HSU GAME NOTES (PDF) | WOU GAME NOTES (PDF)LISTEN LIVE ON ESPN 92.7 FM / 1340 AMLIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | LIVE AUDIO MONMOUTH, Ore. – Humboldt State men's basketball will face No. 1 seed and regional host Western Oregon in the first round of the NCAA West Regional Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The Lumberjacks are making their 14
th program appearance in the NCAA postseason and the first since the 2011-12 season. HSU dominated nationally-ranked UC San Diego in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament to clinch the No. 8 seed and an opportunity to continue making noise in March Madness.
Western Oregon and Humboldt State are no strangers, and the programs have a long history during the Green and Gold's time as a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Friday's game will mark the 23
rd meeting in the all-times series and the first since 2009-10. The Wolves have won the last three meetings, and the Jacks lead the series 13-9.
The Wolves are led by two-time GNAC Player of the Year Andy Avgi and are 27-3 overall. Avgi averages 19.9 points per game and is shooting 53.4 percent from the field. The senior forward scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, but has been limited to 11.7 points in the last seven games.
HSU will look to CCAA Tournament MVP
Rakim Brown to repeat the success he had just a week ago. Brown averaged a team-best 27.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in the CCAA Tournament. The Fresno, Calif., native also scored 25 points and had nine rebounds in the win over UC San Diego.
Another Lumberjack that took his play to the next level in the postseason was redshirt freshman
Tyras Rattler Jr. Rattler scored 17 points at home versus Cal State Monterey Bay and followed up that performance with a 15-point effort against Cal State Los Angeles. He is averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in March.
Tickets for Friday's game are available at the gates or by calling the Western Oregon athletic ticket office at 503-838-8917. The complete regional bracket and links to follow the game live are available above the preview.
