VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (1-0) tough start to the 2009 season continues this weekend as they welcome the no. 7 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies (2-0) and the undefeated Alberta Golden Bears (4-0) to War Memorial Gym. Tip-off for both games is 8:00 p.m. and both games are being webcast live at
sportscanada.tv.
After opening their season with a commanding 71-44 win over the TWU Spartans, the T-Birds traveled south to take on a pair of NCAA Division I schools in Oral Roberts and Oklahoma. UBC also had a tough pre-season schedule, defeating no. 6 ranked Windsor and potential top 10 teams Laval and Waterloo.
A look at the Thunderbirds
Defence was the key for the T-Birds in their 27-point win over the TWU Spartans as they held their rivals from Langley to just 13 points in the first half and 30.0% shooting from the field. UBC was solid offensively, hitting the big shots when they needed to, and finished the game with 42.0% field goal shooting.
Josh Whyte directed the offence and scored 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and chipped in with five rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
Blain LaBranche also had a good start to the season with 16 points and four boards. The T-Birds only area of major concern on offence was their free throw shooting as they were just 11-of-20 against the Spartans.
A look at the Huskies
Saskatchewan is a run and gun offence that leads the league in scoring average with 95 points per game after their opening weekend sweep over Brandon. Showron Glover, a 2008-09 All-Canadian, leads the attack and is averaging 27.5 points on 59.4% shooting from the floor. Troy Gottselig is a big body down low who is one of five Huskies averaging double figures with 10.5 points and a team best 10.5 boards. Nolan Brudehl has been lethal off the bench, averaging 12 points per games in just 21 minutes of action.
A look at the Golden Bears
One of six teams to have played four games this season, the Golden Bears have earned solid team victories in all four contests with sweeps of Lethbridge and Winnipeg. They have had three different players lead them in scoring and four different players lead the team in rebounding. For the season, Harvey Bradford is the top scorer with 14 points per game and is one of four Golden Bears averaging 9.8 points or more per game. Ken Otieno leads the team in rebounding with 9.3 boards per game as Alberta has four players averaging over 6.5 boards per game.
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