Need to Know
After earning a much-needed bye this week, the UBC Thunderbirds men's basketball team (16-4, 2nd in the Pioneer Division) start their post-season quest next weekend with a three-game Canada West quarterfinal series against the Lethbridge Pronghorns (12-8, 5th in Pioneer Division).
 
Games will run daily from Thursday, March 3, to Saturday, March 5, with all three contests starting at 7:00 p.m. (PT) and being held at War Memorial Gym.
 
Last Week
The T-Birds closed out their regular season with a sweep of the Winnipeg Wesmen, winning 99-52 last Friday and following it up with a 79-67 result the next day.
 
By The Numbers
5 – The T-Birds showed off their depth on the weekend, with five players hitting double digits in scoring in both wins over the Wesmen. That depth has been prevalent all season, as five different Blue and Gold scorers have notched at least 10 points in nine games this season.
 
47 – The T-Birds' 47-point win on Friday served as the largest margin of victory for the program since February 6, 2010, when the 'Birds blasted the Victoria Vikes 90-41. 
 
47.4 – That's the rate at which UBC guard Phil Jalalpoor (Schifferstadt, Germany) has been converting his three-point attempts in since the beginning of January, going 27-for-57 over 12 games during that stretch.
 
The Matchup 
The 'Birds and Horns won't have to go back far to find game film on each other, as the two sides last squared off less than two months ago. In the first games back from the holiday break in January, the 'Birds took down Lethbridge 95-73 and 85-79.
 
However, Lethbridge is not a team to be taken lightly – the Pronghorns' scoring offense, producing 85.7 points-per-game, is the second most potent in the country, behind only the Calgary Dinos, and slotting in one spot ahead of UBC (83.6).
 
The Horns offense is headlined by fifth-year Brandon Brine, a 6-foot-6 forward out of Adelaide, Australia. Brine is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 19.0 points-per-game. Impressively, Brine is hitting on 50% of his field goal attempts, including 40% from distance.
 
Coach's Take
"They've had a very good season," noted UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "They have a couple of their veteran guys – Brine, Rob Olson, Baker – who have had really good seasons. We did a pretty good job of containing them in their transition, but they definitely made their share of plays. However, we are going to be focusing on ourselves for the next week and a half – we have to be better. We've had a good hard week this week, we will look to do it again next week, and we are looking forward to the challenge that Lethbridge is going to bring."