NO. 8 DIXIE STATE (19-8) 2017 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament West Regionals
Date/Time	Friday, March 10 (Quarterfinals) - vs. No. 1 UC San Diego 7:30 p.m. (PT), UCSD RIMAC Arena; La Jolla, Calif. Saturday, March 11 (Semis) - DSU/UCSD winner vs. CBU/SFSU winner 7:30 p.m. (PT), UCSD RIMAC Arena; La Jolla, Calif. Monday, March 13 - NCAA West Regional Championship Game 7 p.m. (PT), UCSD RIMAC Arena; La Jolla, Calif.
Game Notes	Dixie State (PDF), NCAA West Regional Tournament Central
Live Audio	www.southernutahlive.com
Live Video	ucsdtritons.tv
Live Stats	ucsdtritons.com

 

(2017 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET - PDF / INTERACTIVE)

OPENING TIP: Dixie State (19-8) heads to southern California to play in the 2017 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional, which will be held this Friday-through-Monday, March 10-13, in La Jolla. DSU was awarded the West Region's No. 8 seed and will face region top-seed and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champion UC San Diego (22-5) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (PT), in the UCSD RIMAC Arena.
    The Trailblazers, who are advancing to the D-II "Big Dance" for the seventh time in the program's 11-year NCAA-era, was awarded one of the five west region at-large bids when the 64-team field was announced this past Sunday night.
    Rounding out the West Region field is No. 2 seed and Pacific West Conference champion Hawai'i Pacific (28-2), which will face No. 7 seed Sonoma State (20-8). Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and No. 3 seed Western Washington (25-5) will play No. 6 Chico State (23-7), and PacWest member and No. 4 seed California Baptist (25-4) will take on No. 5 seed San Francisco State (25-5). In all, four CCAA schools, three PacWest members and one GNAC member make up the field.
    All four quarterfinal games will be played on Friday in the UCSD RIMAC, while the two semifinal games will take place on Saturday, March 11, and the regional final will be played on Monday, March 13.
    In all, eight teams from each of the following eight regions make up the 64-team tournament: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the 2017 NCAA Elite Eight, which will be held March 22-25, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

DIXIE STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Dixie State has earned an NCAA Tournament bid seven times in the last eight seasons since, including six-straight appearances from 2010-15. In 2011, DSU advanced all the way to the West Regional final (Sweet 16) before losing to eventual national runner-up and PacWest rival BYU-Hawaii, 79-73. Overall the Trailblazers are 2-6 all-time in NCAA tournament play, with both victories coming in that 2011 appearance.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: Dixie State's NCAA Tournament run will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action. In addition, live audio streaming is available on the internet at www.southernutahlive.com, while live video streaming of all NCAA West Region tournament games will be available online at ucsdtritons.tv.

COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 505-237 career record) is in his 12th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 221-109 overall record, including a 201-97 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era, and a 138-40 record in PacWest play.
    Last season, Judkins led Dixie State to an 18-9 overall record and a 15-5 PacWest mark, which was good for a t-first place finish in the league standings. In 2014-15, Judkins led DSU to a 20-8 record, including the program's fifth Pacific West title in six years with a 17-3 league mark, and DSU's sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament.
    Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, Judkins served as head coach at Snow College for 12 full seasons and posted a 284-128 overall record. He led the Badgers to a pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 1999 and 2000, which earned him SWAC Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one season at Dixie State before transferring to Utah State, where he became the first (and only) Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament bid.
    Judkins is joined on the bench by former DSU player Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), who is in his fourth season as assistant coach, and Kevin Williamson (University of Great Falls, 2007) who is in his second season on the Trailblazer sideline.

AGAINST THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL FIELD: Dixie State and UC San Diego met in the first game of the 2016-17 season in the opening round of CCAA/PacWest Challenge, which was also played in La Jolla, and the Tritons prevailed by a 62-55 count. Overall, the Trailblazers are 1-3 all-time vs. the Tritons, with the lone DSU victory in the series coming in a 71-67 home victory in the 2012-13 season (11/9/12). UCSD won the first two games in the series, starting with a 65-57 decision in the 2010 Disney West Coast Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim (11/13/10), and an 81-67 win at home (12/11/11) during the 2011-12 season.
    In all, Dixie State has faced four of the seven teams that will be joining the Trailblazers in La Jolla for this weekend's regional. DSU is 2-3 in five games against those opponents, which includes a 1-1 record against California Baptist, 1-0 vs. Sonoma State and 0-1 vs. Hawai'i Pacific.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 64-58 (.524) all-time against non-conference opponents in its 11 seasons of four-year competition, which includes an 11-14 record in the program's first year of NCAA play (2006-07), and a combined 4-10 postseason record (2-4 PacWest, 2-6 NCAA).
    DSU has posted six winning records in non-conference games over that span, including a program-best nine wins in 2010-11 (9-4), eight wins in 2008-09 (8-7), and seven victories in 2012-13 (7-4). 

