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championships"},{"term":"2014 Vanier Cup"},{"term":"2017 season"},{"term":"Al Alderson"},{"term":"Announcements"},{"term":"Barry Rawlyk"},{"term":"Basil Hughton"},{"term":"Blue Jays"},{"term":"Bruno Prud'homme"},{"term":"CBC Sports Plus"},{"term":"CCES"},{"term":"CKNW"},{"term":"Calvin Westbrook"},{"term":"Canada WNT"},{"term":"Canadian Interuniversity Sports"},{"term":"Chantal Vallée"},{"term":"Chris Oliver"},{"term":"Dave Preston"},{"term":"Dax Dessureault"},{"term":"Devon Pierre"},{"term":"Dick Mosher"},{"term":"Dissenting Thoughts"},{"term":"Don't You Forget About"},{"term":"Doping"},{"term":"Edmonton CFL Team"},{"term":"Eva Thouvenot"},{"term":"Frank McCrystal"},{"term":"GNAC"},{"term":"Graham Brown"},{"term":"Greg Jockims"},{"term":"Heather Lund"},{"term":"Jacob Doerksen"},{"term":"Jamelle Barrett"},{"term":"Jay Triano"},{"term":"Jeff Giles"},{"term":"John Levy"},{"term":"Jon Lalonde"},{"term":"Josee Belanger"},{"term":"Justin King"},{"term":"Kentucky Wildcats"},{"term":"Laurentian Voyageurs"},{"term":"Michael Faulds"},{"term":"Michael Lysko"},{"term":"Mike Sirant"},{"term":"NBL"},{"term":"Navel-gazing"},{"term":"Old Crows"},{"term":"Olympics"},{"term":"Pacific Nations Cup"},{"term":"Pan Game"},{"term":"Paul Hamilton"},{"term":"Paul James"},{"term":"Promotion"},{"term":"Rob Saunders"},{"term":"Ross Bekkering"},{"term":"Rémi Aboussouan"},{"term":"SIC"},{"term":"Seattle Seahawks"},{"term":"Sebastien Levesque"},{"term":"Sidney Halter Award"},{"term":"Swimming Canada"},{"term":"TV"},{"term":"TV issues"},{"term":"Terry Danyluk"},{"term":"The Nuge"},{"term":"Timberwolves"},{"term":"Tonner Jackson"},{"term":"UBC Golden Hawks"},{"term":"Universiade"},{"term":"University of Toronto"},{"term":"Vancouver Whitecaps"},{"term":"What we learned this week"},{"term":"Wilfrid Laurier University"},{"term":"William Houston"},{"term":"Wrestling"},{"term":"alcohol"},{"term":"beer"},{"term":"betting"},{"term":"broadcasts"},{"term":"dave johnson"},{"term":"do not adjust your set"},{"term":"funding"},{"term":"host berths"},{"term":"international basketball"},{"term":"interviews"},{"term":"journalism"},{"term":"mud fights"},{"term":"schedules"},{"term":"technical difficulties"},{"term":"ted goveia"},{"term":"tiering"},{"term":"tragedy"},{"term":"trinity western"},{"term":"trivia"},{"term":"university sport"},{"term":"Étienne Légaré"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The CIS Blog"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"News and notes on U SPORTS - even if we refuse to change our name"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/posts\/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/Badgers?alt=json-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/search\/label\/Badgers"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/-\/Badgers\/-\/Badgers?alt=json-in-script\u0026start-index=26\u0026max-results=25"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Scott Hastie"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08081415078301065374"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"146"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7607790612452382942"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-06T01:54:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-06T02:49:43.516-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bracketology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Ryerson, Carleton, McGill 1-2-3 for men's Final 8, Calgary gets wild card"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"It is human nature to think there ought to be a way to solve something irksome without thinking of the practicalities of said way. That seems to be the subtext for the suggestion there was some great injustice with decision to award the at-large berth to Canada West bronze medallist Calgary instead of OUA bronze medallist Brock (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton_5.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eas predicted\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EOFFICIAL: M🏀: The 2017 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArcelorMittal_D\"\u003E@ArcelorMittal_D\u003C\/a\u003E Final 8 field is rounded out with the University of Calgary Dinos! Full seeding below. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CHAMPSZN?src=hash\"\u003E#CHAMPSZN\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7fzyqaog6E\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/7fzyqaog6E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USPORTSca\/status\/838588714372771840\"\u003EMarch 6, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E The spur for doing this has always been to try to be a rational actor and give people an idea of how the Final 8 seeding rules work. Whether those rules are righteous or wrongheaded or whether the system goes too far in trying to quantify signature wins \u003Ci\u003Eis a parallel conversation\u003C\/i\u003E. Everyone agreed to play by these rules. You can say have play-in games, a Final 10, a Final 12, a Final 16 and say \"what would the NCAA do?!\" Given all the challenges U Sports faces both internally and externally, it might be better to play the pragmatist and appreciate that we still get to see eight teams spread out over nearly 6,000 kilometres still convene in Halifax for a national championship.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI say all of that, believe you me, knowing it is not for nothing the \u003Cb\u003ELouis CK\u003C\/b\u003E clip open in another Chrome tab just got to the \"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/C-Y17YG63B4?t=1m37s\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eyou need to go once in a while, 'uh, I'm kind of an asshole'\u003C\/a\u003E \" part. The above paragraph probably comes off that way to a few people, but I am okay with that reaction.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EEnd rant. These fellows said it better anyway:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EIf you disapprove of the criteria and think of a better, cost-effective one that all conferences will approve of, that's fine. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CHAMPSZN?src=hash\"\u003E#CHAMPSZN\u003C\/a\u003E 4\/\u003C\/div\u003E— Lucas Meyer (@meyer_lucas) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/meyer_lucas\/status\/838593377536876544\"\u003EMarch 6, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NaitSAYger\"\u003E@NaitSAYger\u003C\/a\u003E That and the whining that went along with the Final10 when it actually did happen. There's a reason they went back to a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/final8?src=hash\"\u003E#final8\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— John Edwards (@Anorak_CA) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Anorak_CA\/status\/838626007770939392\"\u003EMarch 6, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Anorak_CA\"\u003E@Anorak_CA\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NaitSAYger\"\u003E@NaitSAYger\u003C\/a\u003E Wasted games and a marathon week in the Final 10. Stick with 8.\u003C\/div\u003E— Jim Mullin (@Jim_Mullin) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jim_Mullin\/status\/838631196586233857\"\u003EMarch 6, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jor_Henry\"\u003E@Jor_Henry\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrianSwane\"\u003E@BrianSwane\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NaitSAYger\"\u003E@NaitSAYger\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dougmclean15\"\u003E@dougmclean15\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Basketball_Hour\"\u003E@Basketball_Hour\u003C\/a\u003E I've been at a couple of \"Final 10\" tourneys. A marathon with wasted games\u003C\/div\u003E— Jim Mullin (@Jim_Mullin) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jim_Mullin\/status\/838656206457614340\"\u003EMarch 6, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E Until such time that the gauntlet is picked up, here is what we have on tap at the arena forever known as the Halifax Metro Centre on Thursday:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENo. 2 Carleton vs. No. 7 Calgary, 11 a.m. ET.\u003C\/b\u003E The \"never con a con artist\" principle probably transfers over to any attempt to practise dollar-store sports psychology from a distance on a Dave Smart team. However, losing the No. 1 seed to Ryerson granted Carleton with two things it wanted. They tip off six hours earlier than Ryerson on Thursday and would be in the early semifinal on Saturday. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe loss also helps Carleton snap to attention. In 2006, '07, '11, '14 and '16, they didn't win the OUA banner but went on to capture the W.P. McGee Trophy.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENo. 3 McGill vs. No. 6 Manitoba, 1 p.m. ET. \u003C\/b\u003EMcGill us an .800 team (21-5) which won its conference without really seeing a formidable team in the playoffs and Alberta is a .700 team (24-10) that can de described similarly. That is why the Redmen rate the No. 3 seed. That and the need to avoid a same-conference matchup.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENo. 1 Ryerson vs. No. 8 Saint Mary's, 5 p.m. ET. \u003C\/b\u003ECalgary and Carleton have the highest combined scoring averages in any first-round matchup, but the potential for a 5-on-5 40-minute game of H-O-R-S-E probably resides in the day's third game. Ryerson is fourth at 86.2 points and Saint Mary's is fifth at 84.3.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETen years ago, also in Halifax, Saint Mary's was the No. 8 seed and upended Concordia in the quarter-final. No doubt SMU's history as a low seed -- they were No. 7 when they won in 1999 -- will form a convenient if dated narrative.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn that vein, both Thursday evening sessions the last two years have involved an overtime game where the higher seed was on the ropes in the last half-minute of regulation time. \u003Ci\u003ECould it happen again?!\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENo. 4 Alberta vs. No. 5 Dalhousie, 7 p.m. ET.\u003C\/b\u003E The Tigers have got away with some slow starts but probably cannot afford one against Alberta. The Golden Bears are too imposing.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBack to Brockgate for a second ... it is understandable why people expected the Badgers to get the wild card. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOntario has had at least three teams in the tournament for five years in a row and 13 of the last 14. On reflection, one can see how that would have conditioned expectations that Brock was in line for a tournament ticket when it earned the OUA bronze medal by defeating Ottawa, who's been going to the Final 8 on the regular. \u003Ci\u003EWe defeated you, so don't we become you now?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the same time, even if Ottawa had earned the OUA bronze, Calgary probably still gets picked.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7607790612452382942\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/basketball-ryerson-carleton-mcgill-1-2.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7607790612452382942"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7607790612452382942"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/basketball-ryerson-carleton-mcgill-1-2.html","title":"Basketball: Ryerson, Carleton, McGill 1-2-3 for men's Final 8, Calgary gets wild card"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6147859547534903815"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-05T03:16:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-05T13:09:35.107-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bracketology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Bears"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: On Seedings Eve"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The seeding is a total mess and you ought to love it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyerson completed a capital double, defeating Carleton for the Wilson Cup thanks to \u003Cb\u003EManny Diressa \u003C\/b\u003Egoing off for 24 points in the second half and, speaking of dynamic dyads,\u003Cb\u003E Adam Voll \u003C\/b\u003Eand\u003Cb\u003E Keevon Small\u003C\/b\u003E combining for \u003Ci\u003Enine\u003C\/i\u003E blocked shots. History does not play the games in the present, of course. Ryerson with floor leaders Diressa, \u003Cb\u003EAdika Peter-McNeilly\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EJuwon Grannum\u003C\/b\u003E will go into the Final 8 with much more shared experienced with the tournament and what's involved with being a No. 1 seed. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeantime, Carleton will get a matinee game in the quarter-final for the fourth consecutive year, since Dalhousie is probably in the 4 vs. 5 game and the host Tigers will play in the evening session. Clearly Carleton doesn't mind the extra recovery period. The Ravens have also won the national championship the last five times (2006, '07, '11, '14 and '16) that it was not OUA playoff champion. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RyersonMBB\"\u003E@RyersonMBB\u003C\/a\u003E three captains, Ammanuel Diressa, Adika Peter-McNeilly and Juwon Grannum hosting their 2017 Wilson Cup. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theeyeopener\"\u003E@theeyeopener\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q6l0zETHRs\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/q6l0zETHRs\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— Bryan Meler (@BryanMelo97) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BryanMelo97\/status\/838223787049041920\"\u003EMarch 5, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E The task at hand isn't predictions, though, it's seeding.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThat is proving tough enough after the unfolding carnage of these conference playoffs. Young \u003Cb\u003EHenry\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EDulson\u003C\/b\u003E have a noble stab at it (\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/canhoopsca.wordpress.com\/2017\/03\/05\/wild-card-thoughts\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eand \u003Cb\u003EMark Wacyk\u003C\/b\u003E explains why UBC getting the wild card sets a bad precedent\u003C\/a\u003E):\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EOkay... my \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/final8HFX\"\u003E@final8HFX\u003C\/a\u003E seeding:\u003Cbr \/\u003E1) Ryerson\u003Cbr \/\u003E2) Carleton\u003Cbr \/\u003E3) Alberta\u003Cbr \/\u003E4) McGill\u003Cbr \/\u003E5) Dalhousie\u003Cbr \/\u003E6) Brock\u003Cbr \/\u003E7) SMU\u003Cbr \/\u003E8) Manitoba\u003C\/div\u003E— Jordan Henry (@Jor_Henry) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jor_Henry\/status\/838266162488225792\"\u003EMarch 5, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"und\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NaitSAYger\"\u003E@NaitSAYger\u003C\/a\u003E Here's mine-\u003Cbr \/\u003E1. RU\u003Cbr \/\u003E2. UA\u003Cbr \/\u003E3. Carleton\u003Cbr \/\u003E4. McG \u003Cbr \/\u003E5. Dal\u003Cbr \/\u003E6. Brock\/ UC\u003Cbr \/\u003E7. Manitoba\u003Cbr \/\u003E8. SMU\u003C\/div\u003E— Casey Leigh Dulson (@Casey_Dulson) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Casey_Dulson\/status\/838425102500888577\"\u003EMarch 5, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003EThat could play, apart from the debate about the at-large berth. It is possible the seeding committee could decide that while UBC is first in five of the first nine criteria, losing in the Canada West quarter-final two in a row at home to Manitoba, which garnered no Top 10 support all season, is a deal-breaker. In that case, though, Calgary would seem to be the next team up based on the below interpretation. The Dinos are only first in one category, but are no lower than tied for third in every other one. Losing to Manitoba in the playoffs is also less abject since it was a one-game playoff and not a best-of-three series.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } \u003C\/style\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable class=\"tableizer-table\"\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\"\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EReg-sea.\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003ESOS\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003ETT\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EN-C\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003ETop 10\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EA800\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EA650\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EA500\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EB500\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EPlayoffs*\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003ETotal\u003C\/th\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/thead\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EUBC\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3.5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E21.5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECalgary\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3.5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E24.5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOttawa\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E31\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EBrock \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E33\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ESask.\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E1\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E3\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E40\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith that out of the way, a last stab before the true experts get it right. It's looking like everyone should hope that Saint Mary's defeats Dalhousie in the AUS final; then they can get both into the top 6. Manitoba and the at-large recipient would then get bumped into the 7 and 8 seeds.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ERyerson (OUA champion)\u003C\/b\u003E. Fine, fine team.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECarleton (OUA auto-berth). Eddie Ekiyor\u003C\/b\u003E had an intentional foul during the stretch run of the fourth quarter of the Wilson Cup that blemished going for 22-12-3 across 29 minutes against a top-3 team. Watch that get avenged next weekend.\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EEddie Ekiyor (Ottawa) had 22 pts,12 rebs,1 ast,3 blks in 29 mins in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CURavens\"\u003E@CURavens\u003C\/a\u003E' loss to Ryerson. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CanBall?src=hash\"\u003E#CanBall\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Q0BKCY37MZ\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/Q0BKCY37MZ\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— CanBallRay (@CanBallReport) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CanBallReport\/status\/838229921340194818\"\u003EMarch 5, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcGill (RSEQ champion).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/b\u003ECanada West usually gets the highest seed of anyone not from the centre of the universe. However, now that it might become the three-bid league, McGill likely has to move up to avoid a same-conference matchup.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcGill rates better than or even with Alberta and Dalhousie on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/usportshoops.ca\/history\/rankings-srs.php?Gender=MBB\u0026amp;Season=2016-17\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ESimple Ranking System\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(taken before the playoffs), regular-season conference record, non-conference record and it has been higher in the Top 10 voting. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlberta is seventh nationally in full-season RPI, with Dalhousie ninth and McGill 11th. Say whatever you want about the quality of the RSEQ, but McGill grades out well according to the rules in place.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAlberta (Canada West champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Shot an effective 77 per cent during the second half of the CW final, with \u003Cb\u003EBrody Clarke \u003C\/b\u003Egoing for 29 and 12 on 10-of-14 from the floor.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDalhousie (AUS champion).\u003C\/b\u003E Play Saint Mary's on Sunday in an all-Halifax AUS final. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECalgary (at large)\u003C\/b\u003E. Reasonable place to put the No. 5-ranked team in Canada, forgiving them their peccadillo that was the two-point defeat against Manitoba. Yes, Manitoba won the game that mattered, but only by a bucket.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaint Mary's (de facto host).\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cb\u003EMarquis Clayton\u003C\/b\u003E went for 22 points total and the Huskies limited UNB to two baskets during a pull-away third quarter in the AUS semifinal. Will \u003Cb\u003EJavon Masters \u003C\/b\u003Eever get to a Final 8?\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EManitoba (Canada West auto-berth).\u003C\/b\u003E Shout-out to\u003Cb\u003E Tony House\u003C\/b\u003E, who's organized Canada Topflight Academy in Ottawa, since he's a former Bisons guard.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EIn the event Saint Mary's wins the AUS everything revises quite easily:\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERyerson\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECarleton\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlberta\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMcGill\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESaint Mary's\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDalhousie\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Eat-large team (Calgary, Brock or UBC)\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EManitoba\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6147859547534903815\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton_5.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6147859547534903815"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6147859547534903815"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/03\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton_5.html","title":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: On Seedings Eve"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-761361704816379386"},"published":{"$t":"2017-02-12T14:24:00.005-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-02-12T14:33:11.460-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"seedings"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: About the 'top six' rule"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The \"top six rule,\" so-called, is a point of contention each season come Final 8 seeding time. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELong story short, at the 2012 men's nationals, Acadia's reward for winning the AUS Final 6 was being seeded No. 8 and put up against Carleton. Conference runner-up St. Francis Xavier drew in the No. 6 seed and a matchup against Concordia, which it won before going to capture a bronze medal. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat hastened a rule that conference champions must never be seeded lower than sixth and the addition of wording that\u0026nbsp;(\"results of regional playoffs must be respected\"). The consequence is that the two deeper conferences' second or third entry gets shunted to No. 7. But based on a decade's worth of quarter-final results since the re-introduction of an eight-team championship, it might actually be better to end up No. 7.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ESeventh-seeded teams are 5-5 in first-round games over the last 10 seasons and one of them, Brock in 2008, won the national title. (Lakehead collected silver in \u0026nbsp;2013 and Ryerson also collected bronze in 2015.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } \u003C\/style\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable class=\"tableizer-table\"\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\"\u003E\u003Cth\u003ESeventh seeds\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EW\/L\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EMargin\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EQual.\u003C\/th\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/thead\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2007\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOttawa\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E7\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAt-large\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2008\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EBrock\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2009\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EConcordia\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-9\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERSEQ Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2010\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECalgary\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E8\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECW 2nd \u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2011\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EConcordia\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-7\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERSEQ Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2012\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERyerson\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-29\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2013\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ELakehead\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E13\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2014\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EMcMaster\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-14\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2015\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERyerson*\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E14\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2016\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EThom. Rivers\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-16\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECW 2nd \u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E*host\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESixth-seeded teams are 3-7, with no appearances in the final.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstyle type=\"text\/css\"\u003E table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #104E8B; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } \u003C\/style\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable class=\"tableizer-table\"\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\"\u003E\u003Cth\u003ESixth seeds\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003E\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EW\/L\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EMargin\u003C\/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EQual.\u003C\/th\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/thead\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2007\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAcadia*\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E48\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS 2nd*\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2008\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EWestern\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E5\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 2nd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2009\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EDalhousie\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-24\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2010\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ELakehead\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-21\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EOUA 3rd\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2011\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EDalhousie\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-12\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2012\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ESt. FX*\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E16\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS 2nd*\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2013\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EMcGill\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-12\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERSEQ Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2014\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ESaint Mary's\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-10\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2015\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EBishop's\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EL\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E-6\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ERSEQ Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E2016\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EDalhousie\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EW \u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E4\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAUS Champ\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E* AUS hosted Final 8\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf course, 20 games is a very small sample and what much greater minds than I would call retrodictive. That is analogous to all those betting trends that tout sites toss around, such as \u003Ci\u003E\"The Vikings are 8-2 straight-up and 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 home games in December as a favorite of 7.0 or fewer points.\"\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003Ecould\u003C\/i\u003E be useful info, but which trend is most applicable to an upcoming game is solely in the eye of the beholder. All it tells us is how a team has fared in a subset of games that might extend back several seasons, coaches, quarterbacks and in the case of the Vikings, home stadiums. It might not have any relevance to the current team or the upcoming opponent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe point is, though, is that the results buttress a small defence of the rule. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe seeding committee is charged with trying to create compelling matchups. The last two 3 vs. 6 games, each involving Ottawa oddly enough, have each been nail-biters. In 2016, sixth-seeded Dalhousie scored one for the smaller conferences by defeating the Gee-Gees 87-83 in Vancouver. In 2015, Ottawa survived in overtime against lightly regarded Bishop's after forcing a turnover that led to the tying score in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPerhaps there is something to be said for being No. 7. Psychologically, if handled a certain way, it might mean being able to come in with that cocksure nothing-to-lose attitude. The No. 2 seed is often the team most susceptible to self-induced pressure, since they are likely an excellent team that might have a fatal flaw. Anyone in the middle of the bracket still has the chip-on-the-shoulder play.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe bottom line is while the rule is anything but meritocratic, it does address the disparities in the caliber and depth of men's basketball in the four regional sports conferences. Some of those factors are also out of the hands of coaches and sports administrators in AUS and RSEQ, so in a roundabout way, it's fair in a perfectly Canadian kind of way.