GCU women clinch share of PacWest title; Dixie St., BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade battle for men's

PHOENIX, AZ – On Saturday, March 5, the champions of the Pacific West Conference will be decided on the islands of Hawai‘i.

The Pacific West Conference will play its final games this weekend to determine the men’s and women’s basketball champions as well as the recipients of the PacWest automatic qualifiers to the NCAA II National Championship Tournament.

On the women’s side, Grand Canyon has used its 14-game winning streak to clinch at least a share of its fourth PacWest title in the last five years. The Antelopes face Hawai‘i Pacific on Saturday evening in a game that could decide both the league title and berths in the Division II dance.

If Grand Canyon wins, the Antelopes claim the PacWest title outright and an automatic berth in the NCAA II Tournament. If HPU wins, the Sea Warriors would keep their hopes alive for an NCAA II berth while also opening the door for Dixie State to grab a share of the crown.

The Red Storm faces Hawai‘i Hilo on Saturday afternoon and needs a win vs. the Vulcans coupled with a Sea Warrior victory over GCU to forge a share of the PacWest Championship. Although both Dixie State and Grand Canyon are likely to earn post-season tournament bids, the automatic qualifier will go to the higher ranked team in the final regional poll if the teams end up tied for first place.

The men’s scenario is a bit more complex, but Dixie State has the inside track for the PacWest Championship and the automatic qualifier. If the Red Storm wins on Saturday afternoon, Dixie State will share the PacWest title with the winner of the BYU-Hawaii vs. Chaminade contest scheduled for Saturday evening in Honolulu. The Red Storm also would claim the automatic qualifier into the NCAA II Tournament because of its sweep of Chaminade during the regular season.

If Dixie State and Chaminade finish tied for first, each would claim a share of the league crown but the Red Storm would capture the AQ because of its two victories over the Silverswords.

If BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State end up tied for first, then Dixie State also would get the AQ because of its sweep over Chaminade. BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State split their regular-season games, sending the tiebreaker to a comparison between the PacWest’s third-place club – in this scenario Chaminade – and both the Red Storm and the Seasiders. Dixie State’s 2-0 mark vs. Chaminade gives the edge to the Red Storm over the 1-1 record compiled by the BYU-Hawaii vs. Chaminade.

If Dixie State loses on Saturday afternoon to Hawai‘i Hilo, then a de facto PacWest Championship game will be played between Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii on Saturday night in Honolulu. It will be the final regular-season PacWest basketball game – men’s or women’s – of the season.

The NCAA will announce its men’s and women’s tournament fields on Sunday.