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State clinched its 10th-straight home winning season record after posting an 11-1 mark inside the Burns Arena this past season.
    Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 103-22 (.824) overall record inside the Burns Arena under Head Coach Jon Judkins, and has posted seven 10-plus win seasons over that span, including a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and an 11-1 mark in the 2015-16 campaign. Despite the home loss to CBU (2/11), the Trailblazers are dominant in PacWest action, playing to a 78-11 (.876) record at home through 10 full seasons of conference play.

HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: For the sixth-straight year, Dixie State finished a season ranked in the top-six nationally in home attendance in 2015-16. DSU recorded the sixth-highest home attendance average in Division II at 2,190 fans per game for its 12 home dates last season, which was also tops in the PacWest Conference. In all, a total of 26,284 fans attended a DSU game inside the Burns Arena.
    This past season, Dixie State welcomed 31,925 total fans to the Burns Arena over its 12 home dates (2,660 per game average), including a season-high 4,085 (home or away) that packed the Burns Arena for the Trailblazers' game vs. California Baptist this past Feb. 11.  
    Since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State has been annually ranked in the top-15 in Division II in attendance, including being ranked #2-overall in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and #3 in the country in 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. DSU was also ranked fifth in 2014-15, ninth in 2009-10, and 14th in 2008-09.
    Dixie State also finished sixth among Utah's other NCAA (Division I) members in average attendance in 2015-16, behind Brigham Young (14,699), Utah (12,997), Utah State (8,874), Weber State (6,785) and Utah Valley (2,383).

HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Dixie State is 99-76 (.565) away from home in its Division II era under Head Coach Jon Judkins, including an 8-7 record this season (8-4 road/0-3 neutral), and a 9-6 mark in 2015-16. Overall, the Trailblazers have played to a 79-57 record (.580) in true road games, and a 20-19 mark (.513) in neutral site games during Judkins' tenure.
    DSU has now won eight or more games away from home in eight- straight seasons, and in nine of its 11 D-II campaigns overall, including a program-best 15-5 record (10-2 in road contests) in 2010-11.
    Dixie State also owns a 60-29 (.674) road record in its nine-plus seasons of PacWest league membership (7-3 this season). Including this season, the Trailblazers have posted a winning conference road mark in eight-straight seasons and have reached the seven-win plateau in six of their last seven league campaigns overall.

FREE BASKETBALL: Dixie State played in a school-record five overtime games this season, though all of those instances happened in the 2016 portion of the schedule, including DSU's OT home victory over Point Loma this past Dec. 19, which marked the last DSU OT game. DSU is 3-2 in overtime games this season, 2-1 in PacWest play, including a 104-103 loss at APU (12/10/16), and the Trailblazers' 82-76 overtime home win over Concordia-Irvine (12/3/16).
    DSU also split a pair of overtime games at the Seattle Pacific tournament (11/18-19), which marked just the second time in the program's NCAA Division II era that the Trailblazers needed overtime in consecutive games to decide the outcome, though it was the first time in 10-plus seasons that DSU played two overtime games on back-to-back nights.
    In the 2010-11 season, DSU played consecutive overtime games, both of which were double-overtime affairs, at BYU-Hawaii (W, 99-96 - 2/26/11) and at Hawai'i Pacific (L, 88-93 - 2/28/11), however there was a day off between those contests.
    Dixie State's five overtime games this year eclipsed the previous program-high of four set in the 2013-14 season and tied for the first time last year.
    In all, Dixie State has played in just 25 overtime games (15-10 overall) in 300 total contests in the program's NCAA Division II era. Three of those 25 games have gone to double-overtime, including the two Hawaiian results in 2010-11, and an 81-80 2OT victory at Concordia-Irvine last season (1/9/16).

