The University of British Columbia Athletics

 

No. 1 Ryerson Rams

 

Team Statistics

Head Coach: Patrick Tatham (1st season)
Regular season record: 17-2
Regular season standing: 1^st OUA East
Playoff record: 3-0
Playoff finish: OUA Champion
National ranking (offence): 3rd (89.3.)
National ranking (defence): 15th (73.8)
 
Led by a pair of OUA First Team All-Star guards in Aaron Best and Adika Peter-McNeilly, and helmed by first year head coach Patrick Tatham, the Rams dominated all comers en route to their second straight 17-2 OUA season. 
 
Under the guidance of Tatham, the 2015-16 OUA Coach of the Year, the Rams hit a new level in the playoffs, knocking off the perennial powerhouse Ottawa Gee-Gees before beating the Carleton Ravens 73-68 in the OUA Finals. With the conference title under their belts, the Rams head into the national championships as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history, making a significant jump from their seventh-place standing last year.
 

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 8 p.m. vs UBC Thunderbirds 
 
  
 

No. 2 Carleton Ravens

Team Statistics

Interim Head Coach: Rob Smart (1st season)
Regular season record: 16-3
Regular season standing: 2nd OUA North
Playoff record: 2-1
Playoff finish: OUA Finalist
National ranking (offence): 6th (86.2)
National ranking (defence): 1st (60.7)
 
One of only two teams to enter the tournament to enter the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 without a single player who averaged 15.0 points-per-game during the regular season, the Ravens still have weapons to choose from. The most deadly among those is first-year transfer guard (from the Illinois State Redbirds) Kaza Kajami-Keane, who averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per contest – the assist mark was good for second across CIS – en route to an OUA First Team All-Star nod.
 
Still, the Ravens are known for their dominant defending, as under head coach Dave Smart, Carleton finished first nationally in the following categories: scoring margin (+14.9),  opposition field goal percentage (33.9), and points allowed per game (60.7). 
 

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 1 p.m. vs TRU Wolfpack
 

 

No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees

Team Statistics

Head Coach: James Derouin (5^th season)
Regular season record: 17-2
Regular season standing: 1st OUA North
Playoff record: 2-1
Playoff finish: OUA Third (At-Large Berth)
National ranking (offence): 5th (86.9)
National ranking (defence): 4th (66.5)
 
The Gee-Gees come into the nationals after a setback in the OUA Playoffs, where they fell to their long time rival Carleton Ravens 82-77 in the semifinals before beating the Windsor Lancers 90-77 to take third place.
 
Still, the Gee-Gees earned the wildcard berth in the national as a result of being voted in by coaches across the country, and for good reason. A team that held the top spot in the CIS rankings for six weeks of the season, Ottawa features maybe the most dynamic all-around guard in the country in OUA MVP Mike L'Africain, who finished top five in the conference in points (20.4), assists (5.3), three-point percentage (41.8), and free throw percentage (85.9).
 
L'Africain also boasts some talented running mates in the OUA Defensive Player of the Year, forward Caleb Agada, and OUA First Team All-Star centre Nathan McCarthy.      

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 3 p.m. vs Dalhousie Tigers 

No. 4 Calgary Dinos

Team Statistics

Head Coach: Dan Vanhooren (16th season)
Regular season record: 17-3
Regular season standing: 1st CW Pioneer
Playoff record: 4-0
Playoff finish: CW Champions
National ranking (offence): 4th (88.6)
National ranking (defence): 25th (77.0)
 
In a national tournament full of dangerous offensive weapons, none came close to the production of Calgary's Thomas Cooper this past season. The fourth-year guard out of Tennessee averaged 25.8 points-per-game, significantly more than the mark of 20.4 posted by Ottawa's Mike L'Africain, who sits second amongst scorers in this weekend's competition. Cooper, named the Canada West MVP, also led the Dinos in rebounds (7.5 per contest) and assists (3.1).
 
Combining the regular season playoffs, the Dinos will ride a 17-game win streak into nationals, a run that started with a 101-82 win over the UBC Thunderbirds on November 28, 2015. That run is also the longest of any team coming into the tournament, with the McGill Redmen's mark of seven wins coming closest.

