• 2019 NCAA BRACKET    |    • VIDEO: NATHAN STREUFERT

SEATTLE – One of nation's hottest men's basketball teams, Seattle Pacific received the No. 2 seed in the West Region when the 64-team NCAA Division II Tournament field was announced Sunday night.
 
The newly crowned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament champions return to the NCAA playoffs after a two-year absence. The Falcons participated every year from 2005-16, a 12-year streak that was the longest in Division II at the time.
 
"We're really excited. It shows that the rankings committee put a lot of value in the conference tournament results," said Coach Grant Leep, whose Falcons were the regular-season runners-up. "With the two wins that we picked up this week, we're the team that has the most GNAC wins over the course of the season."
 
Seattle Pacific (21-6) brings a 12-game winning streak into the first-round clash against No. 7 seed Chaminade on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in San Diego, Calif.
 
The Silverswords (23-7) tied for third place in the PacWest standings and advanced to their conference tournament semifinals.
 
"Obviously anytime that you're in the national tournament you've accomplished something," Leep said. "Now we just have to get the guys ready to go for a tough matchup coming up."
 
The SPU-Chaminade winner advances to Saturday's regional semifinals for a 5 p.m. meeting with the first-round victor between third-seeded Saint Martin's (24-5) and No. 6 Concordia-Irvine (23-10).

SPU, which captured the GNAC Tournament championship on Saturday with a 78-66 triumph over Western Oregon, is one of eight teams vying for the West Region title.
 
All three rounds of the West Regional will be played at Golden Gymnasium on the Point Loma Nazarene campus.
 
The Falcons played two neutral site games at that venue in November, but lost both of them.
 
"It's a beautiful place to play," said Leep. "We were down there for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately we haven't won yet there this season, but hopefully that's about to change."
 


 
Point Loma is hosting by virtue of its status as the top seed in the region. The Sea Lions are led by former SPU coach Ryan Looney, who compiled a 164-51 record in seven seasons with the Falcons from 2009-16.
 
Point Loma (26-4) has a first-round encounter with No. 8 seed Western Oregon (22-10) at 7:30 p.m.
 
The winner of that game will meet the survivor of the 5 p.m. matchup between No. 4 seed UC San Diego (25-7) and No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona (21-6).
 
The regional championship game is slated for Monday, Mar. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
 
The West Regional has a Friday-Saturday-Monday format due to a number of church-affiliated institutions that have a non-Sunday playing status. The nation's seven other regions have a Saturday-Sunday-Tuesday format.
 
The West Region champion earns a trip to the Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. The national quarterfinals are set for Mar. 27 with the semifinals on Mar. 28. The NCAA Division II championship game will be televised live by CBS on Mar. 30 at noon Pacific Time.
 
Cal Baptist won last year's West Region title and Western Oregon was the runner-up. The 2018 national championship was claimed by Ferris State (Mich.), a 71-69 winner over Northern State (S.D.).
 
The SPU men won their NCAA Tournament opener in six of their last nine appearances. They suffered a 77-66 setback against Azusa Pacific the last time they competed in the playoffs, on March 11, 2016 in Monmouth, Ore.
 
This is the 28th all-time NCAA Tournament berth for SPU, which advanced to the national semifinals in 2000 and 2006 and placed third both times.
 
2019 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
West Regional
Golden Gymnasium/San Diego, Calif.
 
Friday, March 15 (Regional Quarterfinals)
Game 1 - #6 Concordia-Irvine (23-10) vs. #3 Saint Martin's (24-5), 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #7 Chaminade (23-7) vs. #2 Seattle Pacific (21-6), 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 - #5 Cal Poly Pomona (21-6) vs. #4 UC San Diego (25-7), 5:00 p.m.
Game 4 - #8 Western Oregon (22-10) vs. #1 Point Loma (26-4), 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 16 (Regional Semifinals)
Game 5 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:00 p.m.
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
 
Monday, March 18 (Regional Championship)
Game 7 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7:30 p.m.
(winner advances to Elite Eight, Mar. 27-30 in Evansville, Ind.) 
 
• Pacific Daylight Times listed for all games
• All games to be played in Golden Gymnasium (capacity 1,750) on the Point Loma Nazarene campus