VANCOUVER – The UBC men's basketball team will take their show on the road this weekend, or more accurately, across the water, as they hit Vancouver Island to take on the Victoria Vikes in a two-game set.
 
Tip-off for the first game, on Friday, January, 29, is set for 8 p.m. (PT), while the redux is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday, January 30. Both contests will be held at Victoria's brand new CARSA Performance Gym. The night of January 29 will be important for off-court reasons as well, as the Vikes are set to host their ninth annual Shoot for the Cure, in partnership with the CIS Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
 
A rivalry that is already among the most intense in CIS, the UBC-Victoria dynamic could become a little more layered this weekend. With a single win in this weekend's two-game set, UBC head coach Kevin Hanson would pass the legendary former coach of the Vikes and Saskatchewan Huskies, the late Guy Vetrie, for second on the all-time Canada West wins list with 246.
 
While UBC's bench boss might not be focused on the milestone achievement, he made certain to note his fondness for the man he is set to pass.
 
"I really enjoyed him – he was a great man," Hanson articulated to GoThunderbirds.ca earlier this week. "He made me a better coach, just because I always knew that he would have his guys prepared. Even going back to my playing days, Victoria has been our main rival. Then, when he went there, it made that relationship even stronger because I had all kinds of respect for him, but at the same time, that rivalry was so intense. He showed nothing but respect back to me, and he was a both a great coach and a great person."
 
The Vikes are mired in a season-worst slump, having dropped four of their last five contests.
 
With their only reprieve being a 66-60 win over the Alberta Golden Bears two weeks ago, a sudden decline in scoring has been the biggest part of this recent downturn, as the Vikes have averaged just 62 points per game in those five contests, as opposed to the 77.4 they had been averaging the previous nine contests.
 
Even with their slump, Hanson isn't even considering the possibility that Victoria won't be fully amped up for this weekend's pair of clashes. So, the 'Birds will have to be ready in kind, if only to repay what happened last year.
 
"Looking forward to playing in their new building – none of us have ever walked into it or shot in there, so that'll be a different experience," said Hanson. "We know there's always going to be a great crowd, and it's always intense. They took two off of us on our court here last year [68-58 and 85-79 losses for the 'Birds in the 2014-15 season-opening weekend] and I still have a sour taste in my mouth from those. As a coach, you don't often remember games after a while, but I remember almost every game we've played against UVic." 
 
This two-game series against the Vikes presents another hurdle on UBC's stretch run to March, as the 'Birds prepare to host the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8, which will see the absolute best basketball players in Canada make their way to the UBC Campus. 
 
Get your tournament packages, as the competition is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.