Both NCAA Basketball Regionals Could Be Bound for Washington
March 2, 2005

SEATTLE (Mar .2) ­ Heading into the final games of the regular season, both the men's and women's NCAA Division II West Regionals could be coming to the Puget Sound region.

Seattle Pacific University is the frontrunner in the women's West Region rankings and could be hosting that tournament for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Western Washington took over as the top team in the men's rankings.

The Falcons (23-2), who clinched the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's automatic postseason berth last week, travel to Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage, respectively, Thursday and Saturday. They have hosted the regional tournament in 1998, 2003 and 2004.

The top team region has the right to host the regional tournament Mar. 11-14. NCAA tournament announcements will be made Sunday night.

The SPU men (19-7) remained at No. 4. They play at Northwest Nazarene Thursday night, then wrap-up the regular season Saturday evening at Seattle University. The Falcons are seeking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Western Washington overtook Hawaii Hilo for the top spot in the West. The Vikings, who hosted the 2001 regional in Bellingham, are on the road for a pair of games while Hilo is idle.

Men: 1. Western Washington (20-5); 2. Hawaii Hilo (24-3); 3. Cal State San Bernardino (20-4); 4. Seattle Pacific (19-7); 5. Cal Poly Pomona (19-6); 6. Alaska Fairbanks (17-8); 7. Chico State (17-8); 8. BYU-Hawaii (16-8); 9. Northwest Nazarene (15-10); 10. Sonoma State (15-10).

Women: 1. Seattle Pacific (23-2); 2. Western Washington (22-4); 3. Cal State Chico (20-5); 4. St. Martin's (19-6); 5. Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-8); 6. Cal State Bakersfield (19-6); 7. Montana State-Billings (19-6); 8. Cal Poly Pomona (18-7); 9. Cal State San Bernardino (18-7); 10. UC San Diego (16-9).