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/761361704816379386\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/basketball-about-top-six-rule.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/761361704816379386"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/761361704816379386"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/02\/basketball-about-top-six-rule.html","title":"Basketball: About the 'top six' rule"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7791891882659424931"},"published":{"$t":"2017-01-30T18:21:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-02-15T13:08:50.530-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bracketology"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: Men's Basketball Bracketology 2017, five weeks out"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Live it, learn it, love it: following university hoops means \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/static.psbin.com\/q\/5\/wcloe5wq5t4d4z\/160810_PlayingRegs_Basketball_-M-_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eknowing the seeding criteria for the Final 8\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver the next six weeks, the goal will be to keep up on the chalk picks for the men's basketball nationals, which are March 9-12 at the arena formerly known as the Halifax Metro Centre. Carleton, of course, is 7-of-8 at winning nationals held in the East Coast, with the only loss coming in their first trip in 2001, when they lost in the quarter-final against McMaster by the margin of a buzzer shot after a disputed out-of-bounds call.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is a lot of basketball to be played before it becomes evident, once again, that the field is playing for U Sports silver and bronze medals. Out west, did you see what UBC did on the weekend?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EFast-break ➡️ \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JordanJWhyte\"\u003E@JordanJWhyte\u003C\/a\u003E dunk\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UBC\"\u003E@UBC\u003C\/a\u003E 26 - \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BUBobcats\"\u003E@BUBobcats\u003C\/a\u003E 15 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoBirdsGo?src=hash\"\u003E#GoBirdsGo\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cXTCmf4VuW\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/cXTCmf4VuW\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ubctbirds\/status\/825181775890575364\"\u003EJanuary 28, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003EThe early challenges with seeding appear to be:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003Ewho ends up as the 2 seed, the OUA runner-up or Canada West champion? That also determines the matchups for Canada West's other representative and the OUA third-place team, assuming it receives the wild card berth. The rules will dictate that RSEQ's winner will be the 6 seed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Ehow high to seed Dalhousie if the Tigers go in through the front door as AUS champion. Their win against Ryerson was on the road (good for the Tigers), but it was on the first weekend of October (bad for the Tigers).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt this writing (Jan. 30), here's a back-of-the-Starbucks napkin cogitation:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECarleton (OUA representative):\u003C\/b\u003E Easy pick. Interestingly, since OUA adopted the single-site Final Four in 2010-11, the Ravens have never hosted.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUBC (Canada West champion):\u003C\/b\u003E 127 points?! The estimable Howard Tsumura, on his final weekend at The Province, summed up just how in the azure hell the T-Birds did that against Brandon last Friday. Hint: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/theprovince.com\/sports\/university\/when-it-comes-to-15-1-ubc-thunderbirds-mens-basketball-team-the-numbers-dont-lie\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ethey took 78 shots and sealed Brandon off from the O-boards\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOttawa (OUA rep):\u003C\/b\u003E The Gee-Gees could conceivably finish second in RPI even if they lose against Carleton and Ryerson to finish with a 16-3 conference record, while the Rams finish 17-2. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThose points could come from having two games with the Ravens, plus two games with two other teams which each had two games with the Ravens. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/01\/basketball-oua-rpiproblems-return-is.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EThat was what I was trying to say late last week\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDalhousie (AUS champion): \u003C\/b\u003EThe Tigers are a combined 1-4 against Saint Mary's and UNB and 18-3 against the rest of U Sports. The team with the best pace-setting point guard has a huge edge in single-elimination tournaments and well, Dal has \u003Cb\u003ERitchie Kanza Mata\u003C\/b\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECalgary \/ Alberta (Canada West rep):\u003C\/b\u003E Too soon to say, and Saskatchewan is also in the mix.\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003EWith 5 assists in tonight's game, 5th-yr \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DalTigers\"\u003E@DalTigers\u003C\/a\u003E guard Ritchie Kanza Mata set a new AUS record for career assists \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rZwQsTYSOh\"\u003Epic.twitter.com\/rZwQsTYSOh\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E— AUS_SUA (@AUS_SUA) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AUS_SUA\/status\/820762610060722180\"\u003EJanuary 15, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMcGill (RSEQ champion):\u003C\/b\u003E The Redmen are the default pick to come out of Quebec due to defense; they haven't let anyone break 80 all season, including NCAA teams in exhibitions. Concordia is intriguing; 1-2 against McGill and held its own against mid-level OUA competition in October.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBrock (at large):\u003C\/b\u003E Consider this the spoils of Brock defeating Ryerson last Friday, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2016-17\/boxscores\/20170127_v90f.xml\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eprevailing 74-65 in front of 3,000-plus in St. Catharines\u003C\/a\u003E, not a statement of who's better. Most of the RPI scenarios point to the Badgers nestling into the No. 4 spot in the OUA bracket. The team which has to play Carleton on Friday could end up being fresher for a bronze-medal game against the vanquished from a Ryerson-Ottawa semifinal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyerson was just off in that game (7-for-37 on triples as they played from behind), and that happens. Their Carleton\/Ottawa trip on Feb. 17-18 could be really good preparation for the postseason.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaint Mary's (host):\u003C\/b\u003E The half of the bracket with Dal also gets the other AUS team for the evening draw on the first night of the tournament.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EPlease feel free to disagree. There will be several more tries to get this right. Here's the seeding criteria:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YdUviLYxjBI\/WI_LUpR2RhI\/AAAAAAAADNg\/xTp62UdnTcwTuWE2iEmxaXlCoIb5juQewCLcB\/s1600\/usports.mbb.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"334\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YdUviLYxjBI\/WI_LUpR2RhI\/AAAAAAAADNg\/xTp62UdnTcwTuWE2iEmxaXlCoIb5juQewCLcB\/s640\/usports.mbb.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7791891882659424931\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/01\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7791891882659424931"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7791891882659424931"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2017\/01\/the-road-to-halifax-stops-at-carleton.html","title":"The Road To Halifax Stops At Carleton: Men's Basketball Bracketology 2017, five weeks out"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-YdUviLYxjBI\/WI_LUpR2RhI\/AAAAAAAADNg\/xTp62UdnTcwTuWE2iEmxaXlCoIb5juQewCLcB\/s72-c\/usports.mbb.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7946050246252963415"},"published":{"$t":"2016-03-05T18:10:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-03-06T20:57:55.783-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Bronze Baby"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Capers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Griffins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ottawa Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Pandas"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Regina Cougars"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"U of S Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"WolfPack"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Dalhousie gets it done, repeats in AUS; MacEwan Griffins game away from W-Final 8"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Windsor's\u003Cb\u003E Alex Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E is making our weekend, and a few other ballers have done so as well.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor a certified hoser hoophead, the antepenultimate weekend is like what the slow build-up to the New Hampshire and Iowa primaries is for a politics junkie. It is down to a quartet vying for the two auto-berths in Canada West and Ontario University Athletics, with the Dalhousie men and Saint Mary's women reigning on Championship Sunday set down east.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJust as one does not simply walk into Mordor, one does not try to outdo\u003Cb\u003E Mark Wacyk \u003C\/b\u003Efor comprehensive coverage of the university men's game in this country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe bullet points: Dalhousie is the first qualifier for the men's Final 8 after doing a hella survive-and-advance deal, with\u003Cb\u003E Ritchie Kanza-Mata\u003C\/b\u003E posting 21 points, an 8\/4 assist-to-turnover, and five steals during a breathless 87-85 win against UPEI on Sunday. Dal will surely be the No. 6 seed and likely get the Canada West champion in the quarter-final. Whether the Tigers will be able to get off offensively at nationals in 10 days is a question that can wait. Winning by two in the final after the one-pointer against Saint Mary's in the semifinal is stellar. It's fair to interpret the result as Dalhousie rallying after a close call.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo other men's playoff games on Saturday were one-point games, including \u003Cb\u003EMike L'Africain \u003C\/b\u003Edonning his Superman cape to save No. 2 Ottawa's season while Dalhousie had a survive-and-advance deal through Saint Mary's bricking a free throw with zeroes on the clock in the second AUS semifinal. Meantime, exalt the Explorer! \u003Cb\u003EMegan Wood\u003C\/b\u003E went off for 34 points and the Grant MacEwan Griffins are going to their first Canada West Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Cliff Notes on what happened for the few, the proud, on the Path to Point Grey and the Battle for Freddy Beach (patents pending).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAUS championship\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003E— UPEI-Dalhousie (Sunday)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETigers go back to nationals — \u003C\/b\u003EDal survived a physical test from the rugged UPEI Panthers, and pulled out the narrow victory after trailing inside of the 80-second mark in regulation. Rick Plato's team had all five starters in double digits, and survived having 6-foot-2 forward Kashrell Lawrence foul out. Guards \u003Cb\u003ECedric Sanago\u003C\/b\u003E and\u003Cb\u003E Jarred Reid\u003C\/b\u003E made a difference, since they combined for 23 points on a 69.2% eFG.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDalhousie is a throwback team, with 6-5 \u003Cb\u003ESven Stammberger\u003C\/b\u003E being the only starter above 6-2. Yet they took 15 O-boards on Sunday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA Final Four\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003E— Windsor-Ryerson, Carleton-Ottawa (Friday and Saturday, Ryerson)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWindsor crashes the party —\u003C\/b\u003E\u0026nbsp;Winners go to the Final 8 and the others play for bronze and a likely wild-ticket to Vancouver. A pair of one-point finishes made that possible.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo years in a row, \u0026nbsp;Campbell, et al., ended McMaster's season on its home floor. There is little more noble than a fifth-year who will not let her or his tenure end, and Campbell went for \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/canhoopsca.wordpress.com\/2016\/03\/05\/oua-lancers-do-it-again-at-mac\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E33 on 58.7% eFG to help short-benched Windsor prevail 79-78\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lancers basically cut down to a six-man rotation, but let's not spoil it by wondering what the chance (slim, probably) is of that working against Ryerson at the MAC next Friday. Campbell has been superlative; he also had a 37-10-5-4 line (with 66.7% eFG) against Laurentian on Wednesday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EL'Africain rescues Ottawa — \u003C\/b\u003EIt was hardly an auspicious outcome for No. 2 Ottawa, which eked past upstart Queen's 73-72 by the margin of fifth-year point guard \u003Cb\u003EMike L'Africain\u003C\/b\u003E's layin with 1.1 seconds left.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe telltale stat: L'Africain, who scored 27 points on a 48.1% eFG and\u003Cb\u003E Caleb Agada\u003C\/b\u003E, who had the 18-point, 15-rebound double-double but was 30.4% eFG, took \u003Ci\u003Enearly two-thirds \u003C\/i\u003Eof Ottawa's shots. This is a callback to a discomfiting pattern Ottawa had late last season when they weren't as able to share the ball successfully; it started sticking. The upshot is this game is behind them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQueen's, by most accounts, defended well all night. It was just that on the Gee-Gees' last possession, with a midcourt inbound, the Gaels' scrappy on-ball defender Sammy Ayisi just wasn't able to deny L'Africain the ball. That allowed the fifth-year point guard to get to the cup and keep Ottawa alive.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EL'Africain also hit a buzzer shot at the end of the first half. Queen's, with \u003Cb\u003ESukhpreet Singh\u003C\/b\u003E putting his team on his shounders and tallying 19, made a game of it. No doubt it hurts to come that close, but \u003Cb\u003EStephan Barrie \u003C\/b\u003Eis building something promising at Queen's, which is a historic underachiever on the men's side.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt would have been Queen's biggest win since 2000, when John Purdy and Derek Richardson spurred a quarter-final upset of nationally ranked Ryerson. That was so long ago that the OUA East and OUA West didn't even play in the regular season and only came together for the Wilson Cup.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Ravens routed Brock 90-52; the spread was 20 after a quarter and 24 by halftime. One shouldn't take the point spread as an indicator of anything. Brock was really just happy to be there and Carleton pounced on an undermanned opponent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECanada West Final Four\u0026nbsp;— Manitoba-Calgary, UBC-Thompson Rivers\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBisons lean and mean\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E— Manitoba coach \u003Cb\u003EKirby Schepp \u003C\/b\u003Erecently shared a Bisons best-of highlight video and, man, that is an athletic starting five. Quick, explosive to the hoop, able to shoot the three. Alas, since a precedent was set by concern-trolling about Windsor getting one bench point in their quarter-final win, it must be pointed out \u003Cb\u003EA.J. Basi\u003C\/b\u003E (40 minutes),\u003Cb\u003E Keith Omoerah\u003C\/b\u003E (40), \u003Cb\u003EJustus Alleyn\u003C\/b\u003E (38) and\u003Cb\u003E Wyatt Anders\u003C\/b\u003E (37) all went long in the 77-72 OT clincher against Fraser Valley. The Bisons also overcame 25 turnovers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETop four go through — \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EThompson Rivers survived getting extended by Regina, coming through in the clincher through double-doubles from \u003Cb\u003EVolodymyr Iegorov \u003C\/b\u003E(21 and 14 boards, 55.6% eFG) and \u003Cb\u003EJosh Wolfram\u003C\/b\u003E (15 apiece, only 33.3% eFG). Thompson Rivers reduced Regina to some Costanza-ian chucking of 32.7% eFG, including 7-of-35 from downtown. Trying that many threes probably explained the 20-plus offensive rebounds allowed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWomen\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAUS championship: Saint Mary's\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cb\u003EHuskies — \u003C\/b\u003EShout-out to Huskies sixth woman \u003Cb\u003EJenny Lewis\u003C\/b\u003E for hooping 29 in 34 minutes across the two playoff games, including Sunday's 63-49 win against Cape Breton.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Capers' best inside presence, Alison Keough, was limited to three minutes of court time. Sounds like an injury deal..\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOUA Final Four: Windsor-Ryerson, McMaster-Ottawa (at Ottawa, Friday and Saturday)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELancers' reign lasts another six days \u0026nbsp;at least — Chantal Vallée\u003C\/b\u003E's charges put up 16 fewer shots than host Carleton and yet won by 15 points, pulling away in the fourth for a 63-48 victory. Low post stalwart\u003Cb\u003E Cheyanne Roger \u003C\/b\u003Ehelped Windsor stay in the hunt while it played from behind during the first 20 minutes, and finished with 17 points, 10 boards and five blocked shots.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyerson likes to get out and run, and that might not be Windsor's game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton hit 27.4% on two-pointers. That is, how do you say, not good. It is impolitic to harp on this whilst discussing a a 15-point game, but the end of the first half was odd and off-putting. Carleton, up four, took possession with 15 seconds left. Instead of playing for one shot, Carleton's\u003Cb\u003E Elizabeth Leblanc \u003C\/b\u003Edrove for a layup with about nine seconds on the clock. The Lancers rebounded, ran the floor and got some hidden offence from two free throws. That four-point swing didn't necessarily dictate what happened in the second 20 minutes, of course.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe OUA does not have a stronger wild-card argument than Canada West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECanada West: Alberta-Saskatchewan, Regina-MacEwan (at Saskatchewan, Friday and Saturday)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWe flew 1,000 kilometres for this? — \u003C\/b\u003EIt is a small \u0026nbsp;sample, granted, but the home teams went 8-0 this week. On the men's side, 8-1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnyone else like the notion of Canada West copying the AUS model of combining the women's and men's tournaments, except having subregionals to decide each nationals berth? It would be more cost-effective and more media-friendly, and rarely can you feed those two birds with one scone.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAgain, though, after the wrangling that went into the last realignment, it's doubtful they want to go there again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGood Griffs\u0026nbsp;—\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003EWood, of course, averaged 18.7 in regular-season play but scored more than 25 only once. The Griffin who can \"\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.edmontonsun.com\/2016\/02\/19\/macewan-griffins-womens-basketball-team-clinches-first-in-canada-west-explorers-division\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Eshoot the ball from anywhere\u003C\/a\u003E\" carried her side as MacEwan advanced to their first Final Four.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo there is a chance of a Battle of Saskatchewan for the Canada West banner and higher Final 8 seed, and a Battle of Edmonton for bronze and the wild-card ticket for the Final 8.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQuebec's final fours are next weekend. McGill is not going to lose either.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7946050246252963415\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/03\/basketball-aus-canada-west-oua-thread.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7946050246252963415"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7946050246252963415"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/03\/basketball-aus-canada-west-oua-thread.html","title":"Basketball: Dalhousie gets it done, repeats in AUS; MacEwan Griffins game away from W-Final 8"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1393772720855805554"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-27T22:45:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-28T11:45:29.872-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ottawa Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wilson Cup"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"#RPIProblems: Ryerson nabs OUA No. 1 seed due to Brock beating Guelph; tanking appears to have been avoided"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Updated ... since the OUA doesn't go to the fourth digit, Brock (.5128 RPI) and Queen's (.5130 RPI) are technically tied for the sixth seed. The Badgers move up due to having 13 regular-season wins to Queen's 11. Far be it to argue that instead of using a Tie Breaking Policy, the sixth seed could actually go to the team with the better RPI, even if it is by two-ten thousandths of a point.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso, far be it to wonder whether any team contemplated the reality that if you're not a Top 4 bye team, it's really immaterial where you finish. There is a 'shifting deck chairs' aspect to sweating out whether you're fifth, sixth or seventh when you have one more hurdle to get to the OUA Final Four or CIS Final 8 than Ryerson, Ottawa, Carleton and McMaster, which probably also have deeper benches.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock Badgers coach \u003Cb\u003ECharles Kissi \u003C\/b\u003Ehad\u003Cb\u003E Dani Elgadi \u003C\/b\u003Eplay 35 minutes and three other starters play at least 30 (\u003Cb\u003ETyler Brown \u003C\/b\u003Ehad only 22 before fouling out) in their 65-62 win at Guelph, which became RPI-irrelevant since it eliminated the Gryphons.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd as it turned out, Brock would have got sixth if it had lost on Saturday. Their outcome \u0026nbsp;mainly flipped Ryerson above Ottawa for the No. 1 seed, and caused Windsor and Queen's to trade places in the 5 and 7 seeds.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EHere is the official RPI:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s1600\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s640\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo rather than 'pick your poison,' it's more like Kissi was choosing one for \u003Cb\u003ESteph Barrie\u003C\/b\u003E and the Queen's Gaels.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe upshot is no one tanked. So there is that. For comparison's sake, here is how it would have shook out with a Guelph win on Saturday:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_kHvHZA-Mag\/VtJpLJlo1MI\/AAAAAAAADGA\/65h40WLWmZE\/s1600\/OUAwhatifGuelphbeatsBrock.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-_kHvHZA-Mag\/VtJpLJlo1MI\/AAAAAAAADGA\/65h40WLWmZE\/s640\/OUAwhatifGuelphbeatsBrock.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EConvoluted, much? One could put forth an argument that if it is between this and knowing the playoff matchups weeks ahead, then let's create the chaos apace.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe next level from that is that since it's not unheard of for teams in other university sports to rest key players before the playoffs, well, it's not that underhanded to tank in the last week of the regular season to try to exert control over potential matchups. There is a moral difference between tanking when the system rewards it and actual game-fixing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat said, Ontario University Athletics owes it to all concerned to make one simple change: \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003Einclude all 19 teams in the RPI. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003EThis issue would not come up again. It must be noted, though, that in Year 1 of the RPI playoffs, it protected the top four teams, Ottawa, Carleton, Ryerson and Windsor. It didn't this time, since the OUA is more balanced among its top strata of teams and its pretty good teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, mea culpa for not remembering at 11 p.m. Saturday night that the the official RPI didn't go to the fourth digit. Here is what it looked like at CIS Hoops:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-5TFfeHIdbMs\/VtMZ2tW4oBI\/AAAAAAAADGg\/tr0HGBxinIw\/s1600\/OUAMBBRPI-unofficial.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-5TFfeHIdbMs\/VtMZ2tW4oBI\/AAAAAAAADGg\/tr0HGBxinIw\/s640\/OUAMBBRPI-unofficial.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile we're here, here's what would be nice to see as a future format for the power conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGo to a 20-game schedule for all concerned, with the Central, East and North teams having an extra home-and-home against a non-divisional team. It could rotate through over a number of years.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECap winning margins in the 90th percentile to control for the mismatches that are a fact of life throughout regular-season play in CIS, and use Simple Ranking System (SRS) to determine a 12-team playoff field. Whether that continues to involve an even three per division or something more akin to the NHL's divisional format with at-large\/wild-card teams is irrelevant.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EAnyway, hopefully the playoffs are half this frenetic. Put the calculators down and get the popcorn ready.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is a modified bracket. The winner of the 12 vs. 5 game will play the 4 seed on Quarter-Final Weekend; winner of 11 vs. 6 visits the 3 seed, and so on. The OUA re-seeds for the Final Four, which Ryerson is in the driver's seat to host if it defeats either Lakehead or Western.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1393772720855805554\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-ryerson-nabs-oua-no-1-seed.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1393772720855805554"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1393772720855805554"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-ryerson-nabs-oua-no-1-seed.html","title":"#RPIProblems: Ryerson nabs OUA No. 1 seed due to Brock beating Guelph; tanking appears to have been avoided"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-aBK0gNKr2Qw\/VtMREm8yF6I\/AAAAAAAADGQ\/LHt8H-GsRJk\/s72-c\/OUAMBBRPI-official.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6157713659689655389"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-21T13:05:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-21T13:07:10.524-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Final 8"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"RPI"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"#RPIProblems: What Ottawa needs to wrest top seed, OUA Final Four hosting"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Focus up: whether it is Guelph or Lakehead as the OUA Central's third playoff team is \u003Ci\u003Eyugggge.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor fun, time to go to cishoops' \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/cishoops.ca\/mbb2015\/ouarpi-scenario.php?Gender=MBB\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EScenario Consideration page\u003C\/a\u003E, playing with drop-down tabs\u0026nbsp;— \u003Ci\u003ELaurentian over Ottawa? Why not? \u003C\/i\u003E— to see how it would affect the RPI used for playoff seeding.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor a refresher, here is what we are looking at in the event the pre-filled selections all come through during the final week of the regular season:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s1600\/OUARPI.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"424\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s640\/OUARPI.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere should be some discord if, indeed, it comes to pass that 6-13 Toronto and 5-14 Laurentian get in over 9-10 Guelph. The point of an analytics-based playoff seeding was to strip out some of the geographical biases that came up under the old East\/West structure. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is the business we have chosen, though, so here's a handy bullet-pointed listed of games that could turn the table. The RPI-ifications of each game are being considered in a vacuum (i.e., the higher-percentage teams win all of the other games).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMac at Brock, 7:30 Wednesday, Meridian Centre\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003ESt. Kitt's is getting its big-venue game on, and the Badgers will have benefit of a raucous student section. McMaster could vault to fourth in RPI with a win, with the Badgers and Windsor Lancers sliding a slot. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat takes that Mac-Carleton quarter-final out of play.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003ERyerson at Queen's, 8 p.m. Friday\u0026nbsp;—\u003C\/i\u003E Worth noting since \u003Cb\u003ESukhpreet Singh \u003C\/b\u003Eand the Gaels are one of the more intriguing mid-table teams, fomenting a certain alumnus' delusions that Queen's is the sleeping giant of OUA men's basketball. If Queen's somehow, some way turned around a 16-point losing margin from their January game at Mattamy, Ottawa would vault to first with Ryerson second, Carleton third.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ELakehead at Western, 8 p.m. Friday\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003EThe Mustangs probably did the math; a home-floor win potentially creates a playoff rematch with the Thunderwolves in the 9 vs. 8 prelim game. Toronto goes to Queen's in the 10 vs. 7 in that scenario.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ci\u003EMac at Guelph, 8 p.m. Friday; Brock at Guelph, 8 p.m. Saturday\u0026nbsp;— \u003C\/i\u003EWhither the Gryphons after administering comeuppance to \u003Cb\u003EJuwon Grannum\u003C\/b\u003E-less Ryerson?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph owns the tiebreaker against Lakehead, so that playoff spot flips with one Guelph win and Thunderwolves' losses at Western and on Windsor on Saturday. (Prove me wrong, Great Group of Dudes 8.0; prove me wrong.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMac handled Guelph 99-77 at home in January, shooting an effective 56.3 per cent with all five starters hooping at least nine points while \u003Cb\u003ERohan Boney \u003C\/b\u003Escored 18 in as many minutes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf Guelph pulled if off on Friday with Lakehead having a winless weekend:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dSmCBGIOPFg\/Vsn6XuOpzPI\/AAAAAAAADFE\/sMkhr2xecf8\/s1600\/OUA2.