VANCOUVER - Despite hitting a snag at the Canada West Final Four, the defending CIS silver medallists UBC Thunderbirds picked up the wildcard berth and are in Ottawa, appearing in their fifth-straight CIS men's basketball championship tournament as the no. 3 seed.

UBC begins their tournament on Friday, taking on the Lakehead Thunderwolves (OUA bronze medallists) at 11:30 a.m. PST at Scotiabank Place. The game can be seen live on SSN Canada.

After a 17-1 regular season and a 2-0 series sweep of Alberta in the opening round of the Canada West playoffs, the T-Birds, who had been the top-ranked team in the nation for eight of the 14 CIS Top 10s, were upset by the tenth-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies in overtime in the conference semi-finals. The Huskies stole the spotlight away from the then no. 1 T-Birds on their home court, eventually winning the conference final over Calgary at War Memorial Gym, but the 'Birds couldn't afford to lose focus with their national title hopes still on the line in the bronze medal game.

The T-Birds showed in the CW bronze medal game the kind of mental toughness that earned them that number one ranking, bouncing back from their heartbreaking loss to the Huskies with a 78-68 win against Simon Fraser to solidify their claim on the the CIS at-large berth.

Head coach Kevin Hanson knows that second chances should not to be taken for granted, and he has been busy since the conference tournament making sure his team is prepared to take advantage of their opportunity.

"I've been on them because I have high expectations for this team and I'm not going to let them settle," Hanson said. "When you get a second chance you can't have any kind of let-down. Against Saskatchewan we did not play our best basketball and it's my job as coach to make sure we do play our best in Ottawa."

Last year the T-Birds made it all the way to the national title game before losing 87-77 to the host Carleton Ravens. Considering that it was UBC's fourth straight appearance on the national stage, you might expect big-game experience to be this team's strong suit, but the T-Birds lost three starters to graduation after their silver medal finish.

With players like third-year post Graham Bath having to step into larger roles at the tournament this year, and others like transfer Kamar Burke having no previous playoff experience at all, Hanson is looking to seasoned veterans Kyle Watson and Blain LaBranche - the only two fifth-years on this year's team - to provide leadership and stability in Ottawa.

"It's up to the players that have been there to bring the confidence we will need to be successful," said Hanson. "They know what they have to do, whether it's pregame routines, sleeping, or even eating. For some guys on the team this will be uncharted territory."

The performance of Canada West MVP and firs-team all-star Josh Whyte will probably have a lot to do with how the T-Birds fare on their national title quest. The fourth-year point guard finished fourth in conference scoring with 19.1 points-per-game, and also led the team with 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals in 29 minutes of court time per game. Hanson said his true value is reflected not in his own statistics, but in his teammates' numbers.

"The sign of a good player is someone who can make everyone around them better. Without a doubt Josh makes everyone around him much better," Hanson noted of his star pupil. "On offense sometimes two people have to guard him, and certainly all five guys are watching where he is on the floor. When teams try to take away things he does, it should open up avenues for other guys to make plays."

Whyte ran one of the most balanced offences in the conference this season. Eight T-Birds average at least seven points-per-game. The offence as a whole ranked second in the conference with 85.8 points-per-game, and their team field goal percentage of 47.4% was first in Canada West.

LaBranche is next on the UBC scoring heirarchy with 15.2 points-per-game. The fifth-year guard likes to let it fly from long-range, attempting nearly twice as many threes per game as anyone else on the team, but when you can knock them down at well above 40.0%, it makes a lot of sense. Watson slots in third with 9.2 points-per game, though he does most of his work in the paint as he is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds-per-game and one of UBC's top defenders.

Veterans Brent Malish, Nathan Yu, and Alex Murphy are others T-Birds that have the experience, and talent, to step up on the grandest stages of all. Murphy backs up, and sometimes plays alongside, Whyte directing the UBC offence while Yu and Malish provide a large chunk of UBC's strong bench scoring.

Newcomers Melvyn Mayott and Burke will be key to any success UBC has in the Final 8 as both transfers have grown into major players for the T-Birds this season. Mayott, who hadn't played in CIS since 2006, has been among the most dangerous T-Birds in the post-season while Burke has the skills to play all five positions and ranks second on UBC in minutes played.

As good as the offence has been this season, the T-Birds will be hoping the old adage "defence wins championships" holds true at the CIS tournament as their defence is second to none in the Canada West. UBC gave up an average of 68.1 points this season, which is more than three points better than any other team in conference play. Their opponent shooting percentage of 38.0% also led the league, and they were the only team in the conference to hold opponents to sub 30.0% shooting from three-point range.

UBC held opponents under 50 points three times this season, so they certainly have the ability to control a game with their defence despite not having a dominant pure centre to patrol the paint. Watson, Burke and Bath have gotten the lion's share of the playing time in the post.

Despite not one of them being over 6-foot-6, they have all been extremely productive. Burke leads the team with 7.1 rebounds-per-game and is tied for the team lead in blocks. He has also displayed some finesse, as he is second in steals and third in assists to go along with his 7.7 points-per-game. Bath averages seven points-per-game and sparkling 60.0% field goal shooting, and he is second on the team with 1.5 offensive rebounds-per-game.

Hanson knows his team is still at it's best playing on the perimeter though, and he has no intention to change what has certianly been a winning formula for his side.

"We have been perimeter-oriented for the last few years and we are going to continue that way," said Hanson. "We are still getting good shots and good production out of that and winning a lot of games."

Although they are no strangers to the big dance, having been to five straight CIS tournaments and seven of the last eight, the T-Birds haven't lifted the W.P. McGee Trophy since 1972. But after spending most of the season ranked number-one team in the nation, and with a chance for some revenge against Saskatchewan and Carleton (both of whom will join them in Ottawa), there is no better time than the present for the 'Birds to end the drought and bring the CIS hardware back to Vancouver.