FROM WAY DOWN TOWN....BANG???: Dixie State saw its streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer halted at 76 games after the Trailblazers went 0-of-7 from beyond the arc in the win at BYU-Hawaii (2/18). DSU, which had hit a season-high nine 3-pointers at Hawai'i Hilo (2/16) two nights earlier, came back to hit four treys in the loss at HPU (2/20) and connected for seven more 3-pointers in the regular season finale vs. Holy Names (2/25).
    Prior to the BYU-H game, the last time Dixie State went without hitting a 3-pointer was at home vs. Western Oregon (11/25/14) in the second game of the 2014-15 season, which snapped a program-best 127-game streak that encompassed four full seasons and the final 13 games of the 2009-10 campaign. The other two times DSU failed to connect from the perimeter happened on the road at Academy of Art (1/16/10), and at Notre Dame de Namur (2/2/08) during the program's first year of PacWest play.
    In all, Dixie State has hit at least one three pointer in 202 of its last 204 games overall, and in 296 of the program's 300 games NCAA-era games since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.
    Dixie State has reached double-figures in made 3-pointers 12 times, including a 2015-16 season-high 10 treys at Chaminade (1/23/16), and a school-record 13 3-pointers at Carroll College on Nov. 11, 2008.

TRAILBLAZERS PICK UP THREE PACWEST POSTSEASON AWARDS: Dixie State landed three players on the 2016-17 All-PacWest Men's Basketball Team. Junior guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) earned first team all-PacWest honors, while junior guards Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) and Kyler Nielson (Cedar City, Utah/Cedar HS) were honorable mention picks.
    Hill, who was also a 2015-16 second team and 2016-17 preseason All-PacWest selection, started in all 27 games and is DSU's leading scorer (14.3 ppg; 16th PWC) and rebounder (7.1 rpg; T6th PWC). Hill scored in double figures in a team high 20 of 27 games and led the Trailblazers in scoring in 11 games. Hill poured in a season-high 26 points at NDNU (1/7) and tallied 25 points at APU (12/10), and finished the season scoring in double figures in seven-straight and in 11 of his final 12 regular season games overall.
    Hill also leads the team in assists (132, 4.9 apg) and steals (40) and is second in blocks (25), and finished the regular season ranked 10th-nationally in FTA. He led DSU in rebounding 11 times and posted a team-high four double-doubles. In addition, Hill was named PacWest Player of the Week (11/21) and Defender of the Week (2/20).  
    Simister started in all 27 regular season games and is second among every game players (fourth overall) in scoring (11.5 ppg) and second in assists (3.4 apg). He led DSU in scoring seven times and had scored in double figures in 17 of 27 games played, including a season-high 23 points at APU (12/10) and 21 points vs. Point Loma (12/19). Simister has hit three or more 3-pointers nine times, including a career-high tying five treys twice against Cal Poly Pomona (11/12) and at APU (12/10). He also led the team in assists nine times and dished out a career-high eight assists in a home win over defending NCAA West Region champ Western Oregon (11/26).
    Nielson (8.9 ppg; 2.9 rpg) has played in all 27 games and has started the last 18 overall. He has averaged 10.7 ppg since becoming a starter and has led DSU in scoring three times with nine double-figure scoring outings, including a career-high 20 points at Azusa Pacific (12/10) and 19 points vs. California Baptist (2/11). Nielson enjoyed his finest outing of the year at Hawai'i Hilo (2/16) as he went 6-for-6 with four 3-pointers and was 2-of-2 at the line to tally 18 points in a DSU win.