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-dSmCBGIOPFg\/Vsn6XuOpzPI\/AAAAAAAADFE\/sMkhr2xecf8\/s640\/OUA2.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENow, in the possibly more plausible scenario that the Gryphons got that all-important tiebreaker-inducing win at the 11th hour against the Badgers, who will have had two full nights off? Ottawa again goes to No. 1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-JjZwjoFPh88\/Vsn752UN8tI\/AAAAAAAADFQ\/WR40genVroA\/s1600\/OUA3.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-JjZwjoFPh88\/Vsn752UN8tI\/AAAAAAAADFQ\/WR40genVroA\/s640\/OUA3.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt pretty much plays out that way in any scenario where Guelph goes to the playoffs and Lakehead is eliminated.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003EHappy hoops-following! \u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6157713659689655389\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-what-ottawa-needs-to-wrest.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6157713659689655389"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6157713659689655389"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/rpiproblems-what-ottawa-needs-to-wrest.html","title":"#RPIProblems: What Ottawa needs to wrest top seed, OUA Final Four hosting"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-jZDAqW-BMN4\/Vsnk4D2nM_I\/AAAAAAAADE0\/54kU7wUAt8s\/s72-c\/OUARPI.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2169718305744202167"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-09T15:34:00.003-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-09T15:36:31.610-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Football"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Football expansion"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Brock names Neil Lumsden AD amid subtle signs of football revival "},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"If you don't believe Neil Lumsden's move to Brock University is football-related, then you probably also hold the deed to the Garden City Skyway bridge.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt is fairly easy to put one and one together. Lumsden, a Canadian football icon, was named the Ontario University Athletics institution's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/gobadgers.ca\/news\/2016\/2\/9\/BB_0209164104.aspx?path=baseball\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Enew director of recreation and athletics on Tuesday\u003C\/a\u003E. Last week, the long-time\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.thespec.com\/sports-story\/6257492-burlington-losing-braves-to-st-kitts\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EBurlington junior program announced that it is pulling up stakes and moving to St. Catharines, effective immediately\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock tried to sell a \"\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/gobadgers.ca\/news\/2016\/2\/9\/BB_0209164104.aspx?path=baseball\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Enot coming\u003C\/a\u003E\" for football fake in its release. Sure, it's not \u003Ci\u003Esolely \u003C\/i\u003Eabout football. Lumsden's sports administration CV goes far beyond the gridiron. The signs are there, though. The existing junior team in the region, the Niagara Spears, who have applied to move up to the Canadian Junior Football League level, also disclosed there were talks about a merger but the \"\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NiagaraSpears\/posts\/1041262015915477?__mref=message_bubble\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Etwo groups just differed too much to see a successful amalgamation\u003C\/a\u003E.\" That suggests having the junior program would be part of developing infrastructure and an convenient recruiting pool when\/if football launches. Carleton also made similar use of junior teams before rejoining OUA football in 2013.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt would take 4-6 years if it were to be done right and done well, but definitely the pieces are in place. There is a lot of football talent in that corner of Southern Ontario, which Guelph, Laurier, McMaster, Western and others have mined very well over the years. The OUA and CIS are each running with the dreaded odd number of football members with 11 and 27 respectively, so no doubt there's some champing at the bit so see that situation get rectified. (And speaking as a fan of CIS, it's better to get to an even-numbered league through expansion rather than a withdrawal.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwelve teams would be a great number for the ever multi-tiered OUA, and Quebec and Canada West at six each, it would address some of the logistics with interlocking regular-season games. Just saying, and just saying there are some lines one can read between here, even if Brock hitting the gridiron might not happen before 2020.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2169718305744202167\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/brock-names-neil-lumsden-ad-amid-subtle.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2169718305744202167"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2169718305744202167"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2016\/02\/brock-names-neil-lumsden-ad-amid-subtle.html","title":"Brock names Neil Lumsden AD amid subtle signs of football revival "}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"sager"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08757652892056684490"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-HoppI3_eGQc\/VrWGl9xFY2I\/AAAAAAAADEA\/ucwvqUnIa7M\/s220\/Neate1379-4x4M.JPG"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3588772736408599509"},"published":{"$t":"2014-02-23T20:21:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-21T21:57:39.053-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball Week In Review"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Bears"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sea-Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vikes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Wesmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Week in Review, Feb. 19–23"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ENext in a series of the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/kenpom.com\/\"\u003Ekenpom-inspired\u003C\/a\u003E Week in Review, and maybe the last one of 2013-14.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest upsets\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EIt's an all-West version of the upsets this week.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: Winnipeg (14%) pushing Victoria to 3 games (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140221_5vog.xml\"\u003EGame 1\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Awful night for the Terrell Evans Watch \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.timescolonist.com\/sports\/vikes-basketball-teams-open-playoffs-on-wrong-foot-1.863786\"\u003Eand his team in general\u003C\/a\u003E, though UVic did pull it together in Games 2 and 3 to move on. (The 14% listed here represents the chance that Victoria wouldn't sweep.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: UBC (2%) pushing Alberta to 3 games (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140221_5vog.xml\"\u003EGame 2\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Winning just one in this series was huge for UBC, going on the road against the third-best team in the country. Winning two of three would have been inexplicable. See below for more on the game they won.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECrazy comebacks\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe teams who should have lost, but didn't.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E3. WBB: Laurier (9.3%) over Brock, Wednesday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140213_91gh.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gcG_V1l8hCA\"\u003Evideo\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. I realize we just had some hockey and curling matches of import, but let's go ahead and say that the Golden Hawks are Canada's Team\u0026trade;. After this win and another on Saturday vs. Western, they're now just one more away from the Final 8, which would be the perfect topper to a ridiculous OUA West season. Entering this game, Laurier had defeated teams who were still alive in the playoffs by 4 (Queen's), 2 (Laval), 1 (Western), and 1 (McMaster). And what happened here? Down 12 with 12 minutes to play, they doubled up 18-9 on Brock in the fourth quarter and won by 5. There is a good chance that Western would be in the Final 8 if the bounces in this game went another way. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.laurierathletics.com\/createarticle.php?ID=5273\"\u003EShades of 2011\u003C\/a\u003E... \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: Western (7.2%) over Lakehead, Wednesday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140219_15ex.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. If, at any point, someone at Western wants to make their wins or losses more \"normal\" or \"boring\" please consider how much enjoyment the rest of us are getting out of this. (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140222_om0l.xml\"\u003EExample of the alternative\u003C\/a\u003E.) In this one the Mustangs were down 5 with two minutes left, then got a three-point play, a three-point shot, and then two more free throws to put it away. Lakehead committed 20 turnovers, three during the crucial stretch at the end.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fMcUz0bd_rs\/Uwqfo2DwycI\/AAAAAAAABQ0\/r5B6ZG7H1S8\/s1600\/MBB_WP_UBC_ALB_20140222.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com\/gadgets\/proxy?url=http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-fMcUz0bd_rs\/Uwqfo2DwycI\/AAAAAAAABQ0\/r5B6ZG7H1S8\/s320\/MBB_WP_UBC_ALB_20140222.png\u0026amp;container=blogger\u0026amp;gadget=a\u0026amp;rewriteMime=image\/*\"\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EMBB: UBC 79 at Alberta 78 (Feb. 22, 2014)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1. MBB: UBC (\u0026lt;0.1%) over Alberta, Saturday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140222_9l1x.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Alberta had a 13-point lead with about four minutes to go (see chart at left), having already \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140221_7dda.xml\"\u003Ewon Game 1 by 20 points\u003C\/a\u003E (though with only a six-point halftime lead). They also had 25 fouls in this game, the 25th and final being the most damaging, as \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/mbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140222_9l1x.xml\"\u003Eit came with no time left and led to the game-winning free throw\u003C\/a\u003E. UBC went to the line 20 times more than Alberta did, and converted on 32 of their 35 attempts. Alberta would then win the third game Sunday 80-67, but it wasn't as one-sided as it looked: they were only up 8 in the last minute. If they are one of the so-called \"teams that could beat Carleton\" then this was, if nothing else, a good series for Carleton.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest changes in SRS rank\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUp: UNB MBB (+7, 36 to 29)\u003C\/b\u003E. Swapping spots, more or less, with St. F-X after beating them and CBU this weekend. There is hardly any space between 29th and 38th, so this change looks bigger than it is.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDown: StFX MBB (-6, 30 to 36)\u003C\/b\u003E. Don't look now but the X-Men have lost five of seven. That just brings \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/cishoops.ca\/history\/top10coaching.php\"\u003EDave Smart's record-breaking game\u003C\/a\u003E a week or so closer.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESlowest game of the week: WBB Ottawa at Carleton, Saturday (65 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton again. Way too many offensive rebounds allowed by Ottawa in a 59-37 loss. \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/championships\/wbkb\/2014\/boxscores_post\/20140222_cml4.xml\"\u003EThere have been better playoff games than this\u003C\/a\u003E. When the winning team is shooting below 40%...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFastest game of the week: MBB MUN at SMU, Friday (101 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother amazing\/invisible performance from \u003Cb\u003EJacob Hynes\u003C\/b\u003E, especially considering the pace of this game: 31 minutes played, zero points, one shot, one rebound, one assist. The fans who shoot at halftime for a campus store gift card get more touches than he does.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETerrell Evans Watch\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs mentioned above, not a lot went right on Friday for Evans and the Vikes. Better on Saturday, with 8 boards and a game-high 18 points. Then 29 points on Sunday. He just wanted to make an entrance, really. He'll have Fraser Valley to deal with next, and then either Saskatchewan or Alberta, then potentially Carleton or the OUA third-place team after that. The Watch will stand on guard throughout. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBest games of the upcoming week\u003C\/b\u003E (all times Eastern)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EFinal 8 play-in games are denoted with * at the beginning. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* MBB: Victoria vs. UFV (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\/\"\u003ECW semifinal, Friday, 6:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* MBB: Ottawa vs. McMaster (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/schedule\/\"\u003EOUA semifinal, Friday, 8:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. The second, and better, of the two Wilson Cup semifinals. If (a) you're in the GTA, and (b) you like basketball, but (c) don't go to these games, then (b) is probably false.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* MBB: Saskatchewan at Alberta (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\/\"\u003ECW semifinal, Friday, 10:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWBB: Saskatchewan at UBC (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\"\u003ECW quarterfinal, Friday 10:00pm, Saturday 8:00pm, Sunday 5:00pm if necessary\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. WBB matchup of the week. The teams ranked ahead of the Huskies are either not playing this week, or are hosting their playoff game(s). Those that \u003Ci\u003Eare\u003C\/i\u003E playing either have already qualified for the Final 8 or aren't facing an opponent as good as UBC. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* MBB: OUA bronze-medal game (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/schedule\/\"\u003ESaturday, 4:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Presuming the entirety of Carleton University doesn't sink into the Rideau this week, this will be Windsor\/McMaster or Windsor\/Ottawa. Either one will be excellent. We will have coverage of the Wilson Cup tournament here, by the way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* WBB: Queen's at Carleton (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ssncanada.ca\/games\/\"\u003EOUA East final, Saturday 6:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Two of the top 10 defences nationwide, and the slowest pace factor in the country from the Ravens. If you like high scores, this game \u003Ci\u003Ereally\u003C\/i\u003E isn't for you. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: CW final (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\/\"\u003ESaturday, TBD\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Likely the \"who doesn't have to play Carleton?\" game. Victoria lost this one last year to UBC; thankfully for them, we know UBC won't be their opponent this time should they make it back there. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E* MBB: AUS final (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.austv.ca\/\"\u003ESunday, 1:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Teams to be determined, obviously, but an important game regardless.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3588772736408599509\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/02\/basketball-week-in-review-feb-19-to-23.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3588772736408599509"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3588772736408599509"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/02\/basketball-week-in-review-feb-19-to-23.html","title":"Basketball: Week in Review, Feb. 19–23"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2277815180962733631"},"published":{"$t":"2014-01-27T21:07:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-21T21:58:48.669-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball Week In Review"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Capers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gaiters"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"WolfPack"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Week in Review, Jan. 21–26"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ENext in a series of the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/index.php\/weblog\/entry\/week_in_review_1_10_1_16\"\u003Ekenpom-inspired\u003C\/a\u003E Week in Review ... \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest upsets\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. WBB: Lakehead (23%) over Brock, Saturday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140125_p0n7.xml\"\u003Ebox\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. There are so many storylines involved with this game. Starting with the positive: \u003Cb\u003EJylisa Williams\u003C\/b\u003E has been phenomenal in her short Thunderwolf career. Through six games, Williams is averaging 21.8 points per game on 45 per cent shooting, both \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/03\/calculated-reactions-top-ccaa-womens.html\"\u003Ebetter than expected\u003C\/a\u003E. She had 20 points in this 63-36 blowout, and grabbed 16 (!!!) rebounds. Williams is listed as a 5-8 guard, yet still outrebounded the Brock starters 16-10 on the game. As for the negatives, the Badgers are collapsing. They are 2-4 in 2014, have fallen out of the CIS top 10 and sit fifth in the OUA West. Topping it off is a recent feud between star \u003Cb\u003ENicole Rosenkranz\u003C\/b\u003E and head coach \u003Cb\u003ESi Khounviseth\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/brocktv.ca\/badgers-den-update-january-15th\/\"\u003Eafter Rosenkranz was benched in a loss to her former team\u003C\/a\u003E. While this Lakehead win seems like an upset now, it may not at the end of the season if they can finish above Brock.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1. MBB: Concordia (22%) over McGill, Thursday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140123_qgud.xml\"\u003Ebox\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. The Redmen suffer another loss, again by the same formula. They conceded 33 free throws to Laval in their first loss and only shot 61.5 per cent themselves. Against Concordia, McGill gave the Stingers 20 attempts and they made 18 of them; McGill was just 18-for-28. \u003Cb\u003EVincent Dufort\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EDele Ogundokun\u003C\/b\u003E combined for 4-15 on the night, which is probably not what you want from your leading scorers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECrazy comebacks\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-trJPi3eVmPI\/UucJ4uj4e-I\/AAAAAAAABP4\/SGWCidmepkQ\/s1600\/WBB_CBU_DAL_WP_20140125.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-trJPi3eVmPI\/UucJ4uj4e-I\/AAAAAAAABP4\/SGWCidmepkQ\/s320\/WBB_CBU_DAL_WP_20140125.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EWBB: Cape Breton 62 at Dalhousie 67 (Jan. 25, 2014)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cb\u003E3. WBB: Laval (3.1%) over Bishop's, Saturday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140125_fxgo.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Bishop's had a 21-3 lead with 2:56 left in the first quarter, but Laval would not lay down. They used defence to claw their way back in, holding Bishop's to four points in the second quarter and six points in the fourth quarter. The Gaiters only made nine baskets after the first quarter and with 1:50 left in the third quarter, Laval took over and did not look back. Bishop's is 0-8 this season, so the comeback is really just sad more than anything.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: Guelph (2.7%) over Laurier, Saturday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140125_5kdt.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. \u003Cb\u003EMax Allin\u003C\/b\u003E knocked down a free throw with 1:46 left in the third and Laurier took a 71-55 lead. It was the low point of the game for the rebuilding Guelph Gryphons, but they would rally back in a committee effort to get the three-point victory. \u003Cb\u003ETrevor Thompson\u003C\/b\u003E, a third-year forward, nailed four free throws in the final 68 seconds to put Guelph up 84-81. It was a wasted effort from \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.chathamdailynews.ca\/2014\/01\/24\/allin-to-play-pro-basketball-in-australia\"\u003Ethe Australia-bound Allin\u003C\/a\u003E, who scored 33 points, including 6-9 from beyond the arc.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1. WBB: Dalhousie (2.3%) over Cape Breton, Saturday (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140125_6ksj.xml?view=plays\"\u003Eplay-by-play\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. In a crucial game, Cape Breton seemed to have it in hand at the half, holding a 35-19 advantage. But Dalhousie shot 18\/28 in the second half, and that combined with a dry spell in the last 4:22 of the game for Cape Breton to give Dal the W. The Tigers would rally from 62-55 to win 67-62. The graph at right does a better job of showing how improbable the comeback was, on multiple occasions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest changes in SRS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESRS, or Simple Ranking System, is the basis for our \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/p\/basketball-team-rankings.html\"\u003Ebasketball team rankings\u003C\/a\u003E. These teams moved the most in the rankings vs. last week.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUp: UBC MBB, +11 (27th to 16th).\u003C\/b\u003E UBC is on the upswing, with a 4-2 record in 2014, but they will still need a great playoff run if they want to make it to nationals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EDown: UNB MBB, +14 (12th to 26th).\u003C\/b\u003E UNB dropping two games to UPEI is what sees the Varsity Reds plummet. Not a good time for that, with each their final five games being worth four points.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESlowest game of the week: MBB Concordia at McGill, Saturday (65 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis was not the comeback game, which was two days earlier. Instead, it was a 70-49 blowout for McGill. This is what you expect from the slowest and fourth-slowest teams in the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFastest game of the week: MBB Lakehead at Brock, Saturday (90 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo rebuilding \u0026mdash; or \"reloading\" if you ask Lakehead coach Scott Morrison \u0026mdash; teams playing at a wicked pace is not surprising. It's a good strategy: hope to catch a team on an off-night, then you shoot the lights out. And maybe, following the women's upset of the Badgers on the same night, Lakehead just wanted to get out of town before anyone noticed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETa'Quan Zimmerman Watch\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETa'Quan Zimmerman is your favourite CIS player; you just don't know it yet. He shoots at a ridiculous clip: 50.5 per cent overall, and 48.6 per cent from three. He is a junior college transfer and is simply playing out of his mind. He only shot 17-37 over the weekend, but had just had three turnovers total. The games over Trinity Western were critical too, because the squads were knotted at 7-7 before Thompson Rivers put together a sweep. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBest games of the upcoming week\u003C\/b\u003E (all times Eastern)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EGames to watch for playoff implications, the closeness of the two teams competing, or the standout individual performances...\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: Acadia at UNB (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/atlanticuniversitysport.com\/links\/bewlnv\"\u003EFriday 7:00pm, Saturday 2:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. UNB could really flip the AUS on its head if they can beat Acadia twice, but even splitting the games would be a positive.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: Ottawa at Ryerson (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/stats.oua.ca\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/ryerson.portal#\"\u003EFriday 8:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. This is the marquee match-up of the weekend, really. Ryerson could be an opponent for Ottawa in the playoffs, but the Rams have not looked the same this year and a home victory over Ottawa would be massive.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: Carleton at Ryerson (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/stats.oua.ca\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/ryerson.portal#\"\u003ESaturday 8:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Ryerson got tagged with a 118-65 loss last time around, though they did not have a full roster that game. There is potential for a revenge game, but it is unlikely, given that the Ravens have \u003Cb\u003EPhil Scrubb\u003C\/b\u003E and a cast of thousands.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: McGill at Bishop's (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/live.streamit.ca\/?player=2129\"\u003ESaturday 8:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. It's the second of a double-header and both teams are 6-2. The second game is listed because McGill's favoured in both so the home-court advantage for the Gaiters makes this one slightly more equal. It has the potential to be the most important conference game of the year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: Victoria at Lethbridge (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\"\u003ESaturday 9:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. If Lethbridge could add a win over Victoria, it would be their third regular season win over a top-ten ranked team. They have defeated Alberta and Saskatchewan before, but a third win over No. 3 UVic bodes well for their potential chances at a wild card berth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: Winnipeg at TRU (\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\"\u003ESaturday 10:00pm\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/b\u003E. Ta'Quan Zimmerman takes on an average defence in the Winnipeg Wesmen. What's dangerous (or fun, depending on who you cheer for) is that Winnipeg gives up a three-point percentage of 37.7 per cent, tied for highest in the conference. Ta'Quan should be fun to watch.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2277815180962733631\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/01\/basketball-week-in-review-jan-2126.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2277815180962733631"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2277815180962733631"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/01\/basketball-week-in-review-jan-2126.html","title":"Basketball: Week in Review, Jan. 21–26"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Scott Hastie"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08081415078301065374"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-trJPi3eVmPI\/UucJ4uj4e-I\/AAAAAAAABP4\/SGWCidmepkQ\/s72-c\/WBB_CBU_DAL_WP_20140125.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8825354477154652241"},"published":{"$t":"2014-01-19T21:48:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-06-21T21:59:00.128-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball Week In Review"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sea-Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"UBC Thunderbirds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vikes"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: Week in Review, Jan. 14–19"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ETaking a page (i.e., blatantly stealing) \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/index.php\/weblog\/entry\/week_in_review_1_10_1_16\"\u003Efrom Ken Pomeroy\u003C\/a\u003E ... \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest upsets\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThere are many more teams in NCAA than CIS so we have to extend our definition of \"upset\" a little bit more up here (kenpom uses anyone who was less than 10% likely to win).\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E3. WBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140117_w2bx.xml\"\u003ELakehead over Western\u003C\/a\u003E (24%), Saturday.\u003C\/b\u003E You often hear it said that the Thunderdome is a tough place to play. Well, anywhere is tough when your opponent is the Great Group of Dudes [Teammates]. This is not the GGOD[T]s; the women's team has played eight games at home this year and this was their first win against a non-Waterloo team. A really bad shooting night for the Mustangs all around and they didn't figure it out until it was too late: they scored 20 in the fourth, more than any other two quarters put together.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140118_05ft.xml\"\u003EMemorial over UNB\u003C\/a\u003E (23%), Saturday.\u003C\/b\u003E \u003Cb\u003EJavon Masters\u003C\/b\u003E missed four shots in the last 2:30 of this game (it was tied at 74 with 2:36 to go), part of a brutal 4\/19, 12-point night from him. He and the Reds bounced back the next day, though, going from 40% in effective field-goal percentage to 52% (they average about 47%, for context) and winning by 17.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1. WBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140117_i967.xml\"\u003EToronto over Ottawa\u003C\/a\u003E (19%), Friday.\u003C\/b\u003E A season low in points scored for Ottawa U. 16-second half points won't get you many wins unless you had 46 in the first half. U of T had a brutal schedule to start the year and have since won 4 of 6 against their division-mates. They could very well make a run at a first-round bye but it would require more games like this. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECrazy comebacks\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe teams who came back from the dead. Or at least back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JpXYFijUqTs\/Ut9PzkY00jI\/AAAAAAAABPs\/R3BB2XUKaeg\/s1600\/20140118_LAV_CON_MBB_WP.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JpXYFijUqTs\/Ut9PzkY00jI\/AAAAAAAABPs\/R3BB2XUKaeg\/s320\/20140118_LAV_CON_MBB_WP.png\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EMBB: Laval 57 at Concordia 62 (Jan. 18, 2014)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cb\u003E3. WBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140117_i967.xml?view=plays\"\u003EToronto (5%) over Ottawa\u003C\/a\u003E, Friday.