UCD men will host regional this week

The NCAA on Sunday awarded UC Davis host status for the Division II West Region men's basketball playoffs, immediately improving the Aggies' chances of getting past perennial West favorite Cal State Bakersfield and onto the Elite Eight.

"This is huge. Very huge," Davis coach Bob Williams said of the six-team regional, which begins Thursday at Rec Hall. "First of all, we are a lot more confident team shooting the ball at home than on the road. There is also an arrogance about us at home that I don't necessarily see on the road.

"And to play in front of our fans, with the Aggie Pack (a special section of student supporters) and standing room only, that has to be worth some points for us."

The top-seeded Aggies (26-2) and second-seeded Bakersfield (25-2) received first-round byes. The other teams in the regional are No. 3 Montana State-Billings (21-6), No. 4 Cal State Los Angeles (17-10), No. 5 Grand Canyon (17-10) and No. 6 Seattle-Pacific (16-11).

Montana State-Billings and Seattle-Pacific will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, with the winner playing Bakersfield at 6 p.m. Friday. Los Angeles and Grand Canyon will meet at 8 p.m. Thursday, with the winner facing Davis at 8 p.m. Friday.

Though his team is seeded No. 1, Williams thinks all eyes will be on Bakersfield. In the national poll, in which coaches vote, the Roadrunners are ranked No. 1 and the Aggies No. 9.

The regional rankings are based on different criteria, one of which puts much emphasis on head-to-head competition. Davis defeated Bakersfield 65-59 on Dec. 20 at Rec Hall.

"Bakersfield has been there," Williams said of the defending national champion. "They expect and everyone expects them to get out of the region. We are nothing more than the new kid on the block."

The Roadrunners have some pretty impressive credentials, not only in the West Region but in the national championship. Outside of the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, when UC Riverside hosted the West Region, Bakersfield had been the host school since 1989. The only season the Roadrunners did not win the West Region was 1994-95, when Riverside prevailed. Bakersfield also took the national championship in 1993, '94 and '97.

The fact the West Region has been a home series for the Roadrunners is not lost on Aggies co-captain Chris Vlasic.

"Having the home-court advantage, having a bye is a big-time advantage," Vlasic said. "Just look at Bakersfield and how many times they have gotten out of the West and gone on to be very successful in the national tournament. With our crowd and the way we play at home, it is a definite advantage to be at the Rec Hall for the West Region."

The Aggies have advanced to the West Region every season since 1994-95. Last season, the Aggies lost in the first round, but the other two seasons, they made it to the second round.

"We proved ourselves in league," said Vlasic, referring to the Aggies' 56-4 record over the last four seasons in the Northern California Athletic Conference. "But we can't seem to get over the hump in the West Regional. We always seem to stub our toe in the second round."