After a two-year trip to Halifax, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s basketball Final 8 tournament will be returning to Ottawa, from March 8-10 at Scotiabank Place. The host Carleton Ravens will be looking to win their third national championship in a row, which would set a record nine championship titles for the Ravens. Here is a preview of what to look for when university basketball takes over Ottawa.
Atlantic University Sport (AUS):
The AUS conference only has one automatic bid into the Final 8, so the AUS final determines both who is automatically in and who has to hold their breath hoping to get the at-large berth into the tournament. The CIS second-ranked Cape Breton University Capers won the AUS final in a close one over the Acadia University Axemen. The Axemen were not in sorrow for long though, as they were granted the wildcard birth into the tournament.
Cape Breton University Capers – AUS conference champions
Regular season record: 19-1
The Cape Breton Capers won their way into the CIS championships after a remarkable season with only one loss. They are tied with the Carleton Ravens for the least losses in the regular season.
Fifth-year guard and dominant offensive force James Dorsey leads the Capers. He averaged 20.8 points per game in the regular season and he led the entire CIS in steals with 70. Dorsey won the AUS Most Valuable Player award for the second year in a row.
In his first season with the Capers this year, head coach Matt Skinn was named coach of the year and led the Capers to their incredible record. Skinn will be looking to add to his list of achievements at Cape Breton University by bringing home the CIS championship title.
Acadia University Axemen – AUS Runner-up (At-large berth)
Regular season record: 15-5
The Axemen lost a very close, heartbreaking game in the AUS final to the Capers 83-75, but shortly after the defeat they were granted the at-large berth into the tournament.
Fourth-year forward Owen Klassen leads the Axemen on both sides of the court. He led the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game. As well, he led the AUS in defensive rebounds and was named the AUS Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in two years.
The Axemen will be looking to win their first CIS title since 1977 and it will not be an easy task. In their first game, the fifth-seeded Axemen will have very stiff competition, facing off against the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds.
Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA):
With the CWUAA conference winner and the runner-up of the conference automatically qualifying for the CIS Final 8, the CWUAA will have two teams travelling to Ontario for the tournament. The UBC Thunderbirds are back on top of the CWUAA after they were upset early in the playoffs last year and were unable to qualify. The Victoria Vikes, like the Carleton Ravens, will be looking to make history by winning their ninth national title, their last one coming in 1997.
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds – CWUAA Champions
Regular season record: 22-5
The British Columbia Thunderbirds are ranked fourth in the CIS top 10 and with their impressive victory over the Victoria Vikes in the CWUAA final, they will be ranked fourth going into the tournament.
During the regular season, UBC was second in the CWUAA in points and second in offensive rebounds. The Thunderbirds do not have one particular outstanding offensive threat and instead they are a very deep team with five players averaging more than 10 points a game in the season. This means that if one player has an off game, the other players are likely to step up.
Kevin Hanson, who has been named CIS coach of the year twice and has led UBC to five CWUAA championships, coaches the Thunderbirds. The only thing the Thunderbirds haven’t been able to do under Hanson is win a CIS national championship, which they will be hoping to do in Ottawa.
University of Victoria Vikes – Canada West Runner-up
Regular season record: 19-7
The University of Victoria Vikes were a dynasty team in the 1980s when they won seven CIS titles in a row. They won another title in 1997 to make their championship total eight, but since then they have failed to regain their dynastic form. Now, the Vikes are back to the CIS championships and they will be going for a record ninth title.
The Vikes got to where they are now through strong defence, allowing the least amount of points per game in the CWUAA. As well, they are a strong rebounding team and were second in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. The Victoria Vikes are led by fourth-year Terrell Evans, who led the team in the regular season in points per game and also led the CWUAA in steals with an average of three per game.
However, this task will prove tough, as they will be the eighth-seeded underdog going into the tournament. They will be playing the other team going for this record, the number one-ranked and host team Carleton Ravens, in the quarterfinals on March 8.