\u003C\/b\u003E Only fitting that the biggest upset had a big comeback. It was 35-20 for Ottawa with 6:30 to play in the third. Here are Toronto's points scored on each possession from there to the end of the quarter: 2, 2, 2, 3, 0, 2, 2, 2, 2. An ORtg of 189? Yeah, that'll do. Ottawa, in the same time frame, went turnover, turnover, miss, miss, miss, miss (no offensive rebounds during any of those), turnover, then finally 1\/2 from the line. They didn't make a basket for almost a nine-minute period. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E2. MBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140117_h73v.xml?view=plays\"\u003EWestern (4%) over Lakehead\u003C\/a\u003E, Friday.\u003C\/b\u003E Back-to-back threes early in the fourth started a 10-0 run that put the Thunderwolves up 68-56 with 6:57 left. They would only make two more baskets in the rest of the game, going 2\/7 to Western's 8\/11. (Eight for 11!)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E1. MBB: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140118_b5uy.xml?view=plays\"\u003EConcordia (3%) over Laval\u003C\/a\u003E, Saturday\u003C\/b\u003E (\u003Ci\u003Esee chart, at right\u003C\/i\u003E). Down 45-29 with 3:15 to go in the third quarter, the Stingers somehow pulled this one out, going on two separate 14-4 runs to tie it with about three minutes to go in the fourth. And while we're here: Laval also blew their chance in \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140116_u38f.xml?view=plays\"\u003Ethe first game of the home-and-home\u003C\/a\u003E, up 9 midway through the second and losing by 10 (merely an 80% chance of winning at their peak in that one, not the 97% they had here).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiggest weekly increases in SRS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESRS, or Simple Ranking System, is the basis for our \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/p\/basketball-team-rankings.html\"\u003Ebasketball team rankings\u003C\/a\u003E. These teams improved their ranking the most vs. last week.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWBB: Calgary, +5 (up to 16th from 21st).\u003C\/b\u003E Staying within three points on average of the 5th-ranked team is not so bad when you're 21st to begin with.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMBB: UBC, +8 (up to 19th from 27th).\u003C\/b\u003E Safe to say it's an off-year for the perennial contender. They weren't often in the 20s in January in previous years. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESlowest game of the week: WBB \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/wbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140118_i9jq.xml\"\u003EToronto at Carleton\u003C\/a\u003E, Saturday (67 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA classic Carleton pace. Both Raven teams are now legendary, for very specific meanings of the word \"legendary,\" for slowing down the pace. The women's team came into this one averaging 70 per game, lowest in the country. Last year they averaged 70.5. Lowest in the country. 2011-12: 72.5, falling all the way down to third-slowest. You can almost see the Ravens and their short bench just hanging on in this game: up 15 at the half, then 13 after three, then just 1 when time ran out.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFastest game of the week: MBB \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140115_ahg8.xml\"\u003ELaurier at Brock\u003C\/a\u003E, Wednesday (91 possessions)\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen the \u003Ci\u003Elosing\u003C\/i\u003E team scores 88 there probably wasn't much pack-line defence going on. 71 points total in the fourth quarter alone, which works out to one point every 8.5 seconds. Ironically, this fast-paced game probably took a long time to finish: the last five minutes saw 25 trips to the line, the first one coming when it was already a 13-point deficit for Brock.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETerrell Evans Watch\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe kenpom version focuses on Alan Williams, UCSB's \"undersized center [who] piles up stats like nobody else\" and is \"ignored by scouts and media alike.\" We'll draft in another product of the American Southwest now playing on the west coast: UVic's Evans, who despite being second in the country in our player rankings last year \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/03\/basketball-our-2012-13-player-rankings.html\"\u003Ewas only given a second-team conference all-star spot\u003C\/a\u003E. Future editions of the Watch will rotate among other favourites.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEvans faced lowly UNBC this week and had \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140117_bqwl.xml\"\u003E19 and 13 in the Friday game\u003C\/a\u003E, then \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/sports\/mbkb\/2013-14\/boxscores\/20140118_idj5.xml\"\u003E25 points on Saturday\u003C\/a\u003E, missing only five shots total in that game. He's now up to a PER of 34.0 on the year, third behind \u003Cb\u003EPhil Scrubb\u003C\/b\u003E and teammate \u003Cb\u003EChris McLaughlin\u003C\/b\u003E, though he is averaging 32 minutes per game to their 27 and 29.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBest games of the upcoming week\u003C\/b\u003E (all times Eastern)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThese are based on the same odds that are used for our upset games from above — we just take the opposite, and look for the closest games on paper, between two good teams. Only games with webcasts are listed; those schools who don't show their basketball teams' games are kindly encouraged to get on board already.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/links\/yq66oe\"\u003EMBB: Carleton vs. Ottawa\u003C\/a\u003E (Tuesday, 8:00pm)\u003C\/b\u003E. Like you need to be told.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/links\/zy2phm\"\u003EWBB: Windsor at Western\u003C\/a\u003E (Wednesday, 6:00pm)\u003C\/b\u003E. The first of ... two? three? maybe even four? ... well, the first of multiple matches between Windsor and Western this year, anyway. Windsor's lapping the field pretty easily early on in OUA play; at least this one has home-court advantage for the Mustangs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/links\/90w9mh\"\u003EMBB: Laurentian at Ryerson\u003C\/a\u003E (Friday, 8:00pm)\u003C\/b\u003E. Lots of OUA teams here, but that's just how the schedule goes this week (and, for that matter, how the rankings are set up). Here we have two top-10 OUA East teams...no, the other ones.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/client.stretchinternet.com\/client\/canadawest.portal\"\u003EWBB: Calgary at Alberta\u003C\/a\u003E (Friday 8:00pm, Saturday 7:00pm)\u003C\/b\u003E. The second of two weeks where Calgary plays top-10 teams from their division. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/links\/90w9mh\"\u003EWBB: Western at McMaster\u003C\/a\u003E (Saturday, 1:00pm)\u003C\/b\u003E. Losses to Laurier and Lakehead in recent weeks mean this stretch is pretty important for UWO. (Next week, they get Guelph and Waterloo at home. Next week, they will not be in the \"best games\" section.)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8825354477154652241\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/01\/basketball-week-in-review-jan-1419.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8825354477154652241"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8825354477154652241"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2014\/01\/basketball-week-in-review-jan-1419.html","title":"Basketball: Week in Review, Jan. 14–19"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-JpXYFijUqTs\/Ut9PzkY00jI\/AAAAAAAABPs\/R3BB2XUKaeg\/s72-c\/20140118_LAV_CON_MBB_WP.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3988525951823667365"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-01-19T22:11:13.770-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"statistics"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: How the OUA season could play out "},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Inspired somewhat by \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/index.php\/weblog\/entry\/in_season_tournament_log5_analysis\"\u003EKen Pomeroy's tournament odds\u003C\/a\u003E \u0026mdash; everything I do is inspired somewhat by something Ken Pomeroy did \u0026mdash; here are the odds of each OUA team finishing the regular season in each playoff spot. Game results as of Wed Nov 27 are included and the rest are simulated. (For those who are interested in the details, the simulations are based on our team rankings and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Log5\"\u003Ethe log5 method\u003C\/a\u003E, with the season being simulated thousands of times to smooth out the outliers.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EWOMEN\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cfont size=3\u003E\u003Cpre\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWest 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elim\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E 1 WSR 99.2 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E 9 UWO 0.6 64.2 21.3 9.8 4.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E11 MAC 0.1 12.7 28.3 31.0 27.3 0.6 0.0\u003Cbr \/\u003E17 WLU 0.0 9.7 21.5 29.2 38.6 0.9 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E 7 BRO 0.0 12.6 28.9 29.7 27.6 1.1 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E36 LAK 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.5 44.1 54.3\u003Cbr \/\u003E24 GUE 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.0 52.2 46.7\u003Cbr \/\u003E41 WAT 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 98.9\u003C\/pre\u003E\u003C\/font\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock's 5-4 in league games, losing all four games by no more than four points or in OT (or both). That is a pretty brutal and unlucky start to the season, if I may say so. As a result their chances of finishing higher in the OUA West are reduced, even if they are still ranked highly.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern's win Wednesday night helped them get a leg up on the others here, but they were already pretty high by virtue of their high ranking and 7-1 record against the East (Mac went 6-2, Brock 5-3, and Laurier's ranked a bit lower).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOntario will have three spots at the Final 8 this year, so finishing in a spot to avoid Windsor for as long as possible in the playoffs is key for any OUA West team. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cfont size=3\u003E\u003Cpre\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEast 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elim\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E10 OTT 79.8 15.9 4.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0\u003Cbr \/\u003E14 CAR 13.3 54.1 31.1 1.3 0.1 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E19 QUE 6.9 29.6 60.5 2.8 0.2 0.0 0.0\u003Cbr \/\u003E37 RYE 0.0 0.3 2.6 44.3 33.5 14.5 4.8\u003Cbr \/\u003E27 TOR 0.0 0.1 1.3 37.8 33.4 18.5 8.9\u003Cbr \/\u003E35 YOR 0.0 0.0 0.2 9.5 21.3 40.5 28.5\u003Cbr \/\u003E40 LAU 0.0 0.0 0.1 4.3 11.6 26.5 57.5\u003Cbr \/\u003E45 ALG 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0\u003C\/pre\u003E\u003C\/font\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe East is a little more competitive at the top, as you'd expect with the half of the conference that \u003Ci\u003Edoesn't\u003C\/i\u003E have Windsor. Three teams have a reasonable chance at the No. 1 seed, with Saturday's game having a lot of say in that outcome. Should Ottawa win at Carleton, they'll pretty much have it clinched (about a 90% chance); if they lose, their chances drop to around 55%. Of course they are exceedingly likely to grab a high seed either way.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EMEN\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cfont size=3\u003E\u003Cpre\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWest 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elim\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E 6 WSR 67.7 27.9 4.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E10 MAC 30.8 58.8 9.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E15 WLU 1.3 12.1 66.9 14.7 4.6 0.3 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E23 LAK 0.1 0.8 13.1 47.4 26.0 9.6 3.0\u003Cbr \/\u003E28 GUE 0.0 0.3 5.5 26.4 43.9 17.0 6.9\u003Cbr \/\u003E40 UWO 0.0 0.0 0.5 8.0 15.5 41.5 34.5\u003Cbr \/\u003E39 BRO 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.4 7.3 22.8 68.2\u003Cbr \/\u003E42 WAT 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.0 2.7 8.8 87.4\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEast 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elim\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E 1 CAR 98.5 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E 2 OTT 1.3 88.1 9.8 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E 5 RYE 0.1 9.6 74.6 13.8 1.7 0.1 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E11 LAU 0.0 0.8 12.7 70.7 11.9 3.8 0.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E19 YOR 0.0 0.0 1.5 8.7 49.5 36.4 3.9\u003Cbr \/\u003E20 QUE 0.0 0.0 1.3 6.0 35.7 50.6 6.4\u003Cbr \/\u003E35 TOR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 6.9 92.1\u003Cbr \/\u003E44 ALG 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 2.1 97.7\u003C\/pre\u003E\u003C\/font\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe last time both Warriors teams made the playoffs was 2004-05, coincidentally* right before I started my first year there. Maybe it's time for them to take down the world's tiniest picture of the Queen. She can't be too pleased with what she's been seeing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(* Or not?...)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor those wondering how the point-differential-in-home-and-home-games tiebreaker is handled...well, it isn't. Any two (or more) teams with equal head-to-head records have their ties broken randomly. It is difficult to predict exactly what the score will be in any game, so it's not that far off to assume it's equally likely to go either way, especially if you assume the teams are close enough in quality to be tied in the first place. But the pure win-loss tiebreakers are themselves incorporated here, so the Western women are up 1-0 on Brock already and it shows up in their odds to some degree. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe effort needled to handle the varying conference tiebreakers correctly is why this is just OUA teams for now. Other conferences will follow, time permitting.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3988525951823667365\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/basketball-how-oua-season-could-play-out.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3988525951823667365"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3988525951823667365"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/basketball-how-oua-season-could-play-out.html","title":"Basketball: How the OUA season could play out "}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-7901548626500082250"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-22T15:54:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-22T15:54:22.904-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Track and Field"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Women"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Track \u0026 Field: Gryphons start off with a bang!"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The CIS track \u0026 field season officially kicked off on Friday, November 15th with the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.trackie.com\/track-and-field\/Results\/2013-zoltan-tenke-classic\/2390\/\"\u003EZoltan Tenke Classic\u003C\/a\u003E, hosted by the University of Guelph. The Classic is an annual but low-key event that opens up each season for the Guelph Gryphons, the powerhouse of CIS cross-country and track \u0026 field.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph is coming off yet another successful cross-country season, as both the men's and women's teams took first place. Since head coach \u003Cb\u003EDave Scott-Thomas\u003C\/b\u003E took over the program in 2005, his teams have won eight consecutive cross-country national titles. Their winning ways on the trails have also carried over to the track. The men won national track \u0026 field titles in 2008, 2010 and 2013, while the women took home top honours in 2008. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlso at the meet along with the Gryphons were representatives from the Waterloo, Brock and a few independents \u0026mdash; all of whom were also kicking off their indoor seasons.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDue to the timing of the meet and the number of participants, there were only six track events; 60m, 1000m and 3000m for both men and women.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile the field events (long jump, high jump, pole vault, weight throw and shot put) were mixed, which put the athletes in the unusual situation of having to compete against the opposite gender.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs expected, the hosts dominated, winning nine of the eleven events. The Gryphons won all of the female track events and swept the field events, but struggled by their standards in the male races.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMo Yassin\u003C\/b\u003E of Waterloo took home first place in the 60m dash. The third-year engineering student finished 6th last year at the OUA championships in that event.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn what was the most exciting race of the day, \u003Cb\u003ETommy Land\u003C\/b\u003E beat out Guelph teammate \u003Cb\u003EAdam Rowles\u003C\/b\u003E by one-hundredth of a second in the 1000m.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn the 3000m, heavily favoured \u003Cb\u003EAaron Hendrikx\u003C\/b\u003E was upset by the relatively unknown \u003Cb\u003EMatt Jurysta\u003C\/b\u003E of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/speedriver\"\u003ESpeed River TFC\u003C\/a\u003E. Hendrikx is considered one of the top distance runners in the country, winning the 2013 cross-country championships (he was also the CIS Male Athlete of the Week at the time of the race).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother surprise came in the weight throw, as \u003Cb\u003ESarah Dougherty\u003C\/b\u003E beat two male competitors to finish second. Her personal-best throw of 16.46 metres was just a bit too short to top fellow Gryphon \u003Cb\u003EBrent Roubos\u003C\/b\u003E’ mark of 16.63m.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe high jump was also an event of note. Rookie \u003Cb\u003ESean Cate\u003C\/b\u003E won with a jump of 2.07 metres which, according to the Gryphons’ website, is the second best mark in school history.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile Guelph was winning some serious hardware, nearly 1,800 kilometres away in Halifax, another meet was taking place. The Saint Mary’s Open started the year for athletes from Saint Mary’s, St. F-X, Dalhousie and Acadia. StFX won the event, but the Tigers had more first place finishes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUpcoming events on the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.trackie.com\/CIS\/TNF\/Calendar\/\"\u003ECIS track and field calendar\u003C\/a\u003E include:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENov. 29 – University of Toronto Blue and White\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENov. 30 – McGill Martlet Invitational\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENov. 30 – Western Season Opener\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENov. 30 – York Xmas Open\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/7901548626500082250\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/track-field-gryphons-start-off-with-bang.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7901548626500082250"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/7901548626500082250"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/track-field-gryphons-start-off-with-bang.html","title":"Track \u0026 Field: Gryphons start off with a bang!"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Graham Neysmith"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18087411272443037026"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8020016309213055041"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-05T11:38:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-05T19:07:39.285-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Algoma Thunderbirds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Gaels"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ryerson Rams"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Blues"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Voyageurs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Tiers of the OUA: A Men's Basketball Season Preview"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"For the 2013-14 OUA preview, I've divided all the teams up into tiers. Ontario is deep this year with four teams being in the conversation for nationals. There are other teams who could surprise too, if they get a few lucky bounces and some transfers pan out. Then, we have some programs floundering in the basement without a shred of hope of making noise. For each team, I've given a projected finish and a player to watch. That player is a combination of on-court entertainment while also being a barometer for the success a team will have. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECIS Title Contenders\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003ECarleton Ravens\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere is no weakness in the Ravens’ game. Sure, their jerseys are lacking in creativity, but that’s the most significant criticism I can find. The team that claimed its ninth CIS title in 11 seasons this past year, Carleton will put more distance between themselves and the rest of the pack come March 2014.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBehind \u003Cb\u003ETyson Hinz\u003C\/b\u003E, the \u003Cb\u003EScrubb\u003C\/b\u003E brothers, and transfer \u003Cb\u003EVictor Raso\u003C\/b\u003E there is just no way another team beats these guys. We’re talking about a team that nearly beat the Syracuse Orange.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPhil Scrubb\u003C\/b\u003E is the best player in the country — this much is tough to debate and until he shows any signs of slowing down, Carleton is a lock to compete for the W.P. McGee Trophy. Scrubb led the conference in PER (with Tyson Hinz and \u003Cb\u003EThomas Scrubb\u003C\/b\u003E right behind him) and he shoots 47 per cent on two point shots and 41 per cent on three point shots. (Unless otherwise specified, all statistics refer to the 2012-13 season.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year, Dave Smart orchestrated the best offence and defence in the country. Not just the OUA — the entire CIS. The Ottawa Gee-Gees had an offensive rating of 107, second in the country to Carleton’s 122 (!). The gap between the Ravens and the field for defensive was closer — Carleton put up a defensive rating of 84, with the next closest figure being 89 from the Ryerson Rams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton owns the best REB% in the league at 41 per cent. They get to the line at a great pace – second to McMaster – and shoot the highest 78 per cent at the charity stripe. The Ravens hold teams to a 40 per cent eFG% too. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you haven’t caught on yet, Carleton can do it all and their key players all fall somewhere in the top ten in the nation. Expect another dominating season from the Ravens.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Phil Scrubb. I just want to know what this guy’s ceiling is. He opened the year with 38 points on 13 shots through two games. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: CIS Finals – Wilson Cup Champions\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EWindsor Lancers\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is a veteran team. \u003Cb\u003EJosh Collins\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EEnrico Diloreto\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003ELien Phillip\u003C\/b\u003E are all in their fifth year of eligibility. They are this year’s version of the 2012-13 Lakehead Thunderwolves, relying on experience through the long season. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWindsor’s strength lies in their defence, which plays a suffocating press that forces turnovers at the highest rate in the conference. Phillip grabs 28% of the Lancers’ defensive rebounds, good for No.1 in that category. He’s also a highly capable defender on the block and while not a player who blocks shots (he only had 14 blocks last season), Phillip can bother shots in a help situation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe concern for this team will be how they function on offence. \u003Cb\u003EMichael Petrella\u003C\/b\u003E played a ton of minutes at guard for the Lancers last year, but with his departure, Windsor has to look elsewhere to get the ball moving on offence. Collins is a top-level point guard, great at distributing the ball to his teammates. His average of 4.1 assists per game put him at 15th in the country. But the issue here is his turnovers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe talented teams in the OUA prey on turnovers, and if you can’t control turnovers — as Collins has shown — you’re not going to win. Last year, take a look at the OUA teams who made it to the CIS Final 8: Lakehead, with Greg Carter and Dwyane Harvey leading the charge; Carleton, with the Scrubb brothers and Clinton Springer Williams wreaking havoc on ball-handlers; Ottawa, with Johnny Berhanemeskel and Warren Ward finishing top-five in total steals, and the Lancers. Windsor as a team has a low TOV% (20 per cent) but Collins owns a 24 per cent TOV%. It’s tough to build a successful offence around that, proven by their lowly 98 O-Rtg. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother key to shoring up their offence will be reigning in Diloreto. He’s a talented offensive player, but he shoots an abysmal eFG% of 44 per cent. His shooting is only compounded by his USG%, which ranks 13th in the league among qualified players. If coach \u003Cb\u003EChris Oliver\u003C\/b\u003E can move some of those possessions to \u003Cb\u003ERotimi Osuntola Jr.\u003C\/b\u003E - a hyper-efficient guard with range - Windsor should be able to come out on top of the OUA West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELastly, they need to improve in all areas of free throws — both getting to the line and knocking them down. Their free throw to field goal attempted ratio is second worst in the OUA (to Western), and their free throw percentage is the worst, at 65%. If they can do a better job at getting to the line and setting up that hellacious press that Oliver has crafted, the O-Rtg should improve greatly.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Lien Phillip - Professional-level talent, will be key to maintaining their defence. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Medal at the CIS Championship - potential Wilson Cup finalist\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EContenders for a Final 8 berth\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EMcMaster Marauders\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe talk in Hamilton has been about nationals, and I think that’s a fair conversation to have.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAdam Presutti\u003C\/b\u003E had a rough sophomore season, riddled with injuries causing him to never catch on in the lineup. Outside of that, McMaster’s roster all made significant strides; \u003Cb\u003EJoe Rocca\u003C\/b\u003E become a reliable offensive weapon, \u003Cb\u003ETaylor Black\u003C\/b\u003E emerged as one of the best players in the conference (and nation), \u003Cb\u003ERohan Boney\u003C\/b\u003E won a Rookie of the Year award and \u003Cb\u003ENathan McCarthy\u003C\/b\u003E proved himself to be a top defensive big man. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith all of those players back, the Marauders seemed poised to build off a good season in 2012-13. It started off rough, with only two wins and five losses after the interlock period. But the team would turn it around and finish 13-8 and were this close to getting to the Final Four before succumbing to Lakehead in the Thunderdome. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcMaster had an average offence, but that was largely a product of Boney and Redpath having to take control when Presutti missed games. When the 2011 CIS Rookie of the Year did play however, he improved the offence with his playmaking ability. Presutti posted a 26 per cent AST% last season, good for second in the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhere McMaster hangs their hat is on defense, and don’t expect a regression there. Boney is a great defender, Black and McCarthy can handle nearly any frontcourt and head coach \u003Cb\u003EAmos Connolly\u003C\/b\u003E has added some other talent to beef up the defense. \u003Cb\u003ETrevon McNeil\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EHamid Nessek\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003ELeon Alexander\u003C\/b\u003E — all in their first year with the program — are solid players who are overwhelming when defending the perimeter. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBlack could take the next step and be in the conversation for an All-Canadian spot. He posted the best PER for players not from Carleton and has shown a knack for scoring at the right time and taking over quarters.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’m very high on this team because I’ve already said a couple hundred words about them and haven’t even talked about some players who won't be playing major minutes for them. They lost \u003Cb\u003EScott Laws\u003C\/b\u003E, an emotional leader for the team, but as the team matures, they should have been able to replace the void.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey’ll need to knock off a ranked team to get to the CIS Final 8, but don’t be surprised if they do. This team is ten players deep and capable of playing with any team in the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Taylor Black. He is only in his fourth year of eligibility and has already made noise through the beginning of this season. Just how good can he be?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Second in the OUA West, potential Wilson Cup finalist.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EOttawa Gee-Gees\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith the departure of \u003Cb\u003EWarren Ward\u003C\/b\u003E — a player who received NBA camp invites and praise from professional hoops writers — \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ottawacitizen.com\/sports\/Former+Warren+Ward+signs+deal+Germany\/8737365\/story.html\"\u003Eto Germany\u003C\/a\u003E, it’s easy to sweep the Gee-Gees out of the conversation. But there is more to the Garnet and Grey than Ward. \u003Cb\u003EJohnny Berhanemeskel\u003C\/b\u003E is the league-leader in three-pointers made, \u003Cb\u003EVikas Gill\u003C\/b\u003E is an efficient option to take some more of the offensive load and \u003Cb\u003EMike L’Africain\u003C\/b\u003E has been stellar through the Gee-Gees undefeated pre-season. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo say L’Africain struggled through his sophomore season is putting things gently. Offensively, he was unable to be efficient while playing off Ward’s double teams and was an average defender with a D-Rtg of 98. But L’Africain has all the tools to be an effective point guard for an electric offence. