2015 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL WEST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPÂ
Felix Event Center – Azusa, Calif.
Hosted by Azusa Pacific
Friday, March 13 - Quarterfinals (Pacific Time)
No. 6 Chico State vs. No. 3 California Baptist - 12:00 p.m.
No. 7 Seattle Pacific vs. No. 2 BYU-Hawaii - 2:30 p.m.
No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona vs. No. 4 Dixie State - 5 p.m.
No. 8 Western Oregon at No. 1 Azusa Pacific - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 - Semifinals
No. 3/6 winner vs. No. 2/7 winner - 5 p.m.
No. 4/5 winner vs. No. 1/8 winner - 7:30 p.m.
Monday, March 16 - Regional Final
Championship game - 7 p.m.
PRINTABLE BRACKET
NCAA INTERACTIVE BRACKET
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KEY NOTES ABOUT DIXIE STATE
- Dixie State will make its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament this week, having earned its highest tournament seed (No. 4) since entering the 2011 field at the same seeding. That season, the Red Storm won two tournament games to advance to the West Region Final ... the Storm are one of four PacWest Conference programs in the 64-team field (joining Azusa Pacific, BYU-Hawaii and California Baptist).
- The Red Storm secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning its fifth PacWest regular season title in the last six seasons ... Dixie State was defeated by BYU-Hawaii, 98-75, in the PacWest semifinals last Friday.
- Under the leadership of head coach Jon Judkins, in his 10th season at Dixie State, the Storm have gone 20-7 overall this season.
- Dixie State finished its regular season schedule in a first-place tie in the competitive PacWest Conference standings (17-3 record), sharing the title with Azusa Pacific.
- The Red Storm has won at least 20 games in six straight seasons.
- Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) leads Dixie State in scoring (16.4 ppg) and ranks fifth in that category in the PacWest ... Robbins scored a career-high 29 points at Academy of Art (January 31) … he became Dixie State's all-time scoring leader with a lay-up against Cal State Stanislaus (November 28).
- This season, Dixie State has primarily used an nine-man rotation that includes starters Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan), DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy), Robbie Nielson (Gresham, OR/Barlow), Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, CA/Steele Canyon) and Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland), with Collin Woods (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon), Zac Hunter (American Fork, UT/American Fork), Trevor Hill (Sandy, UT/Alta) and Anthony Morris (Mesquite, NV/Virgin Valley) contributing off the bench.Â
MARCH MADNESS
In five appearances, the Dixie State men's basketball team has advanced past the first round only once, 2011. That year, DSU defeated conference foe Chaminade (92-81) in the opening round and Seattle Pacific (75-73) in round two. BYU-Hawaii downed the Red Storm, 79-73, in the regional final en route to appearing in the national championship game. In four other visits, the Storm have been eliminated in the first round – 2010: Cal Poly Pomona (71-62), 2012: Seattle Pacific (70-68), 2013: Cal State San Bernardino (75-69), 2014: Cal Poly Pomona (73-65).
THE OPPOSITION
Dixie State has compiled a 0-2 all-time record against Cal Poly Pomona, having met the Broncos twice in NCAA Tournament action. Six of the seven DSU losses this year have come against NCAA Tournament teams (Azusa Pacific, California Baptist, BYU-Hawaii, Western Oregon, Seattle Pacific, Texas A&M-Commerce). Furthermore, Dixie State has three wins against the top three seeds in the region (APU, BYUH, CBU).
STORM IN THE RANKINGS
NCAA West Region: 4
NABC Division II National Poll: RV
D2SIDA Division II West Region Media Poll: 6
SENIORS TAKE TO FIRST TEAM, SAWYER NABS THIRD TEAM
Dixie State seniors Zach Robbins (Upland, CA/Upland) and DeQuan Thompson (Las Vegas, NV/Lake Mead Christian Academy) have captured first-team All-PacWest Conference honors and junior guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) earned third-team acclaim, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday. Robbins (16.5 ppg), Thompson (15.4 ppg) and Sawyer (12.8 ppg) have been the Red Storm's three leading scorers all season, respectively. One of the trio has led Dixie State in scoring in 20 of the 26 regular season games this year.
THE JUDKINS FILE
Jon Judkins, a five-time PacWest Coach of the Year (2009-13), directed Dixie State into the playoffs in each the last five previous seasons. He has a 185-91 record at DSU, including a 21-7 mark last year. DSU tied for second in the PacWest regular season and qualified for the league tournament. The Red Storm posted a 22-7 record in 2013, equaling the school record for victories in the NCAA era. The squad won the 2013 PacWest regular season with a 15-3 conference record and Tournament titles to earn a West Regional Automatic bid. Judkins led DSU to the 2011 West Regional Final against league rival BYU-Hawaii. That season, the Red Storm won their only two Regional games to date with triumphs over Chaminade and Seattle Pacific. Judkins led DSU in its final year of junior college competition in 2006 to a 21-12 record. Prior to coaching at Dixie State, he spent 12 years, posting a 284-128 record, at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. The Badgers won the SWAC titles in 1999 and 2000, earning Judkins league Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one year at Dixie State before serving an LDS mission. He transferred to Utah State and became the first Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped the Aggies win their conference tournament and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