TEAM NOTES:
* - Dixie State played in its 300th NCAA game in the PacWest tourney quarterfinal loss to Point Loma on March 2. DSU is 202-98 (.673) all-time in its 11-year NCAA-era.
* - Head Coach Jon Judkins recorded his 500th-career coaching victory in Dixie State's 81-72 home win vs. Hawai'i Hilo (1/28). The long-time DSU mentor also reached another milestone as he picked up his 200th NCAA-era victory in DSU's 80-75 win at BYU-Hawaii (2/18).
* - DSU's win over Hawai'i Hilo (1/28) was the program's 100th home NCAA-era victory, and DSU claimed its 200th NCAA-era victory in the Trailblazers' 98-65 win at Hawai'i Hilo (2/16).
* - Dixie State has had 19 of its 27 games this season decided by nine points or less, including the first 12 games of the year.
* - DSU enjoyed its most lopsided win of the year with its 36-point win over Chaminade (2/4), which included season highs in first half points (51), points in regulation (102), 3FG% (8-of-13, .615) and assists (22), while five Trailblazers scored in double figures overall.
* - The Trailblazers followed that up two games later with a 33-point triumph at Hawai'i Hilo (2/16), during which a season-high six Trailblazers scored in double figures. In fact, it was the first time in nearly THREE FULL SEASONS that at least six players scored in double figures. The last time that feat was accomplished was in a 106-100 home overtime win vs. California Baptist on March 1, 2014.
* - Dixie State has shot 50 percent or better in 11 of its last 22 games overall, including a season-best 56.7 percent effort (34-of-60) in the regular season finale vs. Holy Names (2/25) and a 56.5 percent clip (26-of-46) in the home win over Hawai'i Hilo (1/28).
* - For the season Dixie State is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor (.320 3FG), while DSU is ranked SEVENTH-NATIONALLY in field-goal percentage defense at 39.3 percent (.321 3FG - #27-nationally).
* - While DSU's field goal shooting has been solid, the free throw shooting has not as the Trailblazers are just 64.0 percent from the line this season (501-of-783), including season lows in makes (3), attempts (7) and percentage (.429) vs. HNU (2/25) and 45.0 percent (9-of-20) in the loss vs. Point Loma (3/2).
* - However the good news is that Dixie State is getting to the line as the team enters this weekend ranked 12th-nationally in free throw attempts (783) and 46th in free throws made (501).
* - DSU's current 64.0 percent clip at the line is more than six points lower than its program-low 70.2 season percentage set in the 2011-12 campaign.
* - Dixie State tied a school record with a season-low four turnovers vs. California Baptist (2/11), which helped offset a school record 31 turnovers set vs. Concordia-Irvine (12/3), which eclipsed the previous mark of 30 set on the road at Metropolitan State University of Denver (12/6/08) during the 2008-09 season.
* - The Trailblazers pulled down a school-record 61 rebounds vs. BYU-Hawaii (2/2), which bested the previous record of 57 rebounds set twice in the 2013-14 season - both at home vs. Academy of Art (1/30/14) and again vs. Hawai'i Hilo (2/13/14).
* - DSU is also ranked 5th-nationally in defensive rebounds at 30.22 rpg, and 18th in rebounding margin (+6.9).
* - Over the last 15 games, the DSU bench has averaged 22.0 points, including 43 reserve points in the win over Holy Names (2/25) and 31 bench points in the road win at Hawai'i Hilo (2/16).
* - All 12 Trailblazers who played in the Holy Names game (2/25) had at least two points and one rebound.
* - Overall the Trailblazer bench is averaging 20.8 ppg through 27 games this season, though the unit was held to a season-low six points in the home loss to CBU (2/11), and to just nine points at HPU (2/20).  
* - DSU tallied a season-high 46 bench points vs. Central Washington (11/18), with senior forward Marcus Bradley (Anaheim, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) (14 pts) and sophomore guard Brandon Miller (Sandy, Utah/Brighton HS) (16 pts) accounting for 30 of those 46 points.
* - Senior forward Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) was named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America Second Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on March 1.
* - Fuller, who carries a 3.99 GPA in Accounting, Fuller averaged 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13 games before injury ended his season, and led DSU in field goal percentage (.614). Fuller scored in double figures in seven of 12 starts, including a career-high 30 points with 13 rebounds in DSU's 78-73 home win over Western Oregon Nov. 26.
* - Both Fuller and junior guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) were voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 team in February. For Simister, it was his second district academic honor in as many seasons.

LAST GAME VS. UC SAN DIEGO (11/11/16): Despite a late second-half rally, Dixie State dropped its season opener at UC San Diego, 62-55, as part of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge Friday night in La Jolla, Calif.
     The Trailblazers struggled out of the gate as DSU missed 11 of its first 12 shots and committed six early turnovers to trail 25-9 through the first 12 minutes of play. The Tritons would push that advantage to as many as 18 points before settling for a 41-28 lead at intermission.
    Dixie State stayed within striking distance throughout the second half, eventually whittling the deficit down to five points at 53-48 with 4:52 to play after a Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) 3-pointer and two Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) free throws.
    UCSD answered with five-straight points to push its lead back to double digits at 58-48, but again the Trailblazers would rally with a 7-0 spurt thanks in part to a Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) lay-in and four Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) points, including a thunderous dunk that made it a one-possession game at 58-55 with 1:55 to go.
     However that would be as close as Dixie State would get as the Tritons held the Trailblazers scoreless the rest of the way to escape with the seven-point win.
    Hill led all scorers with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Fuller posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Quincy Mathews (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) also recorded his first career double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds and a career-high tying 10 points.
    Dixie State struggled from the field as the Trailblazers shot 27.6 percent (16-of-58) from the floor, including a 1-of-9 clip from the perimeter. However DSU's cold shooting night was offset by DSU going 22-of-32 (.688) from the foul line. UC San Diego shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field, though the Tritons were just 6-of-27 (.222) from the perimeter, and UCSD outrebounded DSU 46-44. Adam Klie led three Tritons in double figures with 16 points.

UP NEXT: The winner of the NCAA West Region, along with the other seven regional winners, will advance to the 2017 NCAA Elite Eight, which will be held March 22-25, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.