INDIANAPOLIS – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (20-4) will make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA West Regional and will face eighth-seeded Alaska (12-14) in the first round on Friday in San Bernardino. Game times will be announced on Monday.
 
The No. 14/17 Cougars won their first CCAA Tournament Championship and locked up the top seed in the NCAA West Regional following their 14-point defeat of No. 6/5 Cal State San Bernardino in the CCAA Tournament Final on Saturday night.
 
This will be CSUSM's second-ever meeting with the Nanooks. The Cougars won the initial meeting 88-75 in Seaside on Nov. 16, 2019. Alaska won this year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament as the No. 10 seed.
 
Should the Cougars win on Friday, they'd face the first-round winner of fourth-seeded Point Loma and fifth-seeded Azusa Pacific on Saturday.
 
Second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino will serve as the NCAA West Regional host­ at Coussoulis Arena.
 
The winner of the NCAA West Regional Final on Monday, March 13 will advance to the NCAA DII Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana on March 22-26.