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. vs McGill Redmen 

No. 5 McGill Redmen

Team Statistics

Head Coach: David DeAveiro (6th season)
Regular season record: 12-4
Regular season standing: 1st RSEQ
Playoff record: 2-0
Playoff finish: RSEQ Champions
National ranking (offence): 31st (72.9)
National ranking (defence): 3rd (65.7)
 
Averaging just 72.9 points-per-game, the Redmen enter the national tournament as the 31^st-highest scoring team in the country, lowest among the eight competitors they will face this weekend. Still, featuring two First Team RSEQ All-Stars in guards Dele Ogundokun, also named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, and Vincent Dufort, the Redmen have a few guys that can lighr it up.
 
Under RSEQ Coach of the Year David DeAveiro, McGill's ability to neutralize opponents and win the battle of the boards will be their best bets for success this weekend – during the regular season, the Redmen not only ranked third nationally in opposing points allowed (65.7), they also rank first in offensive rebounds (15.6), and fourth in both opposing field goal percentage (36.9) and forced turnovers (18.0).

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. vs Calgary Dinos 

No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers   
                           

Team Statistics

Head Coach: Rick Plato (3rd season)
Regular season record: 13-7
Regular season standing: 1st AUS
Playoff record: 2-0
Playoff finish: AUS Champions
National ranking (offence): 25th (76.1)
National ranking (defence): 14^th (74.1)
 
Dalhousie's success, just like their offense, ran through fourth-year guard Ritchie Kanza Mata. In addition to his CIS-leading 6.9 assists-per-contest, the First Team AUS All-Star also pitched in with 12.2 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.
 
 The Tigers will enter the national tournament after winning the most dramatic of the four conference championships – in the AUS finals, the UPEI Panthers got to within one point with just five seconds remaining before Kanza Mata iced the 87-85 win with a dagger of a free throw that led Dalhousie the big dance for the second straight season.

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 3 p.m. vs Ottawa Gee-Gees 

No. 7 Thompson Rivers Wolfpack

Team Statistics

Head Coach: Scott Clark (6th season)
Regular season record: 16-4                    
Regular season standing: 1st CW Explorer
Playoff record: 3-2
Playoff finish: CW Finalists
National ranking (offence): 16th (80.9)
National ranking (defence): 6th (70.7)
 
If the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack are going to pull off an upset in the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8, it will likely be on the shoulders of fifth-year forward Josh Wolfram. The Kamloops, B.C. native was a walking double-double for the Pack, as his averages of 19.0 points and 9.5 rebounds made him only one of two players in the country to hit those numbers (Brock's Dani Elgadi).
 
Helmed by Canada West Coach of the Year Scott Clark, the WolfPack can also defend and shoot the lights out with the best of them, as they held opponents to just 70.7 points per game during the regular season, good for sixth in CIS, while they also shot 36.4% from beyond the arc, enough for fifth in the country.

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 1 p.m. vs Carleton Ravens 

No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds   

                                                    

Team Statistics

Head Coach: Kevin Hanson (16^th season)
Regular season record: 16-4
Regular season standing: 2nd CW Pioneer
Playoff record: 3-1 
Playoff finish: CW Third
National ranking (offence): 11th (83.6)
National ranking (defence): 7th (71.0)
 
Without a marquee scorer at the forefront – First Team Canada West All-Star guard Jordan Jensen-Whyte leads the club at 15.1 points-per-game – the host Thunderbirds will make their way into nationals with a reputation for scoring punch up and down the lineup, as well as relentless work on defense.
The 'Birds had four players average double digits in scoring this season, and it propelled them to 83.6 points-per-game as a team, good for 11th in CIS. That effort on defense landed the 'Birds some pretty lofty national rankings as well – in addition to their seventh overall finish in opposition points allowed (71.0), UBC also ranked sixth in opposing field goal percentage (37.7) third in scoring margin (+9.1) and first in defensive rebounds (32.7).  

First game

Thursday, March 17 at 8 p.m. vs Ryerson Rams