Western’s men’s basketball team will play its final regular season games at home on Thursday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 25. The Vikings will face two of the best teams on the West Coast, men’s basketball head coach Brad Jackson said.
On Thursday, the 10th-ranked Vikings will face off with in-state rival Seattle Pacific University.
Junior guard John Allen leads the Vikings in steals this season.
“It’s one of those exciting matchups we look forward to all year,” Allen said.
Western and SPU have a long history of close, hard-fought games.
“The rivalry between Western and SPU has always been strong,” Jackson said. “They have an outstanding team this year.”
Then on Saturday, Western will face another tough opponent: Montana State University Billings in their final home game of the regular season.
The NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, which were released Wednesday, Feb. 15, list Western as the top team in the West, SPU as number three and MSU-Billings at number nine.
These will be two exciting games, Jackson said.
Being able to play these games at home may give Western a slight advantage.
“The fans are a huge part of what we do and it makes all the difference in the world to have that support,” Jackson said.
With the postseason fast approaching, the Vikings are bracing for challenging games from here on out.
“Everyone wants to knock you off that spot,” Allen said. “But I don’t think it will change much for us.”
The Vikings face off against Central Washington University in Ellensburg on Feb. 18 before returning home for the final weekend of the regular season.
Western is currently in first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 14-1 conference record, 23-3 overall.