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHead coach \u003Cb\u003EJames Derouin\u003C\/b\u003E has looked to increase the tempo of the game, and that lends to L’Africain’s ball handling abilities and decision-making. Last year, the second-year guard finished 16th in the OUA for assists. Playing alongside Gill and Berhanemeskel gives L’Africain two lethal weapons on the perimeter, so his assist numbers should improve this year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI mentioned earlier that the Ottawa offence is second in the conference and while it will regress due to the loss of Ward, it will still be up there with the best. The defence is what’s suspect here.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMatt Nelson\u003C\/b\u003E, a six-foot-nine centre, hardly played last year after suffering multiple injuries. In fact, he even doesn’t show up on the CIS roster for last year’s team. But he’ll be the key to keeping the Gee-Gees defence in the upper echelon of the OUA ranks. Ottawa played a small-ball rotation, with Gill at six-foot-seven being the largest player on the court. While this rotation led them to a CIS bronze, it’s hard to imagine this being sustainable after losing a strong perimeter defender in Ward. If Nelson can come in and become a fearsome paint presence, Ottawa’s defence could take a leap. But that’s a tall task for a second-year player with minimal on-court experience. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother key piece to the defensive puzzle is \u003Cb\u003ECaleb Agada\u003C\/b\u003E, who showed himself to have a little something during the Gee-Gees CIS Final 8 run. He has been getting a lot of minutes early in the season and I'm bullish on his perimeter defence being able to slow some offences down.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENelson should have time to grow, however. Last year, Derouin had his team forcing opponents into difficult shots, gang-rebounding and forcing turnovers. All of those skills do not require height; they require extreme amounts of will and no player missing a beat. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Derouin behind the bench, L’Africain poised to become a top OUA point guard and the majority of the parts from a CIS medal finish still in tact, the Gee-Gees could be in the hunt for a CIS wild card berth.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Mike L’Africain. With Ward gone, someone will have to take over on offense and orchestrate. Can L'Africain pick up the slack? My quick answer is yes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: potentially in the OUA bronze medal game - CIS wild card conversation\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003ERyerson Rams\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou could make the case for Ryerson to be a CIS contender. They have the pieces; they only lost one player from last year’s team and added some intriguing talent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut I’m pessimistic about this Rams squad. Their offence earned a pedestrian O-Rtg of 100 despite having \u003Cb\u003EJahmal Jones\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EAaron Best\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EJordan Gauthier\u003C\/b\u003E. Those players though, might be the reason that their offence struggled. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBoth Best and Jones have been efficient on two-point shot attempts: Best shot 55 per cent from inside the arc while Jones shot 45 per cent last year. That figure from Jones is a dip in production from his first three years in OUA play, when he shot 48.3 per cent in 2011-12 and a scorching 52.4 per cent in 2010-11. His shot totals through those years were all within 11 FGA of each other. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGauthier shot 51 per cent on non-threes last year, but 122 of 266 shot attempts were threes last year, where he only made 40 — or 32 per cent of his attempts.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt’s the three-point shots that are killing the Rams. Through twenty games last year, 38 per cent of Ryerson’s shots were threes and they only shot 29.0 per cent behind the arc. That’s a lot of threes for a team that isn’t particularly good at it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETeams with similar three-point shot rates? Carleton with 39.5 per cent and Ottawa with 39.7 per cent. But those squads are really, really good at threes. The Ravens knocked down 40.2 per cent of threes and Ottawa knocked down 40.1 per cent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’m not saying that Ryerson should abandon the three-point shot. My point is that they’ll need to make better decisions in the half court. The three aforementioned guards lead the team in USG% and if they want to make it to the Final 8 tournament, head coach \u003Cb\u003ERoy Rana\u003C\/b\u003E is going to have to reign their shooting in. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstead, they should look to \u003Cb\u003EBjorn Michaelsen\u003C\/b\u003E. He is a solid big man and shoots a team-best eFG% of 56 per cent. He is polished in the post and should receive more touches than he did last year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyerson is capable of making nationals, but it will take a major shift in player tendencies to get there. Can Rana change the established player styles of his three guards?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Aaron Best. In his third year, he has the opportunity to climb into the top five scorers of the OUA. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: potentially in the OUA bronze medal game - Wild card conversation\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EUp-and-comers\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003ELaurentian Voyageurs\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EManny Pasquale\u003C\/b\u003E is gone, but this team has the ability to rework itself and make noise in the OUA East. Don’t expect them to be challenging Ottawa or Carleton at the top of the standings, but they should have upset potential in the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGeorges Serresse\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EJamie Weldon\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EStephen Williams\u003C\/b\u003E have all moved on from the program but \u003Cb\u003EJosh Budd\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003ENelson Yengue\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003ETychon Carter-Newman\u003C\/b\u003E should have no issues filling those minutes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBudd has already shown a scoring prowess, leading the team in scoring over Waterloo in the season opener. Carter-Newman is a defensive monster and able to clean up some plays on the offensive glass too. Nelson Yengue didn’t use a ton of offensive possessions last year, but made good on the times he did, shooting a 52 per cent eFG%.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis team is balanced, with an O-Rtg and D-Rtg of 101. \u003Cb\u003EAlex Ratte\u003C\/b\u003E had a great year last year while leading the team in USG%, but it’ll be interesting to see how the loss of Pasquale impacts the defenders he faces. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’m buying Voyageur stock because of that Sudbury advantage and returning players who are capable of filling in for the losses. The only thing that worries me about this team is what happens when Ratte has an off night or takes on an elite defender. Who takes on the shooting responsibilities? It looks like Budd, but he only averaged 7.2 points a game last year in 24 minutes per game. Will he be able to carry the offence?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Josh Budd. I hinted at it before, but I’m really curious to see if the fourth-year can take these offensive units to new heights in the post-Pasquale era.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Third in OUA East\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EQueen’s Golden Gaels\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQueen’s has never made the national tournament. For a school with rich history and enough spirit to support a handful of OUA competitors, that’s a jarring fact. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the Gaels seem to be building towards something now. Last year, rookies \u003Cb\u003ESukhpreet Singh\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003ERoshane Roberts\u003C\/b\u003E were second and third in minutes played per game. Fourth-year \u003Cb\u003EGreg Faulkner\u003C\/b\u003E led the team in minutes and scoring before going down with an injury. His strong debut in tricolour after transferring from Carleton put Queen’s at 6-3 heading into the winter break. The wheels fell off later in the season, going 1-4 in their final five games without Faulkner to finish 10-10.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt’s those outstanding rookies that put the Gaels in the up-and-coming conversation. Both were thrust into high usage situations, tasked with carrying the offence. The adjustment from high school to the OUA got the best of the two, with Singh putting up an eFG% of 46 per cent and Roberts hitting at a 40 per cent clip. Those are two sobering numbers, but there are positives.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESingh got the line at an all-OUA level. His free throw rate of 0.37 was good for ninth in Ontario. He only made 74 percent of his free throw attempts, but for a rookie to come out and make a habit of getting to the charity stripe is nothing short of impressive. Singh also has an elite play-making ability, finishing his first-year campaign with a 21 per cent assist rate to put him at tenth in the conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor Roberts, there are not many redeeming offensive numbers. All around, it looks pretty bleak. He’s not a great shooter from anywhere, doesn’t do well at the line (71 per cent last year) and averaged just over an assist a game. Those numbers will definitely turn around as he gains experience.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhere Roberts could redeem himself is to grow on the defensive end. He showed promise; he averaged a hair over a steal per game last year and owned an impressively low 2.6 fouls committed per 40 minutes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMike Mullins\u003C\/b\u003E — brother of Columbia University and member of the Canadian development team Grant Mullins — joins the team and should take some of the scoring load off of Roberts.\u003Cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENikola Misljencevic\u003C\/b\u003E has had a strong pre-season, including 20 points over No. 8 McGill to lead his team to an OT victory. He only averaged seven shots a game, but it’s likely that he’ll take more possessions too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDon’t expect a breakout season though. This team will likely be building off of last year’s success and give their young players more on-court experience.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Greg Faulkner. He is a savvy player with range who has the potential to go for 30 if the defence is sleeping on him.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Loss in OUA quarterfinals\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003ELaurier Golden Hawks\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis one is a tough call. Their roster screams \"average\" as evidenced by last year’s O-Rtg of 94 and D-Rtg of 101. Both marks are just middle of the pack, but more importantly, they are far off from the mark of teams that compete for the Wilson Cup year-in and year-out.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStill, they have a chance to make a run. \u003Cb\u003EMax Allin\u003C\/b\u003E, in his final year of eligibility, is one of the best scorers in the country. He plays an efficient style; good three-point shooting and a ton of free throws. Third-year \u003Cb\u003EWill Coulthard\u003C\/b\u003E has one of the quickest triggers in the conference, willing to throw it up at any second. Consistency is still an issue for him, though. He used the most possessions out of any player on his team, but only shot at an eFG% of 45 per cent. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile those two players are good on the offensive end, there are not many other players to rely on and that’s where we see the difference between them and true contenders. Allin and Coulthard combine for many of the team’s possessions per game but the others go to players who simply are not efficient enough to be deemed worthy of using a possession.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe next two leaders in USG% are \u003Cb\u003EPatrick Donnelly\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EJamar Forde\u003C\/b\u003E, at 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Donnelly, who left the team late last year for unknown reasons but is back now, shot a horrific 39 per cent eFG%. That’s 96th worst among players that played at least one-third of team minutes. There were only 107 players that qualified. Forde isn’t much better - he ranks 85th in the category.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHead coach \u003Cb\u003EPeter Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E will have to either move those shots to Coulthard and Allin or find new sources of offence. \u003Cb\u003EMatt Chesson\u003C\/b\u003E, OUA Rookie of the Year, and incoming rookie \u003Cb\u003EJack Simmons\u003C\/b\u003E could give them that offence. Chesson has size and a post-game, while Simmons has put up 11.6 points through five preseason games.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir defence is average but should be better with Donnelly back, Chesson playing more minutes and Allin maintaining a low foul rate. Turning that offence around is more important than making that defence on par with team’s in the running for the title.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Max Allin. He broke the school scoring record last year in his first game back after the passing of his father. Allin can light it up with the best of them and is always worth a look.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Fourth in OUA West - OUA semifinal loss\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003ELakehead Thunderwolves\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI refuse to put Lakehead in the basement. Yes, \u003Cb\u003EScott Morrison\u003C\/b\u003E is on a professional leave of absence, scouting for the NBA D-League’s Maine Red Claws. Yes, the group of players like \u003Cb\u003EJoseph Jones\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EGreg Carter\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EYoosrie Sahlia\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EBen Johnson\u003C\/b\u003E, and \u003Cb\u003EMatthew Schmidt\u003C\/b\u003E who took this program to a new level are all gone. But the Thunderwolves will find a way, as they always seem to.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELakehead had a surprising preseason, playing the Victoria Vikes tough and grinding through a game against Carleton. They dropped some games to inferior opponents, but once this team plays gets their feet wet and uses that Thunderdome advantage, they’ll be back in the conversation for the top of the OUA West. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince the majority of players who played for this team are gone (and \u003Cb\u003ERyan Thomson\u003C\/b\u003E is sitting out the year to recover from knee surgery), I’ll shy away from putting stock in team stats. However, we can look at some players with increased roles that will try to get Lakehead back in the CIS Final 8.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAnthony McIntosh\u003C\/b\u003E is a fourth-year player who has been asked to take on increased importance for this squad. He did not log major minutes last year — his highest minute total was in the final game of the regular season with 13 — but has already played a ton in the preseason.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EIgor Lebov\u003C\/b\u003E is a transfer from Franklin Pierce University and he has a wealth of talent. Lebov could another one of those players that Morrison has plucked out of seemingly nowhere and has potential to lead this team in scoring.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EJustin Bell\u003C\/b\u003E is in his final year of eligibility after bouncing around the OUA. He’s played for Ottawa and York but looks poised to grab a starting forward spot on the roster. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith so many moving parts, this season could go very right or very wrong for the Thunderwolves. Not having Morrison behind the bench puts a damper on my optimism slightly. What will kill this team’s chances is a slow start in the difficult interlock period.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Igor Lebov. The transfer is a talented player on offensive who can hit from anywhere on the court. He could give below-average defenders nightmares.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Third in the OUA West, loss in the semifinals\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EPlayoffs, but barely\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EYork Lions\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHead coach \u003Cb\u003ETom Olivieri\u003C\/b\u003E has built a good roster here, with a lot of depth and experience. True, this team is competing in a tough conference, but I like their chances.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAaron Rados\u003C\/b\u003E is leading this squad as a fifth-year forward. He plays tough and led the team in minutes last year, although just barely beating out \u003Cb\u003EDavid Tyndale\u003C\/b\u003E. Rados will be asked to take on more of the offensive load this year since Tyndale was a major source of their scoring.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis could be a good shift though, as Rados had a 52 per cent eFG% last year, a respectable mark in the top-third of the conference. He spreads his shots well; taking just under half his shots from three while shooting a decent 35 per cent and getting to the line consistently. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Lions’ defence was respectable last year too, posting a D-Rtg of 103. A lot of that can be credited to \u003Cb\u003ENick Tufegdzich\u003C\/b\u003E, a fourth-year forward who anchors this defense. Olivieri has to hope that his presence inside can push that D-Rtg south of 100. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’ve put this team in the \"up-and-coming\" section because I think their experience will pay off. But there is no time for growing pains and the loss of Tyndale can’t linger on the offence. Tyndale was an \"oh no the shot clock is running down, here just take the ball\" guy and did a decent job in that role. But do they have the pieces to replace that? They should, as Olivieri seems intent on playing nine guys in his rotation, according to a York Lions website video. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Aaron Rados. With more possessions heading for his hands, he is one of the most intriguing players in the OUA East.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Sixth in OUA East, lose in quarterfinals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EWestern Mustangs\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’m expecting this team to squeak into the playoffs but only as a product of a weaker lower half of the OUA. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’m not a fan of this team whatsoever, as they play a rough style that is not exactly fun to watch. Last year, in a regular season match-up against McMaster, the Mustangs could not hit a shot from anywhere on the court. Mac was running them out of the gym and instead of accepting that the game was lost, Western decided to just start playing dirty. They began to hit players at every possible second and it became a safety concern.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat Mustang squad is the proud owner of the worst O-Rtg in the conference, at 86. The leader for that offensive unit was \u003Cb\u003EPeter Scholtes\u003C\/b\u003E, who used 27% of the possessions but put up an eFG% of 41 per cent. He is back to lead the offensive, which is not an encouraging sign. Western also turned the ball over on 25% of their possessions last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlongside him on offence is \u003Cb\u003EQuinn Henderson\u003C\/b\u003E. He too used a lot of possessions for them and shot a better percentage at 47 per cent, but that mark is not something to structure an offence around.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDefensively, this team was bad. They posted a D-Rtg of 106 and turned the ball over at an OUA-worst rate of 25 per cent of possesions. There is reason for optimism, though. \u003Cb\u003EGreg Morrow\u003C\/b\u003E is back for a third-year and he was the strongest defensive player for the Stangs last year. He also shot a great percentage from the field with a 58 per cent eFG%, so if you’re looking for a bright spot, here it is.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EEric McDonald\u003C\/b\u003E is a transfer from Guelph and could provide more offence for the squad. He had a strong preseason, including 18 points against Acadia.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBrad Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E has added some recruits but it’s yet to be seen how many minutes they will play. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern’s experience could pay off and they should prey on weaker OUA teams like Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto and Algoma. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Greg Morrow. He shoots the best percentage (by far) on this team and can get his own shot. Will he be given the keys to the offence over Scholtes though?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Fifth in the OUA West. Quarterfinal loss.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EGuelph Gryphons\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph is just too young of a team to put in a category other than the basement. \u003Cb\u003EZach Angus\u003C\/b\u003E is one of my favourite players to watch in this league, but he can only do so much. Angus and \u003Cb\u003EMichel Clark\u003C\/b\u003E are two returning players who logged major minutes, but the rest of the returning cast are relative unknowns. 13 (!!!) players averaged double-digit minutes per game last year too, and they need to figure out their rotation.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir O-Rtg and D-Rtg were so bad last year, I contemplated not putting them in to save the horror. For offense, Guelph was tied for third worst in the league with 92 and for defense, they were second worst in the league, with 107. What’s scary is that \u003Cb\u003EDan McCarthy\u003C\/b\u003E — one of the team’s best defenders — is gone. \u003Cb\u003EAdam Kemp\u003C\/b\u003E is a six-foot-seven forward and has a year of experience under his belt. They will need him to anchor the defence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOffensively, McCarthy’s departure means that the team will need to look elsewhere for offence. He used a lot of possessions for the team last year and the Gryphons will miss his production. For a player using as many possessions as McCarthy did, you would want his eFG% to be higher (it was 46 per cent) but Guelph needs whatever they can get.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey have a fresh crop of rookies, with 12 first-year players listed on their 2013-14 roster. It’ll be a rough start for the season to them if head coach \u003Cb\u003EChris O’Rourke\u003C\/b\u003E spreads the minutes as much as he did last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph has committed themselves to the development of athletics, with a new indoor complex, brand-new football stadium and revamped soccer complex. They have some highly competitive teams in soccer, rugby, football, field hockey and cross country (to name a few). Basketball has been lacking though. Could this be the year where they start to turn that around? Probably not on paper, but through the development of their first-years, it could be the beginning.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Zach Angus. He is a tough player with solid stroke and ability to get to the hoop. He’ll get more touches this year and it’ll be fun to see what he does with it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Sixth in the OUA West. Quarterfinal loss.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBasement Dwellers\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EToronto Varsity Blues\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’ve put Toronto here because of the conference they play in, but I’m optimistic about the future of this team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor one, \u003Cb\u003EJohn Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E is the new coach. He is leaving Dalhousie, where he took two teams to the Final 8. He has implemented a new system, but said that it’s been \"challenging\" to introduce. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThen there is the new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport opening in 2014. If you’ve seen the promotions for it, you know that Toronto has laid the foundation to host a CIS-best athletic department.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut for this year, they have \u003Cb\u003EAlex Hill\u003C\/b\u003E returning, \u003Cb\u003EMatt Savel\u003C\/b\u003E should hopefully be healthy and \u003Cb\u003EDakota Laurin\u003C\/b\u003E should get more shots since \u003Cb\u003EArun Kumar\u003C\/b\u003E has left. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year, Kumar and Hill used a large proportion of the team’s possessions and neither was even close to efficient. Losing Kumar is a blessing for Campbell, as he stopped any and all ball movement. If he can rein Hill in a bit, Toronto will improve on offence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe defence was an issue last year, but again that comes from Kumar. He is a short guard and let a lot of guys get by him. If your point guard can’t defend in the OUA, you’re going to have a bad time.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese guys will be worth a watch to see what Campbell can do, but you won’t see these guys making much noise in a loaded OUA East.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Eighth in the OUA East. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EAlgoma Thunderbirds\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe newest OUA team could turn into a Lakehead-lite. Their coach, \u003Cb\u003EThomas Cory\u003C\/b\u003E, casts a wide net in recruiting — he grabbed recruits from British Columbia and Michigan — and he has been the team’s coach through their college competition. Throw in the travel factor, where teams are playing in Sudbury the night before and you’ve got a distinct advantage. The two schools even share the same weird \"Thunder\" prefix. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcMaster’s \u003Cb\u003EJoe Rocca\u003C\/b\u003E said that the team is ultra-athletic and will look to just run teams out of the gym, a sentiment Mac coach \u003Cb\u003EAmos Connolly\u003C\/b\u003E echoed in a separate interview.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey’ll be able to surprise some teams too, with teams having to do so much travelling to get there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: \u003Cb\u003ETerrell Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E. Athletic player who can get up and down the court as fast as anyone. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Seventh in OUA East.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EBrock Badgers\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe new head coach in St. Catharines has already called this a rebuilding season, but Brock seems to finally be having a positive rebuild.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor the past couple of seasons, the Badgers have fielded teams that struggle to mesh on the offensive end. Last year, they put up a brutal O-Rtg of 90. With \u003Cb\u003ECharles Kissi\u003C\/b\u003E in charge, the offence already looks better when I watched a preseason game against Niagara College. The ball moved a lot quicker and they were playing an inside-out style instead of the iso-ball of years past.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMike Luby\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EBrian Nahimana\u003C\/b\u003E, \u003Cb\u003EJameson Tipping\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EMark Gibson\u003C\/b\u003E have all moved on from the program. Tipping had two years of eligbility remaining but left the program to play for the Brampton A’s — where Tipping’s older brother is the president and his father is the owner. Tipping used a lot of possessions for this team but was a treat to watch, as he could get to the hoop with ease, back you down in the post and hurt you from outside — evidenced by his 34 per cent mark from three. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ETshing Kasamba\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EIssack Egueh\u003C\/b\u003E played the most minutes of returning players and are set to lead this squad. Alongside them is \u003Cb\u003EDani Egaldi\u003C\/b\u003E, a six-foot-seven rookie with long arms and scoring touch. He doesn’t have the size to handle older players on the defensive end but his quickness is a plus if Kissi wants to switch him on to a guard.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou don’t want to look too much into last year’s team stats because the roster will be comprised of a whole new crew. I’m looking forward to seeing where this team ends up in February because they could be really coming into their own. Egaldi is a player with OUA Rookie of the Year potential and Kissi is a coach who seems intent on changing the culture at Brock. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Dani Egaldi. I can’t say enough about him. He looks like he could really give defence problems with his size and ball handling abilities. Needs to find a three point shot, though.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Eighth in OUA West\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cu\u003EWaterloo Warriors\u003C\/u\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Warriors only lost two players — Brendan Smith and Kyrie Coleman — but having so many players return is exactly what I don’t like about this squad.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWaterloo was just as bad as Western was last year offensively and marginally better defensively. Their offence lacks any balance and their defence is susceptible to foul trouble, with abysmal fouling numbers for their major players. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI’ll highlight some positives for the team, though: it’s \u003Cb\u003EGreg Francis\u003C\/b\u003E’ second year with the program, and perhaps that will give the team a little more stability. \u003Cb\u003EJaspreet Gill\u003C\/b\u003E has potential to be a dynamic offensive weapon too. But I’m running low on positives.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESimply, this roster lacks the talent to compete. In losing Smith, they lost their best rebounder, a loss that is already showing signs of problems as they nearly got doubled in rebounds in their season opener. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo get back to the playoffs, players need to have worked hard at becoming better defenders and cleaning the defensive glass. Otherwise, this team is going to be lucky to reach the quarterfinals again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer to Watch\u003C\/b\u003E: Jaspreet Gill. He could be asked to take even more shots than he did last year, and that could lead to some eye popping stat totals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProjected Finish\u003C\/b\u003E: Seventh in the OUA West.