The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ):
McGill University Redmen – RSEQ conference champion
Regular season record: 11-5
The McGill Redmen will be the only team representing the RSEQ in the tournament, having finished first in the RSEQ regular season. In the RSEQ conference final, the CIS 10th-ranked Redmen overcame a 15-point deficit to beat the Bishop’s University Gaiters in a nail-biter, 77-74.
The Redmen finished the regular season atop the RSEQ with the least amount of points allowed and also had the most defensive rebounds. They are second in least points allowed in the entire CIS, second only to the Carleton Ravens. Offensively, they are led by first-year point guard Adrian Hynes-Guery, who led the team in points and assists in the regular season.
McGill hasn’t competed in the CIS national championship tournament since 1979, and in Ottawa they will be looking for their first-ever CIS title. Seeded sixth, their quest will not be an easy one, and it will begin March 8 in their quarterfinal match against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Ontario University Athletics (OUA):
The OUA is arguably the most dominant of all the conferences, with nine of the last 10 national championship winners coming from the OUA. As an OUA team is hosting, three teams from the OUA will be competing in the tournament. The top three teams in the OUA Wilson Cup tournament earned a spot at the top tournament.
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees – OUA silver medalist
Regular season record: 15-5
Although not considered the host team, the Ottawa Gee-Gees will be competing in the CIS Final 8 in their hometown and they will definitely have the most fan support alongside the Ravens. The Gee-Gees dominated the University of Windsor Lancers in the OUA semi-final to advance to the Wilson Cup final. They lost in a very close one to the Carleton Ravens, the third time this year that they’ve lost in a close match to the Ravens.
Fifth-year guard Warren Ward and third-year guard Johnny Berhanemeskel led the Gee-Gees in the regular season. Even though the Gee-Gees did not win the OUA championship, they are ranked third in the CIS and are seeded third in the tournament.
Ottawa has never won a CIS national title and nothing would be sweeter to them than winning it in Ottawa and knocking off their cross-town rivals, the Carleton Ravens. The Ravens are the number one seed in the tournament however, so if Ottawa were to do this, they would have to meet them in the final. First, they will have to get through the McGill Redmen in their quarterfinal game on March 8.
Lakehead University Thunderwolves – OUA bronze medalist
Regular season record: 14-7
Lakehead lost a tough game to the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semi-finals, but they did not let that get the best of them as they beat the Windsor Lancers in the bronze medal game to book their ticket to the CIS Final 8 for the fourth straight year.
Fifth-year guard Joseph Jones, who had a terrific game and 25 points in the win over Windsor, leads them offensively. Defensively, they are led by Greg Carter, the four-time OUA West defensive player of the year award winner.
Lakehead is the seventh-ranked team in the nation and will also be seeded seventh in the tournament. In their first game, they will be playing the second-seeded Cape Breton Capers, the winners of the AUS conference.
Carleton University Ravens – OUA champions – Host team
Regular season record: 19-1
The Carleton Ravens are without a doubt the front-runners and the odds-on favourite to win the tournament. The Ravens won the OUA championship for the second straight year, knocking off two good teams who will also be competing in this tournament. They are the host team, they haven’t lost a game since their first of the regular season, and they are looking to make it three CIS championship titles in a row. As well, if they win, the Ravens will set the record for most titles won, with nine.
Being the host team is a huge advantage for the Ravens as they don’t have as much travel as the other teams, and they have the fans on their side. Two out of the three times that the tournament was held at Scotiabank Place, Carleton failed to win, and they would definitely like to make up for that by winning it this year.
In the regular season, Carleton led the CIS in points per game, with an average of 91, and they also led the CIS defensively in least points against with 61.6. Two of the Ravens players who will be so hard to stop in the tournament are third-year guard Philip Scrubb, who was named the OUA East division MVP for the second year in a row and his brother Thomas Scrubb, who was named the OUA East division defensive player of the year.
The Ravens head coach Dave Smart won the OUA East coach of the year award for the second consecutive year as well.
Even with all the awards they have won so far, the number one-seeded Ravens want nothing more than to win the CIS national championship title in Ottawa. Their quest for three in a row will begin on March 8 at 8:00 p.m., when the Ravens take on the Victoria Vikes.
