VANCOUVER - The no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds are set to host some of Canada best this weekend as the Canada West final four comes to War Memorial Gym this Friday and Saturday. Making the trip to UBC's Point Grey campus are no. 3 Saskatchewan and no. 4 Trinity Western. Rounding out the field is Alberta, who ranked 13th in the final CIS top ten poll of the season released on Tuesday.
UBC (22-2, 2-0) takes on Alberta (16-8, 2-1) in Friday's first semi-final at 7:00 p.m. That duel is followed by a clash between the Huskies (20-4, 2-0) and Spartans (21-3, 2-1) at 9:00 p.m.
The winners of the two semi-finals clinch a berths to the CIS national championship set for March 11-13 in Halifax. They'll also meet for the conference title on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
The losers of Friday's games meet in a very important Canada West bronze medal tilt at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams in that game will be in consideration for the lone at-large berth into the Final 8 in Halifax.
All games can be seen live on
Sportscanada.tv.
Here's a look at the four teams competing in Vancouver this weekend.
A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds' last conference loss was nearly three months ago in Alberta, and they will get a chance for payback on Friday when they take on the Golden Bears in the a CW semi-final. Since that two-point loss on Nov. 6, UBC has gone 21-0, with eight of those wins coming by at least 30 points and just one by less than 10. They led the conference with a +22.8 average scoring margin this season.
That trend continued in their quarterfinal series against Manitoba.
Josh Whyte's 29 points and eight rebounds paced the 'Birds to a big win in game one, and
Melvyn Mayott and
Nathan Yu came off the bench to complete the sweep with a combined 36 points in game two. That bench production was nothing unusual for this team, as Yu is their third leading scorer with just under 13 points per game, while Mayott averages nine and is tied with Whyte as the team's most efficient three-point shooter.
Along with Whyte,
Alex Murphy and
Brent Malish make up a trio of fifth-years that will be key to UBC's success this weekend. The 'Birds rank first in Canada West in turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio, thanks to Murphy and Whyte who rotate at the point guard position. They rank one-two on the team in both steals and assists, while combining for about 29 points per game. Malish is second only to Whyte with 13 points per game, and his six rebounds per game are also second on the team.
A look at the Spartans
The Spartans got all they could handle from a surprising Fraser Valley squad in the quarterfinals, losing game one 81-80 after Fraser Valley finished the game on a 15-0 run. They trailed heading into the fourth quarter of game two before outscoring their opponents 27-8 in the final frame to tie the series up. Game three was another close one at halftime, but Jacob Doerksen's big effort was enough to lift them to victory. He had 32 points and 18 rebounds in game three and averaged over 29 points for the series.
The Spartans have leaned on Doerksen a lot this year, as he averages about 22 points and eight rebounds to go with the conference's second-best field goal percentage at 62.1 per cent. The big man can get his offence all over the court too. He is the team's third-best three-point shooter, converting on over 38 per cent of his attempts, and he shoots a respectable 73 per cent from the free throw line.
Tyrell Mara makes up the other half of a deadly rebounding duo that has the Spartans leading the league with a +14.5 rebounding margin. Mara averages about 11 points and nine boards, and like Doerksen, he will gladly take shots from the perimeter if given the opportunity.
A look at the Huskies
Last year, the Huskies surprised everyone at the Final Four, entering War Memorial Gym as the fourth seed but leaving with the Canada West trophy and eventually winning the national title. With the dangerous guard combination of Rejean Chabot and Jamelle Barrett coming off a huge quarterfinal weekend, the Huskies could once again be the under-the-radar team that nobody wants to play.
Chabot netted 29 points in game one of their quarterfinal series against Regina, while Barrett picked up a double-double with 23 points and 11 assists. And if that's not enough big numbers for you, Nola Brudehl also added 22 rebounds in the contest. Those three all scored in double digits in game two, with Barrett's 30 points setting the pace. He finished one assist shy of another double-double.
That's all par for the course for Barrett, who led the Canada West in scoring (25 points) and assists (6.8) this season. He was also the conference steals leader, averaging 2.5 thefts per game. If there is a weak spot in his game, it's his care with the ball. His average of five turnovers per game puts him among league leaders, and he will be facing the toughest competition the conference has to offer this week, so that could be a concern for the Huskies.
Michael Lieffers does Saskatchewan's heavy lifting under the basket. He averages nine rebounds per game to go with 9.5 points, but the impressive part about his offence is his efficiency. Lieffers leads the league with a 62.7 field goal percentage.
A look at the Golden Bears
The Bears took the full three games to get past a tough Victoria team in the quarterfinals, winning a dominant defensive perormance in game one before slipping up in game two, allowing the Vikes to shoot 60 per cent from the field. Game three was a back-and-forth affair that the Bears took control of with a big third quarter.
Daniel Ferguson's 34-point effort in game three was ultimately the difference in an 86-79 win that ended Victoria's season. Ferguson, the conference's second-leading scorer, also poured in 29 in game two, so he won't be easy to slow down this weekend.
Jordan Baker, last season's conference Rookie of the Year, has been a jack of all trades for the Bears. His 18 points per game make him the only Bear besides Ferguson to average double digits in scoring, and he's doing it with efficiency too, shooting 54 per cent from the field. He also leads the team with just under 10 rebounds, two steals and four assists per game. The Final Four teams make up the top four offences in the Canada West this season, but at number four, Alberta ranks more than 10 points behind third-place Trinity Western. They may need scoring from more than just Baker and Ferguson to stay competitive this weekend.
CW FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE
Friday, March 4
7:00 p.m. Alberta vs UBC
9:00 p.m. Saskatchewan vs Trinity Western
Saturday, March 5
6:00 p.m. 3rd Place Game
8:00 p.m. 1st Place Game
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