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8020016309213055041\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/the-tiers-of-oua-mens-basketball-season.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8020016309213055041"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8020016309213055041"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/11\/the-tiers-of-oua-mens-basketball-season.html","title":"The Tiers of the OUA: A Men's Basketball Season Preview"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Scott Hastie"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08081415078301065374"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-5481209187470810350"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-01T17:51:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-06T19:17:10.720-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AHL"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Aigles Bleus"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AUS men's hockey update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paladins"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tigers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tommies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - Preseason Week 2"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The second week of exhibition play has come and gone for AUS men's hockey, and now most of the teams are preparing for their annual American road trip weekends. Sure, off to the States where government workers (customs agents?) are sure to be a happy and co-operative bunch while wondering when they're going to get paid again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUNB played mid-week in a mid-afternoon game against the AHL's Portland Pirates at their practice facility in Saco, Maine. This has become sort of an annual event, with the idea that the V-Reds would play the Pirates and then travel onto play whatever NCAA teams in New England they had lined up. The schedule didn't co-operate this year, so after losing 4-0 they had to bus back to Fredericton to host the Carleton Ravens on Friday. Of interest in the Portland game was that former UNB forward\/d-man \u003Cb\u003EDaine Todd\u003C\/b\u003E was playing defence for the Pirates while former X-Men defenceman \u003Cb\u003EMark Louis\u003C\/b\u003E plays forward (they apparently were short size when they signed him last year, so they converted the speedy 6'4\" Louis to forward). The first scorer for Portland was \u003Cb\u003EPhillipe Halley\u003C\/b\u003E, who was announced at one point this summer as a recruit for UNB (and obviously has decided to turn pro instead).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECarleton came out with a lot of jump and truculence Friday night against UNB, and after scoring the first goal the V-Reds took five straight selfish reactionary penalties and gifted the Ravens two 5-on-3 power play goals. UNB eventually hauled their heads out of their posteriors and took advantage of a Carleton penalty string in the second period to tie the game, and a beauty play by their big line in the third period to re-take the lead and then out-skate the flagging Ravens for the 3-2 win.\u0026nbsp; V-Reds head coach \u003Cb\u003EGardiner MacDougall\u003C\/b\u003E made no bones to the fact that in the first period \"Carleton was hungry on every puck and we had a sort of entitlement to us and we've got to be better than that.\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaturday night went better for the Ottawa visitors a few blocks away at the Grant-Harvey Centre, the St. Thomas rink. CU's \u003Cb\u003EFrancis Dupuis\u003C\/b\u003E made 26 saves in the 3-0 shutout win while STU's \u003Cb\u003EJon Groenheyde\u003C\/b\u003E was much busier (as he has become accustomed to) dealing with 44 shots. The Tommies didn't have the luxury of waiting at home for the Ravens; Friday night they were in New Glasgow, NS to play StFX and lost 4-1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe other OUA team taking a swing through the Maritimes was the Brock Badgers. On Friday they were in Halifax to play Saint Mary's. After being down 4-0 at one point in the game, Brock used a bit of a Hail Mary style trick-play in the last minute to score just after their penalty ended, drawing within a goal. Eight seconds later they scored again to tie the game and effectively force overtime. The Badgers then went on to win the game 6-5 in OT*. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Badgers were back in overtime on Saturday, this time against the Dalhousie Tigers in a game played in East Hants, NS. This time the visitors came up short, with Dal winning 2-1. The previous night Dal was over on the Island to play UPEI and were thumped 5-1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe only other game saw Moncton play Acadia in Berwick, NS, and the Axemen squeezed out the 5-4 win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELooking ahead, the Varsity Reds leave Wednesday for their first-ever trip to Colorado where they'll play an extended weekend of three games in three nights against NCAA opponents: Colorado College on Saturday, Denver University on Sunday and the Air Force Academy on Monday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Saint Mary's Huskies will be making their first trip in a while to the States; they play RPI on Saturday and Quinnipiac on Sunday. StFX spends the weekend in Boston and have BU on Saturday and BC on Sunday (arguably the toughest match-ups). Acadia is playing State schools: New Hampshire on Saturday and Vermont on Sunday. Dal has dance dates with Northeastern on Saturday and Maine on Sunday after first playing Carleton in Ottawa Friday night.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot everyone in the AUS is heading to the States for the weekend. Thursday night Moncton hosts StFX (en route to the US) in Shediac, NB. UPEI makes the long trip to Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead on Friday and Saturday. STU stays home and host RMC on Saturday night, which is sure to attract a bit of a crowd from down the road at CFB Gagetown. \u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/5481209187470810350\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/10\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5481209187470810350"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/5481209187470810350"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/10\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html","title":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - Preseason Week 2"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"David Kilfoil"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/16821812362923440575"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZSfv79uXrWQ\/SmbzQBQU15I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/-NRmEHNVB7o\/S220\/David.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-9197316025610991083"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-23T17:38:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-06T19:17:10.785-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AUS men's hockey update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Axemen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"exhibitions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Patriotes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ravens"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Tommies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Varsity Reds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - The Preseason Edition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Yes, I know it's prime CIS football and soccer season, but the AUS men's hockey teams started their preseason play this week and fans got their first looks at the new recruits.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut first, off the ice, we now have not one, but three separate AUS bids to host the 2015 \u0026amp; 2016 CIS University Cup tournaments. StFX and Saint Mary's earlier in the summer had announced a novel joint bid that would see all games played at the Halifax Metro Centre (a two hour drive from Antigonish) with the X-Men acting as the host team one year and the Huskies as host the other year. Then this week came news that Acadia was also bidding for the same years and they were also looking to host the games at the Metro Centre (an hour from Wolfville). So a win-win for Halifax. Then on Friday came the surprise news that UPEI was also putting in a bid to host the tournament at the rechristened Charlottetown civic centre - EastLink Centre. You get the feeling that the AUS really, really want to host the University Cup ... or four teams are looking for a route to the championship that doesn't involve getting past UNB on the ice.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESpeaking of the anti-UNB crowd, this season will indeed see the implementation of the new roster caps in the AUS: 22 skaters and unlimited goalies. There is no injured reserve, so if I player suffers a season-ending injury, you're sh!t out of luck. The rosters have to be locked down opening night, so there may be several players, enrolled in classes and playing exhibition games now, who may not find out until October 18 whether they will make the official season roster or not. You also have to expect that many, or all, of the AUS coaches may want to keep one or two spots open for Christmas recruits as well - for those players who discover riding the buses, and benches, in the ECHL may not be worth forfeiting their Major Junior education packages and that they want to play in the AUS after all.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOh, and that ongoing CIS investigation of the Dalhousie men's hockey program? Surprisingly, still not finished, despite the rumours of player payments outside of the acceptable Athletic Financial Awards have been pretty widely reported in Halifax. You would have thought the CIS would have dropped their report on some Friday in July or August, but now it looks like it will have to be released during this season, if ever.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETurning to the games on-ice,\u0026nbsp; Monday saw UNB travel to the Acadian Peninsula t the village of Cocagne to play Moncton. Les Aigles Bleus scored first, but the V-Reds took advantage of their special teams to notch two on the power play and a shorty for the 4-2 win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Thursday UPEI was in Fredericton to play the new-look Tommies. While they didn't win, new head coach \u003Cb\u003EPat Powers\u003C\/b\u003E had STU playing a structured system that kept them in the game against the speedy Panthers, despite the 2-1 loss. After the win UPEI hopped back on their bus and travelled overnight to Trois-Rivières, QC to play in the Patriotes Tournament.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMoncton also bused to Trois-Rivières, and they played Ottawa in the tourney's afternoon game Friday, losing 4-3 to the Gee-Gees. Friday evening UPEI took on host UQTR and managed a 4-3 OT win with \u003Cb\u003EChris Desousa\u003C\/b\u003E notching the winner, his second of the game. Saturday Ottawa was the winner again, 3-1 over UPEI, while in the evening match overtime was cruel to les Patriotes again as defenceman \u003Cb\u003ESimon Jodoin\u003C\/b\u003E knocked in his own rebound for the 3-2 UdeM win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn Fredericton UNB was hosting the OUA's Windsor Lancers in their first-ever visit to the Aitken University Centre for the V-Reds annual Fall Classic invitational. Friday night was a 5-0 UNB win, but the game was close for two periods with the score 2-0 going into the third period. Saturday saw the Lancers exhibit more jump, scoring early in both the first and second periods and chasing rookie UNB goalie \u003Cb\u003EJoel Vienneau\u003C\/b\u003E before carrying a lead into the third. Despite extending their lead to 4-2, Windsor was not able to deal with the UNB push-back, and the V-Reds went on to score three unanswered goals for a 5-4 come from behind win.\u0026nbsp; \u003Cb\u003EThomas Nesbit\u003C\/b\u003Et made a strong case to stay on the right wing of UNB's first line with University Cup MVP \u003Cb\u003ETyler Carroll\u003C\/b\u003E and team captain \u003Cb\u003EChris Culligan\u003C\/b\u003E, scoring twice and adding four assists in the two games.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere was hockey in Nova Scotia as well, as the four Bluenose teams congregated for the weekend in Wolfville for the Don Wells Memorial tournament. In a bit of surprise Saturday afternoon, Dalhousie beat their Halifax Forum roommates Saint Mary's 5-3. In the evening game the host Axemen lost 3-1 to the X-Men. On Sunday afternoon in the tourney championship final Dal's \u003Cb\u003EAndrew Wigginton\u003C\/b\u003E scored his third goal of the game in overtime for the 4-3 win over StFX. The evening consolation final ended in a rare 4-4 overtime tie between SMU and Acadia, as the decision was made to halt the game after first-year Huskies forward \u003Cb\u003ECameron Wind\u003C\/b\u003E was taken off in a stretcher after an incident on the ice.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis week sees UNB travel to Maine for a Wednesday afternoon game against the Portland Pirates, the AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes, at their practice facility in Saco. The V-Reds are back home Friday night to host the Carleton Ravens. Also on Friday, the Brock Badgers will be playing Saint Mary's, STU is playing StFX in New Glasgow, NS and Dal is at UPEI.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOn Saturday Carleton stays in Fredericton to play the Tommies while Moncton will be in Berwick, NS to play Acadia.\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/9197316025610991083\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/09\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/9197316025610991083"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/9197316025610991083"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2013\/09\/mens-hockey-aus-weekly-update-preseason.html","title":"Men's Hockey: AUS Weekly Update - The Preseason Edition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"David Kilfoil"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/16821812362923440575"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_ZSfv79uXrWQ\/SmbzQBQU15I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/-NRmEHNVB7o\/S220\/David.jpg"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6258600524147329587"},"published":{"$t":"2012-02-21T18:00:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-02-21T18:00:00.891-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's basketball update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Basketball: OUA West weekly roundup"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EThe OUA men’s basketball regular season is over and now it’s time for some playoff basketball. Lakehead and McMaster will have some time off before facing the winners of the quarter-finals in the semi-finals on Feb. 25. Laurier will matchup against Guelph and Windsor will host Brock. The Golden Hawks, by far, saw the biggest upset come against them this weekend and were pushed out of second place by McMaster on the last game of the regular season. Some teams have back-ended their way into the playoffs, while others have picked up steam at the right time. The Wilson Cup final is only two weeks away, so now it’s time to see who can make it there.\u003C\/span\u003E \u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EOUA Standings \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/Sport_standings.aspx?sport_num=1\u0026sport_name=mbasketball\u0026path=mbball\u0026\u0026\"\u003Ehere;\u003C\/a\u003E Playoff schedule \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/oua.ca\/Sport_schedules.aspx?sport_num=1\u0026sport_name=mbasketball\u0026path=mbball\u0026\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGames In-Depth\u003Cbr \/\u003EFebruary 15\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaurier 95 vs. Waterloo 96\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe utter collapse of Laurier continued this weekend, and they started with a loss to Waterloo. After a disappointing 1-1 record last weekend, Laurier needed one win to clinch second in the West. And they couldn’t get it done. It should’ve come against Waterloo, but instead they’ll be missing a couple of days off that they would’ve gotten with a bye had they clinched second place. It wasn’t their offence that let them down, but against the eighth seed team, you need to have better defence. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/span\u003E had 26 points and 13 rebounds, while both \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMatt Buckley\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKyle Enright\u003C\/span\u003E finished with 20 points for Laurier. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMike Wright\u003C\/span\u003E led the way for Waterloo with 23 points and 8 assists and\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E Zack Angelini\u003C\/span\u003E ended with 18 points and 9 rebounds. You would think that the weekend would only get better for Laurier after this, but they still had one more game to play.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFebruary 18\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaurier 67 vs. McMaster 93\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWow. That’s all that can be said about this one. Second spot in the West was on the line for this one and Laurier laid an egg, while McMaster showed up big time. The Marauders ended with 51.4% from the field to Laurier’s abysmal 31% and outrebounded the Golden Hawks 49 to 35 and 20 assists to 9. The second quarter was the turning point when Laurier flat out couldn’t stop McMaster. The Marauders put up 31 points to Laurier’s 11 and the game was pretty much over after that\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E. Kale Harrison\u003C\/span\u003E had a team high 16 points for the Golden Hawks, but there wasn’t much help after that. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ETaylor Black\u003C\/span\u003E had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Adam Presutti finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. It doesn’t really get much worse than this for Laurier who had second place all but locked up throughout the season only to lose to go 1-3 in the last four games of the regular season while McMaster ran the table.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EPlayer of the Week\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyan Thomson\u003Cbr \/\u003ELakehead Thunderwolves\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn two games that were largely meaningless for the Wolves, Thomson led the way and helped Lakehead finish the regular season on a winning note. In two games against Guelph, Thomson had a combined total of 46 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists in 61 minutes of playing time. He also went 6-for-8 on three’s and 19-for-29 from field goal range. Even though it came against a much lower ranked Guelph, Lakehead is on a roll going into the playoffs and Thomson was a big part of it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EUpcoming Playoff Games\u003Cbr \/\u003EFebruary 22\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock vs. Windsor\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn a rematch of their Feb. 15 game, the Lancers will take on the Badgers in the first playoff game involving the West. Windsor won that game 79-72 and look to see a similar outcome. Windsor is far deeper than Brock and can count on five or six guys every night to contribute in some way. Brock is a little more limited and if you shutdown \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAndrew Kraus\u003C\/span\u003E or \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ETshing Kasamba\u003C\/span\u003E, you’ve slowed the Badgers down enough to likely get a win.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGuelph vs. Laurier\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA few weeks ago I would’ve said Laurier by a landslide, but really, who knows with Laurier right now. They ended their otherwise great season on horrible losses. With four fifth years and two fourths in Laurier’s lineup, I expect them to wakeup and realize it’s this year or bust. The Gryphons have a few players they can count on to score, but after \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKareem Malcolm, Daniel McCarthy\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAdam Bering\u003C\/span\u003E, there’s not much to Guelph’s roster. Look to see Laurier finally wakeup from their shaky end to the season and break out with a ton of points.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6258600524147329587\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup_21.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6258600524147329587"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6258600524147329587"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup_21.html","title":"Men's Basketball: OUA West weekly roundup"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Greg Colgan"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3530535219298650783"},"published":{"$t":"2012-02-07T12:20:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-02-07T12:20:01.356-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's basketball update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Basketball: OUA West Weekly Roundup"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EFinally, it looks like with the West might be set with two weeks left. Lakehead is solely in first place after Laurier’s loss to McMaster on Saturday night. Lakehead had a bit of scare against Waterloo, but won’t have too much competition until the playoffs start. Windsor took a tough 2 point loss against Laurier last Wednesday, but could make a push for third place. McMaster is probably the happiest team with third place theirs and it seems like they’re picking up momentum at the right time. Brock and Guelph continue to struggle, while Western is playing the spoiler role and beginning to threaten fifth place\u003C\/span\u003E. \u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGames Recap\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern 69 vs. Guelph 66\u003Cbr \/\u003EWednesday, Feb. 1\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGuelph continues to free fall into oblivion with another loss. This time it was to one of the hottest teams in the West since the break in Western, who looks to have gelled as a team. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERyan Barbeau\u003C\/span\u003E put up 27 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds for Western. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKareem Malcolm\u003C\/span\u003E had 18 points and 9 rebounds for Guelph. The Gryphons outrebounded the Mustangs 43-27, but turnovers were key in this game. Guelph had 15 compared to Western’s 11, which doesn’t help when the Mustangs get 17 points off those rebounds. Guelph hasn’t been able to put anything together since coming back from the Christmas break, while Western’s come together and are only four points out of fifth in the West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWaterloo 74 vs. Lakehead 84\u003Cbr \/\u003EFriday, Feb. 3\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis was all about Lakehead’s bench in a game that was far closer then it should’ve been. The Thunderwolves were helped by 52 points off the bench, while the Warriors were able to get a respectable 20, but not near anything needed to compete with Lakehead’s. Still, despite losing, I imagine Waterloo is somewhat happy they could go up to Lakehead and only lose by 10 points and 12 points on Saturday. I know that’s not saying much for Waterloo, but when you’re the worst team in the West you look for positives everywhere. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAdam Johnson\u003C\/span\u003E had 26 points and 9 rebounds in 18 minutes of playing time off the bench. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMike Wright\u003C\/span\u003E led the way for Waterloo with 19 points and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAndrew Melbourne\u003C\/span\u003E had 14 points to go with 11 rebounds. Although it seems minor, Lakehead’s free throw shooting held them back. Those are normally easy points and when you go 15-24, they’re essentially taking an additional 5 or 6 points off the score sheet.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMcMaster 82 vs. Laurier 72\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaturday, Feb. 4\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI really thought Windsor had the best shot at beating Laurier, but it looks like McMaster was a bit more motivated to get it done. The Golden Hawks really only had two players show up on Saturday. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMax Allin\u003C\/span\u003E had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/span\u003E contributed 27 points and 8 rebounds, while everyone else decided to take the night off for the most part. \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAdam Presutti\u003C\/span\u003E finished with 26 points and 8 rebounds and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EVictor Raso\u003C\/span\u003E had 19 points to go with 6 rebounds. McMaster also had 37 bench points to Laurier’s 13. Losing this game almost puts the West division out of reach for Laurier and they can’t be happy about seeing the chance of winning the division slip from their grasp. Unless Lakehead comes up with a bad night, the West is the Thunderwolves' from here on out.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EPlayer of the Week\u003Cbr \/\u003EAdam Presutti - McMaster Marauders\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPresutti was key in both of McMaster’s wins against Brock and Laurier this weekend. He helped knock both teams off, but was absolutely vital against beating Laurier. He put up a combination of 40 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists in 53 minutes of playing time. He also shot better than 50% in both games. Presutti made shots when he needed to and earns the player of the week award for the West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EUpcoming Game of the Week\u003Cbr \/\u003EWindsor vs. Laurier\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaturday, Feb. 11\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBoth teams will be desperate for a win if they’re going to try and move up a spot in the rankings. Windsor can still challenge for third, while Laurier has a slight chance at overtaking Lakehead. More importantly, a loss by Lakehead will have them struggling to maintain their current spot with McMaster closing in on them. Also, both teams have struggled slightly in the last few weeks and neither have easy schedules in the last two weeks of the regular season. No one wants to go into playoff basketball playing shaky, so don’t be surprised if both teams pick up their level of play for this one.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3530535219298650783\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3530535219298650783"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3530535219298650783"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup.html","title":"Men's Basketball: OUA West Weekly Roundup"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Greg Colgan"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-4005948440252989700"},"published":{"$t":"2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-02-01T07:00:09.583-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Calculated Reactions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gee-Gees"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Volleyball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"X-Men"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Calculated Reactions: SRS risers and fallers, first-of-2012 edition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EIn \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/02\/calculated-reactions-another-look-at.html\"\u003Eearlier versions of this\u003C\/a\u003E, we've looked at those whose RPI rank changed the most over some period of time. This time, we'll look at the change in SRS, or \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/blog\/?p=37\"\u003ESimple Ranking System\u003C\/a\u003E, a ranking that adjusts a team's average margin of victory based on the strength of its opponents. \u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003CB\u003ERISERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELaval, men's volleyball\u003C\/b\u003E (up 0.6 sets)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 4: +1.2\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: +1.8\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS is a little weird for volleyball because every game must end with a +1, +2, or +3 margin, but nonetheless the Rouge et Or have added more than half a set to their per-match average simply by blowing everyone east of Ottawa out of the water. They haven't lost a set in 2012, and have only had a four-set win four times in their regular-season schedule. There's only so much we can say about Laval when they play in a three-team conference with interlock against another three-team conference, but they're destroying their opponents as always. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWindsor, women's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E (up 3.9)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 4: +15.0\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: +18.9\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt has been a Carletonesque second half for the Lancers, winning every game (except one) by 27 or more, pushing them above Regina for first-place in the SRS rankings. With Laurier, Guelph, Waterloo, and Western left on the schedule, that average margin of victory may increase.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECalgary, men's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E (up 5.5)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 31: -3.1\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: +2.4\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA plus-2.4 is not great, but the Dinos haven't played any cupcake opponents in the new year, and they've even knocked off Saskatchewan once and Alberta twice. It helps, of course, that Boris Bakovic is back, basically giving them a new best scorer: his 22.3 points per 40 minutes is second to Tyler Fidler's 23.6, but he's shooting an effective 52.7% to Fidler's 47%.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFALLERS\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOttawa, men's hockey\u003C\/b\u003E (down 1.0)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 4: +0.2\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: -0.8\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe men's hockey rankings ignore the forfeitures, so Ottawa's a little higher than they would be otherwise. But still, they dropped quite a bit after losing by four or more goals to UQTR, Concordia, and McGill in the new year. They're now only three points out of last place among non-RMC OUA East teams.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESt. F-X, men's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E (down 6.6)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 31: +14.0\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: +7.4\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E(One goal is worth more in hockey than 7 points are worth in basketball, so keep that in mind.) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELosses to CBU, UPEI, and Dal aren't helping X. They're still on track to (likely) represent AUS at the Final 8, and certainly a bye in the AUS Final 6, but they'll have to beat up on the lesser teams the rest of the way, as championship teams do.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBrock, women's basketball\u003C\/b\u003E (down 4.2)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS on Dec. 4: +10.7\u003Cbr \/\u003ESRS now: +6.5\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot only did they not keep it close against Windsor in either meeting, they also lost to Western (by 3), Laurier (by 8 and by 1), and to Guelph (by 4). For a team that was estimated to be about 11 points better than average, those are games that need to be won or else their SRS will drop, as it did.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/4005948440252989700\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/calculated-reactions-srs-risers-and.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4005948440252989700"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/4005948440252989700"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/02\/calculated-reactions-srs-risers-and.html","title":"Calculated Reactions: SRS risers and fallers, first-of-2012 edition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Rob Pettapiece"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-3950327149630588968"},"published":{"$t":"2012-01-17T12:27:00.002-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-01-17T12:33:33.960-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's basketball update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Basketball: OUA West Weekly Roundup"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"We’re nearing the playoffs and the OUA West is starting to thin out a bit, but there are four teams still challenging for top spot. Windsor and McMaster have kept up with one another and are tied for third, while Lakehead and Laurier went head-to-head this past week for top spot in the West with neither team able to gain ground on the other. In the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/mens-basketball-top-10-tracker.html\"\u003Etop ten post from last weekend\u003C\/a\u003E, Rob briefly covered the Lakehead (No. 3) and Laurier (No. 7) series. He also has some fun facts and stats that are worth a read.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGames In-Depth\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFriday, January 13\u003Cbr \/\u003ELakehead 88, Laurier 83\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGames with hype don’t usually live up to it. The Lakehead-Laurier weekend lived up to the expectation and so much more. On Friday night Lakehead went point-for-point with Laurier, which most would agree have the best offence in the West. Both Lakehead and Laurier finished with four players in double digits in a game where defence was at a premium. The Thunderwolves' \u003Cb\u003EVenzal Russell\u003C\/b\u003E tied a game high 24 points, but also a less than impressive 9-28 from the field and 0-6 on threes. \u003Cb\u003EYoosrie Salhia\u003C\/b\u003E had a game high 11 rebounds and was a defensive frustration for Laurier inside the paint all night long. Laurier's \u003Cb\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/b\u003E ended the night with 24 points and 7 rebounds \u0026mdash; all defensive. Throughout the game neither team was able to run away with it, with the game coming right down to the end. Laurier was within three points for the last three minutes before Lakehead put it away with a pair of free throws by Russell.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaturday, January 14\u003Cbr \/\u003ELakehead 89 vs. Laurier 92\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBoth teams picked up right where they left off from the night before. Lakehead had six players in double digits to Laurier’s four. On Saturday, though, it wasn’t all up to Harrison since he had some help from \u003Cb\u003EConor Meschino\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EMatt Buckley\u003C\/b\u003E, who finished with 16 and 14 points respectively. Laurier jumped off to the quick lead after the first quarter ahead 24-18, but Lakehead slowly nicked away at that. One of the key factors was Laurier’s bench, who put up 34 points to 15 by Lakehead. Even though all of the Thunderwolves starters hit double digits, you need better contribution from the bench. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EOther Scores\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWednesday, January 11\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcMaster 103 vs. Brock 91\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESomething lit a fire under \u003Cb\u003EVictor Raso\u003C\/b\u003E coming into this game. With 29 points and 5 rebounds, he led the way for McMaster in a high-scoring affair against Brock, while \u003Cb\u003EAdam Presutti\u003C\/b\u003E had 18 points for the Marauders. \u003Cb\u003ETshing Kasamba\u003C\/b\u003E came off the bench for 19 points and 6 defensive boards. This was the start for another bad week for Brock, who lost again and stumbled further down the standings in the West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaturday, January 14\u003Cbr \/\u003EWindsor 78, McMaster 74\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe first half killed McMaster in this one. Windsor went into the half leading 48-31, with the Lancers up by 20 at one point. Six Windsor players had 10 or more points and \u003Cb\u003EEnrico Di Loreto\u003C\/b\u003E finished with 17 points going 5-8 on field goals and an impressive 4-6 on threes. Although, you expect good numbers from the fifth best scorer in the CIS. More importantly, it helped Windsor keep pace in the West and remain tied for third with a 9-3 record. Presutti finished with a game high 20 points for the Marauders.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ESaturday, January 14\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern 101 vs. Brock 93\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWestern has one of the youngest teams in the CIS and they grew up in a big way with this game. Five players finished with 13 or more points with \u003Cb\u003ERyan Barbeau\u003C\/b\u003E and \u003Cb\u003EQuinn Henderson\u003C\/b\u003E each getting 21. This could be a sign of things to come for Western, who look to be building chemistry as a team. Although their season will finish soon, I imagine teams are going to be more cautious with Western looking to play the role of spoiler. Kasamba had 19 points and six steals for Brock. The Badgers have had a tough start to the year going 1-3 and falling out of contention for the West. Though they’re still 7-5, it’s going to be hard to gain ground on Lakehead and Laurier.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPlayer of the Week\u003Cbr \/\u003ERyan Barbeau - Western Mustangs\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarbeau has been lights out for Western all year. He’s ranked sixth in the CIS with 20.7 ppg and has been the best player for Western this year, by far. On Wednesday night against Guelph, he put up 31 points to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The next highest scorer for Western that game? Well, it was \u003Cb\u003ECharlie Drouin\u003C\/b\u003E with 8 points. That pretty much sums up Western this year. On Saturday against Brock, Barbeau actually had some offensive help from his teammates as he finished with 21 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Western may be building for the future, but the young players have benefitted from watching Barbeau all season long.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUpcoming Game of the Week\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EFriday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcMaster at Lakehead\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThanks to the split between Laurier and Lakehead, McMaster is only one game behind both teams in the West. McMaster, though, went 1-1 themselves last weekend, beating Brock but falling to Windsor (who they’re tied with). If Mac hopes to keep pace and challenge for top in the West, they’ll have to get at least a split in Lakehead. That’s easier said than done with Lakehead being 5-1 at home this year, 23-5 the last three years, and eager to keep their top spot. I wouldn’t be surprised for two close games, but I think a Lakehead sweep will put McMaster in a battle for third with only a few weeks left in the regular season.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/3950327149630588968\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3950327149630588968"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/3950327149630588968"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/mens-basketball-oua-west-weekly-roundup.html","title":"Men's Basketball: OUA West Weekly Roundup"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Greg Colgan"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-8562819858023953976"},"published":{"$t":"2012-01-10T23:34:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-01-11T17:13:03.219-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's basketball update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Basketball: OUA West First Week After the Break"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Well, coming back from the Christmas break the first set of games in the OUA West were interesting. Heading into Christmas there had been a log jam of teams, with six of the eight teams having winning records. Something had to give and at some point one of those teams were going to begin to run away with it. I’ve believed all year that it’s Lakehead’s to lose, but not without a fight from Laurier.\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaurier started the year by utterly decimating Waterloo 110 - 60. They ended up with five players in double digits and continued their torrid offensive pace. When they went up against Brock on Saturday they decided to only score 93 points. Lakehead remained tied for first by sweeping the weekend series against Western. Although, much credit to Western. The Lakehead weekend is always tough and the fact Western has one of the youngest teams in the OUA doesn’t make things easier. They were able to keep pace with Lakehead for awhile in both games, but it’s hard to go basket for basket with the depth that Lakehead has.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcMaster started out with a surprising loss at Windsor, but came back with a win against Waterloo at home to remain third. McMaster had a tough night shooting in Windsor with a 33.8% effort from the field, a rarity for Mac, which stopped them from really challenging Windsor. Brock squeezed out a win against Guelph at home, but not without some struggles. Both teams are fairly equally matched and the 77-74 final shows close they are.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf the middle ranked teams in the West, Windsor by far had the best weekend. They earned victories against McMaster and Guelph to move up slightly in the standings and have a 7-3 record. They took advantage of playing at home against two strong teams and began to distance themselves a bit from the pack. By far, Guelph had the toughest weekend in the West. With loses to Brock and Windsor they fell to sixth and make things harder for themselves with a rough start to the second half of the season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EUpcoming Games to watch\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ELakehead at Laurier (Jan. 13 and Jan. 14)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI have absolutely no idea what to expect from these games. They could either be blowouts with both teams capable of putting up 100 points easily. Or, Lakehead’s defence could step-up and expose a weakness in Laurier’s overpowering offence. I don’t really know, but these will be games everyone in the OUA will be paying attention to. Everyone wants to know how to beat these teams and something has to give at the top of the West. Both teams know what the standings look like and have been waiting for a chance to pull ahead. I can’t wait until the dust settles on Saturday night in Waterloo. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/8562819858023953976\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/basketball-oua-west-first-week-after.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8562819858023953976"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/8562819858023953976"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/basketball-oua-west-first-week-after.html","title":"Basketball: OUA West First Week After the Break"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Greg Colgan"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6372833810277469296"},"published":{"$t":"2012-01-05T14:42:00.004-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2012-03-07T18:06:00.412-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Boris Bakovic"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Dinos"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Justin King"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Panthers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Redmen"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rouge et Or"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stingers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"WolfPack"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Men's Basketball: Five storylines to watch in 2012"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EWith the Christmas break over and classes back in session, it's time to get focused back on one thing - CIS basketball! The CIS Blog's hoops guy Brian Decker gets you set up with five storylines to follow in the seasons's second half. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E1. Can Boris Bakovic turn Calgary's season around?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPerhaps the biggest offeason storyline in all of CIS basketball was \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EBoris Bakovic\u003C\/span\u003E’s decision to join the Calgary Dinos for his fifth and final season. That took a turn for the worse, however, when Bakovic went down with a preseason knee injury \u0026mdash; one many feared would be season\/career-ending. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThankfully, Bakovic has recovered enough that he’ll \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wasssports.blogspot.com\/2012\/01\/wayne-thomas-canada-west-weekend.html\"\u003Emake his season debut this weekend against UFV\u003C\/a\u003E. Bakovic, simply one of the best offensive players in CIS basketball history, should help a Calgary offence that has been struggling to keep up this year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESitting at 3-5 and 37th in the RPI, the Dinos have shot under 42 per cent from the field nearly twice as often as they’ve shot above it. Based on my amateur calculations, they’re averaging 94.1 points per 100 possessions, a number that Bakovic could certainly help (for reference, Carleton, arguably the best team, is averaging 121.9\/100, while RMC, arguably the worst team is averaging 68.4\/100). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBakovic is a superbly efficient player on offence, especially when he’s the centerpiece of a halfcourt attack. He’s a good facilitator, can create his own shot and gets to the free throw line as well as anyone in the league. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt’ll be interesting to see if Bakovic’s boost on offence can turn Calgary’s season around. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E2. Will Justin King's monster numbers get him some MVP consideration?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOne of the best turnaround stories in the CIS this season has been in Kamloops, where the Thompson Rivers WolfPack have already matched their win total from 2010-11. After going 4-20 last year, they’re 4-4, with two of those losses coming in close games at undefeated Victoria. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERight at the centre of the turnaround has been the production of transfer \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EJustin King\u003C\/span\u003E. After coming up from Skagit Valley Junior College, King has absolutely torched his CIS competition, averaging 26.9 points a contest on 58.1 per cent shooting and posting better than 10 rebounds a game. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe’s making noise as a legitimate MVP candidate. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBased on statistical production alone, no one has been better than King this season. Does that mean he’s more valuable than \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ETyson Hinz\u003C\/span\u003E or \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EJamelle Barrett\u003C\/span\u003E? Maybe not, but if he keeps putting up these numbers and TRU keeps winning you could probably make a case for him as MVP. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf TRU continues their massive turnaround, you’ll start to hear Justin King’s name a bit more often. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E3. Who will break free from the pack in the OUA West?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you could make one conclusion about the first half of the OUA season, it’s that apart from Carleton and maybe Ottawa, the OUA East is vastly inferior to its counterpart division in the West. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe West dominated the interlock schedule, with everyone but Western posting a record above .500. Three teams (Lakehead, Laurier and McMaster) went 7-1, and after last night’s games (where Laurier trounced Waterloo, Windsor beat Mac and Brock beat Guelph), five teams have 6 wins or more. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOnce again, it’s going to be a dogfight for playoff positioning in the OUA West. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs the defending OUA champs and the most experienced team, Lakehead has be considered the favourite, while Laurier’s duo of \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMax Allin\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/span\u003E should make them a legitimate challenger. But other than that, each team has some question marks. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrock and McMaster are extremely talented but still gelling. Windsor and Guelph have shown flashes, but are still competing with very different teams from past seasons. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe rest of the regular season has less than two months left. With the parity in this division, seeing what teams separate themselves – if that happens at all – from the pack should be a heck of a show. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E4. Is Concordia head and shoulders above the rest of the QUBL?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EComing off a nice showing at the Rod Shoveller tournament, Concordia is once again the team to beat in the QUBL. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition to the \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKyle Desmarais\u003C\/span\u003E show, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EDecee Krah\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EEvens Laroche\u003C\/span\u003E are finally giving the Stingers some consistency on the perimeter, giving Concordia some semblance of a ‘big three.’\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf course, they've only played three conference games, so it’s tough to make any legitimate predictions about how things are shaping up for Concordia. But the Stingers have beaten McGill and Laval, their two closest rivals, and should be the team to catch from here on out. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith the crazy Q schedule coming up \u0026mdash; you get to play opponents approximately 4,500 times per season in a 5-team league \u0026mdash; we should get a better idea of whether Concordia truly is the favourite in that conference. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E5. Will UPEI's wild turnaround continue?\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother team that’s almost matched its win total from last season already is UPEI, who sit undefeated at 6-0. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThanks to the three-headed monster of\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E Jonathan Cooper\u003C\/span\u003E, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EDonathan Moss\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EManock Lual\u003C\/span\u003E, who are averaging nearly 60 points per game between them, UPEI has \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.kingscountynews.ca\/Sports\/Basketball\/2011-12-19\/article-2841406\/Kendrick-enjoying-new-challenge-at-UPEI\/1\"\u003Ebecome one of the feel-good stories\u003C\/a\u003E in the AUS, if not all of CIS. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere’s a caveat, however, in that the Panthers have played their games against three teams with a combined record of 5-13 and have yet to face off with Cape Breton or St. FX, the two established contenders in the conference. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPeople who are probably a lot smarter than me \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/wasssports.blogspot.com\/2012\/01\/bill-macleans-random-thoughts-on.html\"\u003Esay the Panthers are for real this year\u003C\/a\u003E, thanks to a solid starting five and a tricky defence. They're also \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/spreadsheets.google.com\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdFBTeExuYjhxQmI2Q1lrV0c2ZUVNWWc\u0026hl=en\"\u003E7th nationwide in our RPI\u003C\/a\u003E. But personally, I’d like to see a bit more against the top teams before I’m convinced. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUPEI’s rise from mediocrity to contention will be another storyline to watch. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6372833810277469296\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/mens-basketball-five-storylines-to.html#comment-form","title":"3 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6372833810277469296"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6372833810277469296"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2012\/01\/mens-basketball-five-storylines-to.html","title":"Men's Basketball: Five storylines to watch in 2012"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Brian Decker"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/09356081056546632680"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"3"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-6601622957853208621"},"published":{"$t":"2011-12-15T18:00:00.001-05:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-12-15T18:37:58.288-05:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Basketball"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Marauders"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's basketball update"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"OUA West Men's Basketball First-Half Wrap-up"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cspan style=\"font-style:italic;\"\u003EWith exams coming to a close and the winter break upon us, it won't be long before many CIS teams are playing in mid-season tournaments and preparing for the stretch drive of the second semester season. But before we start looking ahead to the holiday tournaments and second half games, it's time to make like professors and TAs and start dishing out the first-half grades. How have the teams done in their pursuit of athletic excellence? We'll start with the OUA West and East today, with Canada West and the AUS to follow tomorrow. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGreg Colgan\u003C\/span\u003E gets us started with his assessment of the OUA West. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EBrock Badgers\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord\u003C\/span\u003E: 6-2, 12 points; 4th place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAny time you can win on the road, you’ve got a chance of getting a nice playoff spot. They finished with a 4 - 0 record away from St. Catharines, which will keep any coach happy. They’ve also improved in several categories as the year has gone on including more blocks, assists and rebounds, while limiting their fouls and turnovers. This is a hard-working team that is learning to compete, but may end up giving the best in the West a run for their money.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWinning at home has been a problem for Brock and the 84 - 60 trouncing Ryerson gave them on December 2 was embarrassing. Any team that expects to contend should have a better home record than 2 - 2. Better offensive rebounding is likely to be a priority come January. In the first-half of the year they ranked in the bottom 10 with an average of 10 offensive boards per game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEver since Brock got\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003E Jameson Tipping\u003C\/span\u003E back, they’ve gone 5 - 1. Granted it’s not against the top talent in the OUA, but wins are wins the last time I checked. His 15.7 ppg have helped a lot, as has his 49.2% shooting from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. The combination between Tipping and fellow guard \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAndrew Kraus\u003C\/span\u003E, who leads the CIS in assists, is a backcourt most coaches would want.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE\u003C\/span\u003E: B\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGuelph Gryphons\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecord: 5-3 loses, 10 points; 5th place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUsually teams want to play at home instead of the road, but Guelph might be asking the OUA to give more road games after the first half. They are 4 - 0 on the road, which, in all fairness, when you play RMC, Queen’s and York, you should have at least 3 road wins. Still, anytime you can go on the road and know you have a chance of winning is a big morale lift.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESimply put, they need to win games at home. If you can win most of your road games it won’t matter if you’ve got a 25% win percentage at home when it comes to making the playoffs. After \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKareem Malcolm\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EDaniel McCarthy\u003C\/span\u003E, Guelph doesn’t have much to compete with other teams. They get occasional help from other players like \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EZach Angus\u003C\/span\u003E and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAron Campbell\u003C\/span\u003E, but when you’re a two-trick pony, it limits your chances. If they don’t get players stepping up more consistently, that lack of depth will hurt them as the season goes on.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt’s pretty much a toss-up between Malcolm and McCarthy, but I’ll give it to Malcolm. He finished 18.1ppg, 50.5% shooting from the field, led his team in minutes and can pull down the odd rebound to go with decent defence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E B\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ELakehead Thunderwolves (CIS no. 3)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 7-1, 14 points; 1st place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt’s Lakehead, so defence. Next to Mac, they’ve given up the fewest points in the West. This is a good all-round team that only lost to a better Carleton team in what was one of the best games the CIS will see all year. There’s no shame in that loss. Their offence has also been surprisingly high and they’re averaging 89.4 ppg, which is good for fourth highest in the CIS. If they can keep that up, while improving slightly on defence, the OUA could be theirs for the taking.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite the fact that I listed defence in the strength category, I can’t help but think that head coach \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EScott Morrison\u003C\/span\u003E is a bit concerned that his team gave up 72 or more points in each of the last four games. That includes 95 points to a much weaker Laurentian, who can score, but shouldn’t be able to put up that much against the defending OUA champs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis one is tough. They’ve got such a well-balanced team that five players are averaging double-digit points and Brendan King was only 0.2 ppg away from making it six. Since I have to give it to one of their guys, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGreg Carter \u003C\/span\u003Eis much more to this team than his stats show. He’s getting 10 ppg, a little over 4 assists a game, and shooting 49.2%. He’s the team leader and the best defensive player in the West, by far. Fast forward to the three-minute mark from this game against Toronto, as an example. If there’s a guy I want on the court with one minute left and a tie game, it’s Carter.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E A-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ELaurier Golden Hawks (CIS no. 8)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 7-1, 14 points; 2nd place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI said it at the beginning of the year: this team will score. They’ve done just that all year. They’ve hit more than 100 twice and made 98 another game. Their lowest total was 68 against Carleton and Carleton has a habit of making good teams look average. They’re averaging 91.5ppg, which is good for third in the CIS after UBC and Carleton. Pretty good company, I think. Don’t be surprised to see them keep that output up in the second half.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey’ve been pretty flawless all year, but they need to be better at their end of the court if they want to go far. They’ve got the team to challenge for the OUA championship, but when you give up more than 70 against teams like RMC and Laurentian, it’s not a great sign. I think some of that comes from the fact they can put up 100 points on almost any given night. As long as they don’t get complacent, they’ll be looking good in the second half.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKale Harrison\u003C\/span\u003E is one of the biggest scoring threats in the OUA. He puts up 18.4 ppg and is shooting 47.5%. He’s thrown back 30 points in two games this year, including a season high 31 points against a strong Ottawa team. His 10 points against Carleton are a little alarming, but back-to-back games on the Ottawa road trip are one of the most feared weekends for any West team. This is his last year in the OUA and the best program Laurier has ever put together, so expect an even stronger second half by Harrison.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E A\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EMcMaster Marauders\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecord: 7-1, 14 points; 3rd place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey haven’t faced the strongest schedule, but the opening weekend against Carleton and Ottawa isn’t the best way to start the year and to come out with a split is a good feeling. It’s impressive McMaster finished as high as they did considering they were without \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EKenan Etale\u003C\/span\u003E for the first-half of the year. With Etale coming back in January, McMaster has enough depth to make every team jealous. As the season goes on, that depth will pay off big time.