The Western men’s basketball team begins their journey to capture Division II basketball supremacy today. Thanks to some good fortune and an outstanding season, the 15th-ranked Vikings are set to play archrival Central Washington University in the first round of the West Regional Tournament, 7:30 p.m. tonight at Carver Gym.

Former West Regional top seed Seattle Pacific University dropped their last two games of the regular season, which opened the door for Western. In result, the Vikings surpassed the Falcons in the final rankings of the West Regional Poll and won the coveted prize of hosting the regional tournament.

“Everyone just plays better in front of their home crowd,” Western forward Derrick Webb said. “We’re familiar with our home floor and are really excited. We got a couple lucky breaks, but now we have to take advantage of our opportunity.”

The Vikings come into the first round game of the West Regional Tournament with an overall record of 25-5. Central Washington, the eighth and final seed of the tournament, enters the field of 64 with a record of 16-10 and couldn’t have asked for a worse situation.

Not only have the Vikings already beat Central Washington twice this season, 84-70 in Ellensburg and 90-86 in Bellingham, Western has won 10 out of the last 11 meetings between the two at Carver Gym.

"We know we can beat them, at the same time they’re going to be ready for us,” said Webb, who could be playing his last game as a Viking every time he steps on the court. “It’s my last time and I want to cherish it. We have a special team and we want to show everyone what we can do.”

The Wildcats possess a high-powered offense and have a knack for working the glass. Central leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in scoring and offensive rebounding, as well as blocked shots.

Leading the Wildcats in scoring is junior guard J.C. Cook who averages 15 points per game. Six-foot-nine-inch junior forward Chris Sprinker is no slouch in the post. Sprinker is averaging 13 points per game and pulls down a team-high eight rebounds per night. Sprinker and fellow big men Coby Gibler and Roby Clyde need to be active in the trenches in order to hang with the Vikings tonight.

“We need a big game out of our leading scorer J.C. Cook, he’s been very solid for us,” Central Washington head coach Greg Sparling said. “Chris, Roby and Gibler need to be very aggressive down low.”

Sparling said the key to the game for Central Washington will be their up-tempo style of play. He said the Wildcats need to move the ball well, run in transition and put a lot of points on the scoreboard.

While Central Washington has been trying to find a way to contain all of Western’s offensive weaponry, the Vikings have been working on slowing down the Wildcat’s transition game.

“They really like to push the ball,” senior guard Andrew Ready said. “We need to locate their shooters and try to make it tough on them, and prevent them from getting off to a fast start.”

From an offensive standpoint, the Vikings have been focusing on executing their plays and minimizing turnovers. The Vikings have been treating the basketball with extra care the entire year as they lead the league in assist to turnover ratio.

“We’ve been focusing on making good decisions, reversing the ball and making sure we get open shots,” reserve forward (and Central Washington headache) Rory Blanche said.

“I’m just trying to provide the team with energy and try to keep them on track when I come in.”

Blanche had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the most recent Western-Central meeting in Bellingham.

In the 241st meeting between the two teams tonight, the Vikings will look to reverse the past and take a step closer to the ultimate prize, a Division II National Championship.

“We’re real confident,” Ready said. “This is one of the most talented teams I’ve been on. We feel like we have the chance to do something special.”

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