecutive GNAC Tournament championships and playoff berths in each of his six seasons. He has a 141-41 record at SPU, including a 26-6 mark last year. The Falcons won both the GNAC regular season and tournament championships in 2014. They forged a 27-4 record in 2013, equaling the school standard for single-season victories while establishing the best winning percentage (87.1%) in program history. SPU won the 2013 GNAC Tournament title and advanced to the West Region championship game for the second straight season. Looney led the Falcons to a 22-6 record in 2010 and became the first coach to direct them to a conference championship in his inaugural season. He was voted the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year. Looney, who led his alma mater Eastern Oregon University to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament, was hired May 26, 2009 as the coach at SPU. He won his opening nine games on the SPU sidelines, the first coach to win more than his first three for the Falcons. Looney, 39, has a 236-96 career record, including a 95-55 ledger in five seasons with Eastern Oregon.