Reporter
CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team will enter the Western Athletic Conference Tournament as the number one seed with a first round bye.
The Roadrunners enter the tournament as winners of the regular season title, and look to defend their tournament title this weekend in Las Vegas.
The WAC tournament will begin Wednesday, March 8. CSUB will play the winner of the game between Utah Valley University and Seattle University on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. at the Orleans Arena.
“My favorite thing about the one seed is that everybody is coming for you.” said redshirt-senior forward Jaylin Airington.
“I love that. I love the fact that everybody wants to get us.”
The Roadrunners finished the regular season with a home loss on senior night against Grand Canyon University on Saturday, March 4.
It was the first home game the Roadrunners lost all season.
CSUB was a player short on senior night, as redshirt-junior guard Brent Wrapp was out with a knee injury.
“Even this weekend if he’s not able to go we won’t [risk playing him],” said CSUB coach Rod Barnes. “The kid means too much to us, and his health is more important than anything. He’s our floor general. It’s like playing a football game without a quarterback.”
Barnes said Wrapp’s injury was minor and he should be ready to go on Friday night. Wrapp is currently undergoing treatment.
The CSUB women’s basketball team enters the WAC tournament as the number three seed after finishing the regular season with a record of 10-4 in conference play and are currently 15-13 overall.
The women’s team will play its first game Wednesday, March 8 against Utah Valley.
The Roadrunners defeated the Wolverines in both matchups this season.
“I’m excited about the fact that we are entering Vegas at a higher seed than what was expected of us,” said coach Greg McCall. “It’s just an exciting time of the year, our team is playing well, and hopefully everyone continues to be healthy.”
CSUB finished the regular season on a 9-2 run, and is currently on a three-game win streak, including an 80-64 win on the road over Grand Canyon Saturday, March 4.
“I think that we have prepared really well, it was a good test for us to be on the road for three straight games,” said McCall. “That was huge, and then for us to win all three was huge. And for us to play the way that we played on that last one, going into this just gave us some great momentum.”Graphics
