Hoops: Tracking the Top 10

The cough-and-cold bug seems to have subsided enough to provide a rundown on how the top teams made out over the weekend. Among the leagues who haven't begun their playoffs, the Atlantic is the most up in the air. St. FX and Saint Mary's still have a mathematical possibility at snatching the first-round playoff bye away from Cape Breton.

  1. Carleton: In the wake of the Ravens' unexpectedly tight 75-73 win over Ottawa on Saturday, it seems obvious that there's some great organizing principle that ensures every Canal War clash will go down to the last shot.

    The Ravens never betrayed a hint that they thought they might lose, even after each of Ottawa guard Donnie Gibson's three lead-changing shots in the fourth quarter. Don't read too much into this result. Honestly, it seemed like it was meant to be for the Ravens from the point early in the second half when Aaron Doornekamp front-rimmed a three-pointer and had the ball drop through.
  2. Brandon: The Bobcats host Regina in the best-of-3 Plains Division final next week.
  3. Calgary: Will host a best-of-3 Central Division final vs. Alberta, whom they beat 3-out-of-4 in the regular season.
  4. Acadia: A pair of easy wins over Memorial wrapped up top spot for the Axemen. A tip of the cap to Leonil Saintil, whose 262 rebounds on the season are a conference record -- with two games to spare.
  5. Cape Breton: A split at Saint Mary's next weekend would give the Capers second place and the all-important rest day before the semi-final at the AUS Final 6.
  6. Windsor: Small forward Kevin Kloostra, whose season has been marred by an injured knee, had a six-minute cameo in Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Waterloo. Let's keep our ears peeled for word on how much he'll be able to contribute in the playoffs. The Lancers (17-5 in the OUA West) will host the lowest surviving seed in a conference semi-final next Saturday.
  7. Toronto: Fifth-year point guard Mike DeGiorgio had an 11-point, 12-assist double-double in an 100-78 rout of Ryerson that secured home court for next Saturday's OUA East semi, likely against Ottawa.
  8. UBC: The T-Birds are still standing after a two-game sweep of Fraser Valley in the first round; Victoria can't be considered too big an underdog for the final. They were behind by double digits in Game 1. The closer, a 72-66 win, was nip-tuck all the way, as Bryson Kool (20 points) and Blain Labranche (13 points on a perfect shooting night) made up for a tough night by Chris Dyck (4-for-11).
  9. Alberta: Guards Alex Steele (13 points on 5-of-7, plus six assists) and Andrew Parker (16 points on 6-of-10) found their form to help the Golden Bears get past Saskatchewan and Andrew Spagrud 76-61 in Game 3 of the division semi-final on Sunday. The X factor in the division final vs. the Dinos is probably going to be taking care of the ball; Alberta beat Saskatchewan despite having 55 turnovers over the three games. Granted, you can expect that with teams that are playing each other for the fifth or sixth time. By that point, there are no surprises.
  10. Laval: Rouge et Or guard Jean-François Beaulieu-Maheux had such a hot hand that he had to stick it in a snowbank afterward for his own safety. He was 17-of-23 from three-point range over the weekend. Some players don't shoot 17-of-23 from the foul line in practice.
  11. Ottawa: The Gee-Gees got an idea of how they'll have to play in the post-season in that two-point loss to Carleton. Gibson and Sean Peter (22 points, but only four after the half) responded well at times to having a lot put on them.
  12. Brock: The Badgers await their semi-final game after getting good games out of both Brad Rootes and Mike Kemp in Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Laurier. They'll likely see a surging Western team next Saturday in St. Catharines.
  13. St. Francis Xavier: The X-Men can still sneak into second in the AUS if they win their last three and Saint Mary's sweeps Cape Breton next weekend.
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8 comments:

  1. Nate, do you honestly think any Quebec team belongs in the top 10, especially looking at the teams below them on the list?

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  2. Did any of you see Laval play in the past 2 months? Mark my word, they have a chance to be national champs when it's all said and done.

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  3. I would never vote for a team just to have teams from all conferences, but I try to spread it out to all 5 conferences where it's merited... Laval is No. 10 on merit.

    The rankings here, just to be clear, from last week's media poll. I haven't seen them play in person, but the scores they beat Con U and McGill by have been impressive, as have the numbers J-P Morin is putting up on a nightly basis.

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  4. No I haven't seen Laval play in the last two months.
    But I did see them play in Ottawa last October and they sure as heck were NOT impressive.
    Of course, they have been running roughshod over their QSSF rivals, but their non conference record wasn't impressive.
    Sorry if I seem skeptical but remember Concordia were ranked #1 in the country when they were taken down by St. Mary's at Nationals.
    In fact, in the 45 year history of the tournament only twice has a Quebec school won it and in both cases were considered a cinderella team.
    Beating a trio of .500 teams and a 2-13 cellar dweller is one thing...beating Carleton would be quite another.

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  5. Laval started the year 0 and 2 in the Q and were pretty bad overall against CIS competition.

    Jérome-Turcotte Routier had a rough start and JP Morin was playing hurt.

    I don't see how Laval wouldn't go to the Nationals (unless they choke badly against the only team that as a slight chance to beat them, which is UQAM.

    And as for last year nationals, you lose and you're out...ask the Victoria Vikes from 05-06. So you

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  6. Forget the "so you" part. I don't really know how it got there...hehe.

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  7. Sure Laval has looked good the past two months; they have been playing teams from their own conference. Quebec is far and away the weakest conference in the nation and Laval is merely the mediocre leader of a bad conference. If Laval played in the OUA East, they would finish 5th at the very best and would possibly even miss the playoffs.

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  8. merely the mediocre? they dominate the conference.

    And as the mediocre conference, please don't talk about things that you clearly don't know. Sure, you can't have 5 good Quebec teams, but right now, UQAM could be in the middle of the pack in ANY conference. Concordia with Dwayne Buckley (don't forget that he is out for the season with a knee injury could be a top team in Canada. As for Laval, I'll let their success speak for itself.

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