The Stanislaus State men's basketball team will hit the road once again, this time to the Bay Area, to take on SF State and Sonoma State.

Team Records: 6-14, 3-10 CCAA

Friday
Warriors at San Francisco State, The Swamp, San Francisco, 7:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio] | KEFC 100.5 FM

Saturday
Warriors at Sonoma State, The Wolves' Den, Rohnert Park, 7:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio] | KEFC 100.5 FM

This Week's Opponents

San Francisco State GATORS (16-3, 9-3 CCAA)
Series Notes: The Warriors are now 12-6 against SF State during the CCAA era after the Jan. 7 loss … Stan State won the last meeting in San Francisco (Dec. 5, 2015).

Last Time We Met... was on Jan. 7 in Turlock when the No. 21 ranked Gators won 65-50. Vondel Faniel had 19 points and 16 rebounds in losing effort.

About the Gators: San Francisco State only played once last week, an impressive 80-65 win over top defense Sonoma State … Three Gators average double digits with Warren Jackson the top scorer at 15.7 points a game, fifth best in the CCAA … SF State has the third best scoring offense (78.9 points per game) in the CCAA.

Sonoma State SEAWOLVES (13-5, 9-3 CCAA)
Series Notes: After the win in Turlock on Jan. 6, Sonoma State leads the series 23-13. SSU has won four of last five games head-to-head.

Last Time We Met... was On Jan. 6 in Turlock. SSU won that game 61-47. Kaelen Mitchell led Stan State with 14 points. SSU was 19 of 23 on the free throw line that night.

About the Seawolves: Sonoma State has the top defense in the CCAA, allowing just 59.4 points per game, which is also best in Division II … Jimmy Golden leads the Seawolves with 11.9 points per game … As a team, SSU scores 64.3 points a game, 11th in the CCAA.
 

Extra Media Coverage
Friday night's game at San Francisco State will be televised on the Comcast Hometown Network (check local listings for Comcast subscribers). Blue Chip Broadcasting will also be traveling to provide play by play and analysis on KEFC.net and 100.5 FM in the Modesto/Turlock area.

Awesome Rebounding Team
The Warriors remain one of the best rebounding teams in the CCAA during conference games. They are third overall in rebounding (36.5 per game) and second best in defensive rebounds (26.7 per game), behind only Chico State. Stan State opponents are only pulling 29.5 total rebounds per contest, third best such stat in the conference (trailing Sonoma State and Chico State).

Faniel Crashes the Boards
Vondel Faniel is a main reason why the Warriors are one of the top rebounding teams. Faniel is second in the conference with 9.1 rebounds per game (Cal State San Marco's Joe Boyd averages 11.2 per CCAA game). He is also tied for first with 3.6 offensive rebounds per game … Teammate Kyle Gouveia isn't too far behind. Gouveia is 11th with 6.7 rebounds per game (2.3 offensive rebounds per game is tied for eighth-best).

CCAA Teams Play Defense
Three of the top five  teams in Division II as far as Scoring Defense (points allowed per game) play in the CCAA. Sonoma State boasts the top defense in the country, allowing just 58.6 points a game. Chico State is fourth (63.3) followed by UC San Diego (63.5). Stanislaus State (14th, 65.9) and San Francisco State (19th, 66.3) give the CCAA five teams in the top 20. Alaska Anchorage (9th, 64.8), Hawaii Pacific (10th, 65.3) and Cal Poly Pomona (26th, 67.5) are the only other West Region teams in the top 40.

Defensive Saturday
This Saturday's game pits two of the top defenses in NCAA Division II when the Warriors and the Seawolves square-off. Stan State ranks among the top CCAA team as far as opponents' field goal percentage while Sonoma State is third in that category. SSU is the top team in Division II and CCAA in points allowed.

WHERE THE WARRIOR D RANKS

WHERE THE SONOMA D RANKS

Oh, That 60-point Mark
Stan State continues to struggle to get a victory when scoring less than 60 points. The Warriors are now 0-12 in those games while going 6-2 in games when they score 61 or more points.

Down, But Not Out
Technically, the Warriors are not out of the confernce tournament race, just yet. The Warriors are 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Cal State San Bernardino with seven games to play. Stan State is looking for its first bid in the CCAA tournament since 2015 … The Warriors won the 2014 CCAA tournament championship in Ontario en route to a run in the NCAA West Regional tournament, where they lost to Chico State in the championship game, 81-80.

CCAA Tournament Appearances
2015: lost in semifinals (to Chico State)
2014: won title and earned NCAA berth
2012: lost in first round (Cal Poly Pomona)
2011: lost in first round (Humboldt State)

NCAA Division II Tournament Appearance
2014: lost in title game to Chico State