The PacWest Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are headed to Point Loma Nazarene University’s Golden Gymnasium in San Diego March 7-9, where the PacWest’s top six women’s teams and top six men’s teams will battle for the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II regional championships.
 
Who’s In:
 
Point Loma (13-4 PacWest, 18-7 overall): The Sea Lions are chasing their third consecutive PacWest regular-season crown after picking up 6 wins in the past 7 games. Fifteen of PLNU’s 17 conference games have been decided by single-digits, and the Sea Lions are extremely tough with the game on the line with a 12-3 mark in contests decided by less than 10 points.
 
Academy of Art (12-4 PacWest, 17-7 overall): The Urban Knights locked up a PacWest Championship berth to secure an appearance in their fifth consecutive conference tournament. Academy of Art, the 2022 PacWest Tournament champion, is also seeking its first regular-season title, thanks to an undefeated January (7-0) along with a critical 95-86 road win over Point Loma on Feb. 3. The regular-season conference crown and the tournament #1-seed may very well come down to the March 2 regular-season finale between Point Loma and Academy of Art in San Francisco.
 
Hawai'i Pacific (11-5 PacWest, 16-8 overall): Picked 9^th in the PacWest preseason poll, Hawai'i Pacific became the latest team to clinch a top-six finish and conference tournament berth with a 68-59 road win at Concordia on Feb. 19. The Sharks are the PacWest’s top defensive team, surrendering just 65.5 points per game during conference play while registering the PacWest’s top three-point shooting percentage in conference play (.366). HPU visits each of the three teams directly below them in the conference standings (Azusa Pacific, Biola, Hawai'i Hilo) during a 4-game stretch to wrap up the regular season.
 
Spots Up For Grabs:
The remaining three spots in the PacWest Championship field will come from a group of five teams consisting of Biola, Hawai'i Hilo, Azusa Pacific, Dominican, and Concordia). Fourth-place Biola (10-7) holds a 1-game edge over fifth-place Hawai'i Hilo (9-8), which sits 1 game ahead of sixth-place Azusa Pacific (8-9). Dominican (7-10) is currently in seventh, just 1 game behind APU, while Concordia (7-11) remains alive with just a half-game margin behind Dominican.
 
If The Season Ended Today:
#1 seed: Point Loma
#2 seed: Academy of Art
#3 seed: Hawai'i Pacific
#4 seed: Biola
#5 seed: Hawai'i Hilo
#6 seed: Azusa Pacific
 
Impact Matchups:
Thursday, Feb. 22: Dominican at Academy of Art
The Bay Area rivalry features postseason implications, with Academy of Art seeking a win in pursuit of the PacWest regular-season title while Dominican tries to pull closer to tournament qualification.
 
Thursday, Feb. 22: Hawai'i Pacific at Azusa Pacific
Azusa Pacific was the PacWest preseason favorite, but the Cougars are fighting for their tournament life as they host a surging Hawaii Pacific program which is still within reach of the PacWest regular-season crown.
 
Saturday, Feb. 24: Hawai'i Pacific at Biola
HPU concludes its 4-game Southern California road swing with a visit to Biola; the Sharks won the first matchup between the teams in Honolulu and could secure a head-to-head standings tiebreaker over Biola by completing a season sweep.
 
Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, Feb. 21: Westmont at Point Loma
Thursday, Feb. 22: Dominican at Academy of Art
Thursday, Feb. 22: Hawai'i Hilo at Fresno Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 22: Hawai'i Pacific at Azusa Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 24: Academy of Art at Fresno Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 24: Concordia at Azusa Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 24: Hawai'i Pacific at Biola
Saturday, Feb. 24: Hawai'i Hilo at Westmont
 
PacWest Championship Tickets (on sale Monday, Feb. 26, 12:00 pm Pacific):
Single-day tickets to the 2024 PacWest Basketball Championships will go on sale on Monday, Feb. 26, at 12:00 pm Pacific, at https://thepacwest.com/sports/2020/12/7/GEN_1207205334.aspx
 
Single-day ticket prices are $12 for adults, $5 for students with ID, military with ID, seniors (age 65+), and children (12-18), with 3-day tournament passes available for $30 (no discounts for tournament passes). Children under the age of 12 are admitted free.