VANCOUVER - The CIS number one-ranked UBC Thunderbirds breezed through their best-of-three playoff series against Alberta last weekend, and are now just one win away from a spot in the CIS tournament and a shot at Canada West gold.

UBC hosts the Simon Fraser University Clan, Calgary Dinos and Saskatchewan Huskies this weekend at War Memorial Gym for the Canada West Final Four. The Dinos and Clan square off on Friday, March 5 at 5:00 p.m. in the first semi-final, and the T-Birds and Huskies follow at 7:00 p.m. The winners of those games qualify for nationals, and will play for the conference title on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The losers will play in the third-place game at 5:00 p.m.

Every game will be broadcast live on sportscanada.tv and CiTR 101.9 FM (web or radio). Live stats will also be available HERE.

#1 UBC Thunderbirds
First place in Pacific Division and Canada West (17-1)
Beat Alberta 2-0 in CW Quarterfinals (92-62, 103-68)

On paper, it looks like the T-Birds could be in for a shootout in their semi-final game with Saskatchewan, as the match-up features the top two offences in Canada West. However, stifling defence has been the calling card of the nation's top-ranked squad this year. The T-Birds allow just 68.1 points-per-game, more than three points better than any other team in the conference. They only gave up an average of 65 points in their playoff series against Alberta, even with bench players seeing significant court-time, so don't expect any easy looks for the Huskies come Friday.

Josh Whyte has had an All-Star calibre season in his second campaign with the blue and gold. He leads the team in points (18.1), assists (4.3), steals (2.4), minutes played (28.8), and is third in rebounding (4.8). He runs one of the league's most balanced attacks from the point guard position. Blain LaBranche is the only other UBC player who averages double-digits in scoring (14.9), but eight T-Birds average more than 6.5 points-per-game.

Kamar Burke is the leading rebounder, averaging 7.1 per game, but the big man has also shown a soft touch on the offensive end. He is third on the team in assists, behind only Whyte and fellow point guard Alex Murphy, and Burke is coming off a five-assist performance last week in game two of the Alberta series.

#9 SFU Clan
Second place in Pacific and Canada West (14-4)
Beat Regina 2-1 in CW Quarterfinals (71-77, 82-75, 96-77)

After losing game one of their playoff series with Regina, the Clan came back with decisive victories in games two and three. The Clan are the only Final Four team with a playoff loss, but they are also the only team to beat UBC this year, as they broke up the T-Birds' bid for a perfect season with an 82-79 win in late January.

They don't stand out in any particular statistical category other than three-point shooting, where they lead the conference with .388 efficiency on the year. The Clan ranks sixth both in average points scored and average points against, but consistency allowed them to cement their place as one of the top squads in the conference. They have allowed 80 points or more only four times all season, during four consecutive games early in the year. Since then, they have held opponents under 80 every night, and have surrendered between 73 and 77 points in each of the last seven games.

Kevin Shaw and Chas Kok are their long-distance threats. Shaw and Kok are second and third in team scoring with 13.2 and 12.8 points-per-game respectively, and both are shooting well above .400 from three-point range. Matt Kuzminski leads the team with 14.2 points-per-game, and is second in rebounding with 5.3 boards.

#6 Calgary Dinos
First place in Prairie Division and third in Canada West (15-5)
Beat Lethbridge 2-0 in CW Quarterfinals (62-57, 87-79)

This is familiar territory for the Dinos, as they won the Canada West title at War Memorial Gym last season, beating the host T-Birds in the finals. Both the 'Birds and Dinos have most of their key players back this season, creating the potential for a very interesting rematch if the two squads meet on Saturday.

It's hard to find a weakness in the Dinos, who rank at or near the top of most major statistical categories in Canada West. That should come as no surprise, considering the impressive trio of big men this team brings to the table. Robbie Sihota (6'6"), Ross Bekkering (6'8") and Tyler Fidler (6'9") are the top three scorers and rebounders on the team. Sihota and Bekkering lead the way with 18.7 and 18.6 points-per-game respectively, while Fidler has averaged 13.5.

On the glass, Bekkering has the edge, with 8.6 rebounds-per-game. Sihota and Fidler are tied at 6.9 each. In both scoring and rebounding, Calgary has been led by one of those three in every game this season, so there is no doubt about who opponents will be zeroing in on this weekend. But opponents have been trying to bottle them up all season, and Calgary is 17-5 on the year including playoffs, so slowing down the Dinos' dangerous trio is obviously easier said than done.

#10 Saskatchewan Huskies
Second place in Prairie and fourth in Canada West (14-6)
Beat UFV 2-0 in CW Quarterfinals (96-85, 99-90)

The tenth-ranked Huskies will be clear underdogs this weekend against the top-ranked T-Birds, but this year they have shown that they can compete with any team in the conference. Saskatchewan pushed UBC to the limit in their fourth game of the year, but Showron Glover's 34-point performance wasn't enough, as the 'Birds prevailed 90-83 back in November.

Glover won the Canada West scoring race by a mile, finishing at 28.1 points-per-game, with the second-highest mark at only 21.1. He had a huge series against Fraser Valley last week, scoring 25 points in game one and 41 in game two, while racking up 12 assists, 11 steals and nine rebounds over the two games.

Michael Linklater shares the backcourt with Glover and brings solid secondary scoring, averaging more than 16 points-per-game. Inside, Troy Gottselig cleans up the glass for Saskatchewan. He averages 8.6 rebounds-per-game, and is also third in team scoring with 13.5 points-per-game.

CANADA WEST FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE

Friday, March 5
#7 Calgary vs #9 Simon Fraser, 5 p.m.*
#10 Saskatchewan vs #1 UBC, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 6
Loser semi-final #1 vs loser semi-final #2, 5 p.m.
Winner semi-final #1 vs winner semi-final #2, 7 p.m.

*web only on CiTR