Men's Basketball: Playoffs to tip off, Concordia positioned for first-place

With playoffs beginning for most teams, we take a look this week at who's heading into the postseason prepared and who has work to do if they want to get to Halifax for the Final 8.

(Official CIS rankings; RPI standings)

MOVING UP:

No. 6 St. FX X-Men: One thing that's kept X inside the top-7 all year despite intermittent struggles? Other than their tough strength of schedule and RPI rank, it's X's deep lineup of scorers available at Steve Konchalski's disposal. That depth was apparent on Saturday when Terry Thomas went for 26 points on 12-for-15 shooting in a 105-87 win over Memorial, and again on Sunday as six players scored in double figures, led by Charlie Spurr's 27. I keep hearing about coaches respecting X's 'dangerous lineup.' This is what they're talking about.

No. 8 Windsor Lancers: Something that will help the Lancers as they move towards the postseason will be the confidence they got from executing in tight games this week. They overcame a double-digit deficit and pulled away from a tie game in a win over McMaster, then shut down a hungry Guelph team looking to secure a playoff spot. After their early February woes, this is what the doctor ordered for Chris Oliver's Lancers.

No. 10 Concordia Stingers: The Stingers find themselves back amongst the nation's best after Laval gave away their spot with a brutal loss to Bishop's. They've now won five games in a row and can lock up home court advantage in the QUBL playoffs this weekend with a win over the Gaiters.


GOING DOWN:

No. 7 Lakehead Thunderwolves: It seems a little silly to me to drop a team for losing to a playoff team when they had already locked up the OUA West's top seed and sat their starters for much of the game. Nonetheless, I don't think Scott Morrison and the GGOD[T]s are too concerned as they prepare for a home playoff date at the Thunderdome. They'll have a tough divisional opponent to face and can't afford to take any of their OUA West competition for granted.

No. 9 Dalhousie Tigers: The Tigers do the ol' switcheroo with Windsor after losing to Acadia on Sunday. That puts a dent in their hopes of catching Cape Breton, but I'm not sure a late-season loss in which they outshot and outrebounded their opponent (as well as got beat by a last-second tip-in) will make too many Tigers shake their heads. They still have the first-round bye in the AUS Final 6.

NR Laval Rouge-et-Or: You can't lose to a 2-13 team in a 5-team league and stay in the top-10, especially when that ranking was already tenuous. 'Nuff said.


CHECKING IN:

Mark Wacyk has a must-read piece putting Carleton's perfect season into context, as well as some cool Canada West stats stuff for number junkies.

UBC's Brent Malish has missed out on a seriously good Old Dutch sponsorship deal. (Vancouver Sun)

The Regina Cougars are in tough against the Saskatchewan Huskies this week. (Regina Leader-Post)


THE "HOWLIN' DOG" PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:
I'm pretty sure he just averages this, but Jamelle Barrett's 27 points, 14 assist and eight rebounds is a pretty good line.

THE "GAYLE FORCE WIND" LINE TO FORGET OF THE WEEK:
Brandon's Donovan Gayle went 1-for-11 in a 75-68 loss to UFV. Ouch.


THE UPPER DECK TOP 10
  1. Carleton - Undefeated, again.
  2. UBC - The Championship drive begins now.
  3. Saskatchewan - Can this vastly different team defend its title?
  4. Cape Breton - The dark horse.
  5. Trinity Western - The other dark horse.
  6. Lakehead - No one wants to play in the Thunderdome in the playoffs.
  7. Windsor - Will the Lancers ride their seniors through the playoffs?
  8. St. FX - I think this team may play with a chip on its shoulder now.
  9. Dalhousie - Is the loss to Acadia just a blip on the radar?
  10. Concordia - Obligatory QUBL squad.
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