VANCOUVER - The Thunderbirds are on the road to wrap up the first half schedule this week in Alberta. No. 4 UBC has a good chance to head to the holiday break undefeated, as they will be taking on a 3-3 Lethbridge side coming off back to back losses, and the Calgary Dinos, who have struggled this year thanks to an injury to star transfer Boris Bakovic, who led the nation in scoring in his last three seasons at Ryerson.
No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds
2011 conference record: 4-0
2011 CIS ranking: 4
Last week: beat Trinity Western 104-75, 103-70
Streak: 4 wins
It's hard to prove much in just four games of basketball, but at least one thing was proven beyond a doubt in UBC's sweep of Trinity Western last weekend;
Kamar Burke can rebound the ball. The fifth-year forward grabbed 17 rebounds in game one against Trinity and had another 13 after three quarters of game two before sitting out the fourth to give the rookies more playing time.
He is averaging 11 boards per game, and the 'Birds are tied for the conference lead with a +11 average rebounding margin. He's also averaging just under 10 points per game, and his role in the offence should continue to grow over the course of the year as the team continues to get more comfortable playing together.
Nathan Yu has done an admirable job at point guard this year, especially considering he switched positions after four years as a two-guard for UBC, and it's his first year as a starter. He leads the league in assists, is tied for second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, and is still filling the basket as he always has, leading the team with 21 points per game.
Rookie
Malcolm Williams has been one of the most solid all-around players for UBC this year according to head coach
Kevin Hanson. Filling in at Yu's old shooting guard spot, Williams has chipped in just under 16 points per game, good enough for third on the team. His tenacious defence has also earned him 28 minutes per game, second only to Yu.
Lethbridge Pronghorns
2011 conference record: 3-3
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 83-67, 74-65
Streak: 2 losses
The Pronghorns dropped both games to Saskatchewan last week to fall to 3-3, but are still right in the middle of the race for first in the ultra-tight East Division, where first and last place are separated by just two games.
This weekend kicks off a tough stretch for the Pronghorns though, as they take on the top two teams from the West Division to close out the first half of their schedule, and open up after the holiday break with two more tough games against the West before taking on East-leading Alberta twice.
Daryl Cooper leads the team with 16 points per game. Dominyc Coward is next with 13.7, and he is also tied for the team rebounding lead with Derek Waldner at 7.8 boards per game.
Calgary Dinos
2011 conference record: 2-4
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: beat Brandon 91-55 and Regina 100-71
Streak: 2 wins
Just six games in, the Dinos can already say it's been a tough year. They've had to deal with a season-ending injury to Ryerson transfer Boris Bakovic before the regular season even began, and the former scoring champ's injury has been a difficult pill to swallow for the Dinos, who rank near the bottom of the conference in field goal percentage.
Tyler Fiddler and Josh Wolfram have been the major contributors on the boards and offensively this season. They both average just under eight rebounds, while Fiddler leads the scoring race with 14.2 points per game and Wolfram is next at 12.8.
Jared Ogungbemi-Jackson has missed the last two games for the Dinos, but has averaged nine rebounds and over 16 points in the four contests he's been available for.
