Vikings play SPU tonight on campus for Elite Eight berth

Looking for its second NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in school history, the top-seeded Western Washington University men's basketball team faces No.3 seed Seattle Pacific University in the West Regional championship game Monday, March 12 (7 p.m.), at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus. The contest can be heard live on KPUG Radio (1170 AM - www.kpug1170.com) with Doug Lange handling play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing color commentary. It also can be viewed on the internet at http://www.nmtvsports.com and live stats are available at http://www.gnacsports.com/livestats.htm. Monday's winner goes to the NCAA II Elite Eight on March 21, 22 and 24 at Highland Heights, Kentucky, facing the Sound Central Region champion. The 27-5 Vikings, ranked No.12 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA II Top 25 Poll, advanced to the regional final with victories over No.8 seed Grand Canyon, 79-73, in the first round Friday and No.5 Chico State, 74-65, in the semifinals Saturday. Seattle Pacific, 23-7, opened regional play with a 70-68 win over No.6 seed Dixie State and followed that with an 80-67 victory over No.2 seed and nationally No.16-ranked Alaska Anchorage. WWU won both regular-season meetings with the Falcons, 79-71, at Seattle on Dec. 3, and 72-70 at Bellingham on Feb. 23. The win at Carver Gym snapped a six-game losing streak to the Falcons at that venue. The regional final is the third for the Vikings since becoming a NCAA II member in 1998. They defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 58-55, in 2001 and went on to reach the national semifinals, and they lost 81-77 to Seattle Pacific in 2006 at Seattle. This is WWU's sixth regional appearance with the Vikings being the host five of those times. They are 16-1 at home this season, the win total tying a school record. The Vikings rank 13th nationally among NCAA II schools in scoring offense (81.7 avg.), 18th in three-point percentage (38.9, 228-of-586), and 21st in field-goal percentage (49.0, 947-of-1932). WWU, which was No.1 in the West Region in all three ratings prior to the announcing of its No.1 seed on March 4, has had winning streaks of nine and 10 games this season. The Vikings have won five of six games against top 25-rated NCAA II teams, two each over Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific. They are 7-2 in games decided by five or less points. WWU won its first eight GNAC road games, a league record, finishing 8-1 in a bid to become the first team in the league's 11-year history to go unbeaten on the road during the regular season. WWU's 20-win season is its third in the last four years and the 12th for the Vikings in Brad Jackson's 27 seasons as head coach. With 512 victories, Jackson ranks third among the winningest collegiate coaches in the state of Washington. Jackson was named GNAC Coach of the Year for the third time.