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith Etale coming back, McMaster will have no problem moving the ball around. They do need someone to grab those rebounds, and it has largely been by committee this year. When they lost \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EScott Brittain\u003C\/span\u003E to concussions, they lost about eight rebounds and two blocks a game, not to mention a guy with experience in the NCAA. They’ll need guys to step up every night, especially when they’re up against teams like Laurier and Lakehead.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis is another close one, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EVictor Raso\u003C\/span\u003E has come through this year with a shorthanded McMaster roster. \u003Cb\u003ECam Michaud\u003C\/b\u003E has been strong, but Raso has been better, averaging 12.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg and shooting 50%. Those totals include games against RMC where he got 0 points in 12 minutes and 4 points against Ottawa. He has struggled this year against better teams, but he’s had big shoes to fill in Etale and he’s done an admirable job for a team that’s 7 - 1.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E A-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWaterloo Warriors\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 4-4, 8 points; 7th place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen it comes to shooting threes, Waterloo’s among the best. They’re tied for first with the most threes made, which oddly enough has seven OUA West teams in the top 10. They’re also among the better teams with a 45% field goal percentage, which was higher before they ended the year against Ottawa and Carleton. With one of the highest shooting rates in the CIS, they love to shoot the ball, which helps when you can sink them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir defence has hung them out to dry this year. They’ve given up 691 points, the worst in the West, with Western being the next closest at 614. It doesn’t help when you give up 80 plus points in five of your eight games, and ending the year by allowing a combined 221 points in your final two games will leave any coach less than happy. If Waterloo is going to stand a chance at making the playoffs, their defence has to be better.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI chose \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ECam McIntyre\u003C\/span\u003E, but not without hesitation. He’s got 16 ppg, but that 39% shooting for twos kind of held me up. The big man, Brendan Smith, is averaging 10.8 ppg, but is 15th in the CIS with 58 rebounds to go with his 56.8% shooting percentage. That being said, McIntyre is the go-to guy on Waterloo and he can put up points when he wants to while logging a ton of minutes.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E B-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWestern Mustangs\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 3-5, 6 points; 8th place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUmm... \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERyan Barbeau\u003C\/span\u003E. Yeah, that about sums it up. In all honesty, this team hasn’t been as bad as their record may indicate. Full disclosure: I did my undergrad at Western and I loved it so much I’m doing a Master’s there, but what can you say... It’s been a tough year. That being said, this is a team in full rebuild mode with eight rookies and three second years. Anytime a team is in rebuild mode, I give them props for doing so. It takes a lot to dismantle a program and start from the ground up. Head coach \u003Cb\u003EBrad Campbell\u003C\/b\u003E realized he needed a rebuild and if you’re going to do something, you may as well go all in. He’s got his players working hard every game and they lost two games by less than five points that they could’ve won. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that hard work pay off with a surprise win against a high ranked team that takes them to easy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis will be a good team in two years, but that’s a long way off right now. This is a young team, and they’ll only continue to grow as the season moves on. Granted, it’ll be some painful lessons for the young guys, but as long as they take everything in stride, they’ll continue to improve. However, unless they can bring \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EAndrew Wedemire\u003C\/span\u003E back from Scotland and give him a sixth year of elgibility, every aspect needs to be improved on for both sides of the court.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFinally! An easy choice. Barbeau, by far, has been the best player for UWO. He’s ranked 7th in CIS scoring with 21.6 ppg and plays pretty much every minute of the game while not getting into foul trouble at all this year. Not bad for a guy who always had some people talking that he couldn’t do anything without Wedemire. Anything UWO does this year will be because of Barbeau, but with such a young line-up I have a hard time believing this is how he wanted his last year to be. Still, those are impressive numbers, and hey, give the guy a break, he got his 1000th point in the OUA before the break.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE:\u003C\/span\u003E C-\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EWindsor Lancers\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ERecord:\u003C\/span\u003E 5 wins, 3 loses, 10 points; 6th place\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EStrengths:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOk, so I might’ve given Windsor a bit more credit when I had them finishing third in the West. I still expect them to get better, but maybe third was being generous on my part. I may have been blinded by the trio of \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EEnrico Di Loreto\u003C\/span\u003E, \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EJosh Collins\u003C\/span\u003E, and \u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003ELien Phillip\u003C\/span\u003E who are just downright menacing when everything’s ticking. Phillip is averaging a double-double every game, Collins has stepped up admirably to replace \u003Cb\u003EIsaac Kuon\u003C\/b\u003E and Di Loreto is nearly unstoppable when shooting. These guys are everything to Windsor and it can’t be understated that Windsor will go as far as they can take them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EImprovement Needed\u003C\/span\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs one of the younger teams, Windsor doesn’t have the depth to go head-to-head with teams like Lakehead or Laurier. The bench has contributed 10 or less points in half their games this year, including a pitiful five against Laurentian. Unless some of their bench guys start stepping up and putting up points, Windsor won’t make it too far.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EFirst-half MVP:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDi Loreto is 2nd in the CIS in ppg with 23.7 to go with a 52.5% field goal and 40% from the three line. He missed the last two games of the year, which Windsor won both of, but his presence wasn’t really needed against Ryerson and RMC. If Windsor is going to make some noise, they’ll need him to continue his play in the second half.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight:bold;\"\u003EGRADE\u003C\/span\u003E: C+ \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/6601622957853208621\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/oua-west-mens-basketball-first-half.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6601622957853208621"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/6601622957853208621"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/12\/oua-west-mens-basketball-first-half.html","title":"OUA West Men's Basketball First-Half Wrap-up"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Greg Colgan"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-1771618258425998086"},"published":{"$t":"2011-10-19T23:11:00.000-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-10-20T09:00:23.447-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cascades"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Sea-Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SMU Huskies"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Soccer"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Top 10"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Vikes"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Women's Soccer: Who's out and who's in"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"It's late enough in the season that it's possible to start looking at who made and who didn't make the playoffs, and judge their performance accordingly. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe'll start in AUS, where UPEI were finally defeated on the weekend by UNB, of all teams, but have already qualified for the playoffs. Their loss is good news for the Huskies who can now grab a share of first place with a win over Dalhousie on Friday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Huskies are pretty much in, as are Dal, thanks to weekend wins over St. FX for both sides. How the Huskies \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/english.cis-sic.ca\/top_10_releases\/2011-12\/20111018-top10-7\"\u003Earen't nationally ranked yet\u003C\/a\u003E is a mystery\u0026mdash;they haven't allowed a goal in October. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheet\/ccc?key=0Ar0xEkmR7QNKdEhPdjJ4VV9BdW81OVR0LXVlREVuTGc\u0026hl=en_US\"\u003EThey're ranked #1 in our RPI\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMemorial are the team to watch late in the AUS season. Although they're usually near the bottom of the table, they've surprised this year. They'll likely lose their next two games to UPEI and Dal, which will hurt their momentum, but it's conceivable they could finish at home with six points against woeful Moncton. The X-Women have a pretty good edge on the Sea-Hawks, but a brutal\u0026nbsp;run-in,\u0026nbsp;so Memorial have a chance, especially if they pick up a point or two on the road.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe OUA East is wrapped, with RMC, Nipissing and Trent all missing out. Ottawa and Toronto are still slugging it out for who gets the second bye, which will likely come down to their meeting on the last day.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe West is nowhere near sorted yet, but\u0026nbsp;Waterloo's\u003Cstrong\u003E Kaitlyn Barnet \u003C\/strong\u003Eknew exactly where Brock were going to finish, so she went and scored in the 92nd minute to eliminate the Badgers, who will look at a run of five losses and wonder where the playoffs went. A win over Waterloo would have given Brock a chance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven Western aren't quite out of it yet, but Waterloo control their fate--a single point from the Warriors would eliminate the Mustangs, who will have to win at York to have any chance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn Quebec, UQAM are mostly out unless they get very lucky. The competition is mostly between UQTR and Laval. With identical records and similarly inconsistent records, predictions are for fools. Our RPI gives the edge slightly to Laval, so that'll have to do. Both will likely lose to Montreal and McGill, but they play each other on the last weekend, too, which should make for some nice end-of-season drama.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn the west, the bards are warming up to sing eulogies for the University of Fraser Valley Cascades. At least there's plenty of landscape inspiration. Unless their first goal in October provided some inspiration for UFV, they're going out after a CIS bronze medal last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EQuite simply, the Cascades don't deserve the playoffs, Their lineup from last year is almost entirely intact, and yet with their playoff lives on the line, they managed to lose 4-0 to Regina\u0026nbsp;at home. Just try to comprehend that\u0026nbsp;for a second\u0026mdash;\u003Cstrong\u003EDonna Pinning \u003C\/strong\u003Ecouldn't, and promptly got herself sent off instead. A 1-1 home draw against Manitoba isn't much better, but at least \u003Cstrong\u003EMegan Webster\u003C\/strong\u003E scored.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETrinity Western, Alberta and UBC are pretty much safe at the top, leaving Victoria, Saskatchewan and Calgary all within three points of each other. Saskatchewan and Calgary each have two more games than the Vikes. The Huskies and the Dinos all play the same four teams, so it really will be the better team going through to the final playoff spot and the chance to upset the Spartans this year, too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/1771618258425998086\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/womens-soccer-whos-out-and-whos-in.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1771618258425998086"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/1771618258425998086"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/womens-soccer-whos-out-and-whos-in.html","title":"Women's Soccer: Who's out and who's in"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Dylan Matthias"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220121611828242531.post-2974727046861202909"},"published":{"$t":"2011-10-14T01:26:00.007-04:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2011-10-14T09:15:19.602-04:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Badgers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Golden Hawks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gryphons"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Hockey"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lancers"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Lions"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Mustangs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"OUA West men's hockey recap"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"previews"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ridgebacks"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thunderwolves"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Warriors"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Hockey: 2011-12 OUA West season preview"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"With CIS hockey kicking into full gear this weekend when the AUS hits the ice, it's time to take a look at every team from coast-to-coast. Our CIS hockey preview continues with a look at the OUA West courtesy Daniel Da Silva.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBrock Badgers\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 13-9-6 (5th)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Lost to Guelph 2-1\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 17.4% (5)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: A team featuring nine rookies came out of the gate slowly. Yet they pulled it together midway through the season to finish 5th overall, a huge improvement on their dead-last finish the year before. Rookie sensation Matt Abercrombie did the heavy lifting, putting up 28 points for the Badgers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: D Joey Pell, F Steve Mullin, F Adam Schwark\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Sean Jones, F Dylan MacEachern, D Daniel Tanel, D Mitch Gaulton\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: As important as Abercrombie is to the team, their success will rely on the play of goaltender Kurt Jory. He was solid for them in net last year, carrying them through the second half and into the playoffs. If he can up his game, this team will be dangerous.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: Barring injuries, or a huge sophomore slump for key players like Abercrombie, Kaine Geldart and Jordan Gignac, this should still be a team on the rise. Having that first year of experience under their belt will be huge. In other words, they should have no problem putting the puck in the net.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir problem last season was their defence. Aside from Joey Pell, they didn’t really lose anyone to crucial on the back line and they definitely recruited a few talented D-men from the OHL. If their newcomers on the blue line can make an immediate impact, this team will be one of the teams to beat this season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 4th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far (home team bolded): \u003Cb\u003EBrock\u003C\/b\u003E 6-3 Carleton, Queen's 7-3 \u003Cb\u003EBrock\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EGuelph Gryphons\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 15-10-3\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Defeated Brock 2-1, Defeated Laurier 2-1, Lost to Western 2-0\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 17.2% (6)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: For the first two-thirds of the season, a Guelph team that was expected to make noise in the West was a sub-500 team that didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Something clicked in February and they made a shocking run to 4th place and the OUA West conference final, finally fulfilling their preseason promise.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Geoff Guimond, D Tim Priamo, F Thomas Kiriakou, F Alex Magera\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Jamie MacIntyre, F Ben Holtom, D Cam Odom, G Cody St. Jacques\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: They lost their star defenceman Tim Priamo, so it is up to their senior defencemen to fill the void. I’m specifically looking at Nathan Martine and Patrick Campbell to shoulder the load and to chip in offensively, which they did reasonably well last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: It’s hard to tell whether or not this team will pick up where they left off or revert back to their early-season form. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt, despite their opening weekend. The team has more than enough depth up front in players like Kris Belan, Edward Gale and Justin Gvora and their recruiting class bodes well for their success.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the key is their defence picking up their game to help St. Jacques adjust to the OUA game again. He was with the team for a short period last season, performing reasonably well. Goaltending was a weakness last year, so if St. Jacques can perform to his abilities, Guelph will be just fine throughout the season.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 5th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: Ottawa 5-2 \u003Cb\u003EGuelph\u003C\/b\u003E, UQTR 7-3 \u003Cb\u003EGuelph\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELakehead Thunderwolves\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 16-9-3 (3rd)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Lost 2-0 to Waterloo\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 21.4% (2)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: Their offence was one of the best in the conference, putting up 118 goals. Their defence was nothing special and their goaltending was pretty gruesome at times. They limped into the playoffs and were literally shutout in their series against Waterloo. Kind of humiliating for the 2009 OUA West champion.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Brock McPherson, F Kris Hogg, D Jordan Smith, D Andy Zulyniak, D Pierre-Marc Guilbault\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Mike Hammond, F Keith Grondin, D Mitch Fillman, D Danick Malouin, D Chris de la Lande\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: The Thunderwolves are losing a few big offensive stars, namely McPherson and Hogg. Both were point-a-game players for their OUA careers. So it is up to last year’s leading scorer Matt Caria to pick up the slack. The playmaking winger needs to have his best season yet for Lakehead to be successful because the offence will likely have to carry the team again this year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: The team should bounce back from their poor (by their standards) 2010-2011 season. They still have some pretty solid firepower up front with Caria, Adam Sergerie and Ryan McDonald and their defence is getting some nice pieces in Fillman and Malouin, both from the CHL. They will need their goaltending, usually a strong point, to be better than it was last year. That will fall on the shoulders of Alex Dupuis and rookie Jeff Bosch. If they can perform to a high level, Lakehead is going to be a powerhouse once again. But if they can’t, this team may sink down the OUA West table, behind the likes of Brock and Guelph.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 2nd\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: McGill 4-3 \u003Cb\u003ELakehead\u003C\/b\u003E, McGill 3-2 \u003Cb\u003ELakehead\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003ELaurier Golden Hawks\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 15-7-6 (2nd)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Defeated UOIT 2-1, Lost 2-1 to Guelph\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 24.0% (1)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: Last season for the Hawks can be described in two words: Ryan Daniels. The team couldn’t score and they weren’t great on defence. Yet they finished in second place solely because of the OUA West MVP performance in goal. He carried them in almost every single game.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Jean-Michel Rizk, F Ryan Bellows, D Ryan Bernardi\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Mitch Lebar, D Chad Lowry\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: It goes without saying that Daniels will be critical in goal again for this team. They already couldn’t score last year and now lose two of their best forwards. Their recruitment class isn’t that inspiring either, so Daniels’ play will make or break the team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: A few of the younger guys started to step it up last season and are continuing that success through two games this year. Benjamin Skinner has two of the team’s goals and Kain Allicock and James Marsden both have three points. Still, the fact that all of their top goal scorers from the last few seasons are pretty much gone will set this team way back.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey also lose their best defencemen in Ryan Bernardi. As I said before, they weren’t a very good defensive team last year, with Daniels getting peppered with shots each night. While Lebar and Lowry will make a difference immediately, it won’t be enough.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDaniels will make it hard to score on this team, but that’s all they have going for them. They will drop back considerably.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 6th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: Nipissing 5-4 \u003Cb\u003ELaurier\u003C\/b\u003E, Ottawa 3-1 \u003Cb\u003ELaurier\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EUOIT Ridgebacks\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 12-12-4 (7th)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Lost 2-1 to Laurier\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 18.4% (4)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: They performed quite well toward the end of the season once their big guns in Scott Baker, Nathan Spaling and Josh Vatri got going. They even gave Laurier fits in the opening round, coming within an overtime goal of moving on. It was another year of slow and steady improvement for this relatively new team.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Scott Baker, F Nathan Spaling, D TJ Legge\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Jesse Stoughton, F Kody Musselman, D Patrick Moran, D Andrew Randazzo\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: With two of the three best forwards on the team gone, it’s up to the remaining guy to lead this team. Vatri will be counted on for goals throughout the season. He can’t afford to struggle early on or this will be a big step back season for this program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: While last season was nice to watch for this team, it’s going to be a bit of a step back as they look to replace their top players. The rookies look like they will be nice additions to the team, but it’s not quite enough, especially with their talented graduating class from last year. Goaltender Jason Guy has been a bit Jekyll and Hyde throughout his time at UOIT and I don’t think we have any indication of that changing. It doesn’t help that the Ridgebacks have a pretty weak defence that gave up the second most goals in the West last year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn other words, it just doesn’t look like they have enough in any phase of the game to make the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 9th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: York 5-2 \u003Cb\u003EUOIT\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWaterloo Warriors\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 15-12-1 (6th)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Defeated Lakehead 2-0, Lost 2-1 to Western\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 18.5% (3)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: A gruesome finish to the season without top scorer Chris Ray undoes what was a pretty solid season and causes the Warriors to sink to 6th place. But an impressive showing in the playoffs takes them to the OUA West semi-final where they took Western to 3 games.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Kurt Thorner, F Kyle Schwende, D Kyle Sonnenburg\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Justin Larson, D Joe Underwood, D Jeff Einhorn\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: Their two-headed beast up front in senior Chris Ray and sophomore Tyler Moir will be critical. But their most important player will be goaltender Keaton Hartigan. He was stellar two years ago, but for some reason, just didn’t perform until the playoffs last year. If he can revert to his rookie form, look out for the Warriors.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: With all due respect to Thorner, Schwende and Sonnenburg, the Warriors remained pretty well intact. Ray, Moir and Jarrett Schnurr all return up front and Kirt Hill and Josh Schappert each put up seven points on opening weekend. While Sonnenburg will be missed, the Warriors do add a really nice defencemen in Joe Underwood, a consistent D-man for Saginaw in the OHL. Returning defencemen Steve Whitely should be able to pick up some of the offensive slack as well.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf Hartigan can play the way he is capable, the Warriors might be the team to challenge Western for the title in the West.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 3rd\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: \u003Cb\u003EWaterloo\u003C\/b\u003E 5-3 UQTR, \u003Cb\u003EWaterloo\u003C\/b\u003E 7-2 Nipissing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWestern Mustangs\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 20-3-5 (1st)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Defeated Windsor 2-0, Defeated Waterloo 2-1, Defeated Guelph 2-0, Lost 6-2 to McGill in Queen’s Cup – 1-1 at University Cup\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 16.9% (7)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: They flat out dominated the OUA West all season long, easing their way to the Queen’s Cup, losing only one game in the process. Of course, McGill flat out embarrassed the Mustangs in London in the OUA title game and UNB showed how far Western is from the top at the national championships.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Kyle Lamb, F Josh McQuade, D Jason Swit, G Anthony Grieco\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Jeff Brown, F Zach Harnden, F Tyler Peters, D Matt Ashman, D Dominic Desando, G Alain Valiquette\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: Like most teams, goaltending will be the crucial factor for the Mustangs. We know what we are getting with up front and from their defencemen. Now it is up to former OHL star Josh Unice to prove he can carry the load for an entire OUA season. He was good last year, but he was still the back up to Anthony Grieco. This is his team now.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: Truthfully, I think this team is more talented than what they had last year. Losing Lamb and McQuade hurt because they scored and did the dirty work. But Harnden and Peters will more than make up for the loss. Ashman and Desando are also CHL proven defencemen who will slot in nicely behind OUA stars Scott Aarssen and Geoff Killing.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELosing Grieco hurts badly, but Unice is most definitely a quality goaltender. If Alain Valiquette can put in a few games in relief, they may not even notice the loss of Grieco.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis team is still the class of the OUA West. What remains to be seen is if they still have the ability to mow down their opposition in the playoffs, and whether they have done enough to catch McGill and UNB. Right now, I’m saying they haven’t.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 1st\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: \u003Cb\u003EWestern\u003C\/b\u003E 5-2 RMC, \u003Cb\u003EWestern\u003C\/b\u003E 4-2 Carleton\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003E\u003Cb\u003EWindsor Lancers\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 12-12-4 (8th)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Lost 2-0 to Western\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 12.7% (8)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: Much like Laurier, this team relied heavily on their goaltending duo of Jim Watt and Frank Dayus. If not for York, they may not have been a playoff team. Only a few players managed to get it going at any point in the season, resulting in a team that scored the third fewest goals in the entire OUA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Mike Lombardi, F Kyle Lang, F Kyle Nishizaki, G Jim Watt, G Frank Dayus\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Derek Lanoue, F Cory McGillis, F Isak Quakenbush, D Mike MacIntyre, G Parker Van Buskirk\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: The team relied on goaltending the last few years and I can’t see how that will be different. Parker Van Buskirk is expected to perform as well as Watt and Dayus had for years, and he is capable. But it will be a big adjustment for a player that was average in the OHL and worse in the ECHL.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: They lose their top scorer and star goaltender. Most teams can’t recover from that and this one is no exception. They do return some good defencemen in Steve Ferry and Matt McCready, who finished second and third in team scoring last year. They also didn’t really lose anyone other than the five listed above, meaning they return a lot of good depth players. Plus they have done a good job mining the Windsor Spitfires and the general Windsor area for recruits, which will bode well for the future.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut this team is still a few years away from really making any noise in the OUA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cspan class=\"fullpost\"\u003EPredicted conference finish: 8th\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cb\u003EYork Lions\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2010-11 regular season record: 10-16-2 (9th)\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlayoff result: Missed Playoffs\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPowerplay: 10.9% (9)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast season in 50 words: It was simply an awful season for the Lions. They were knocked out very early, finishing six points behind Windsor and UOIT. They finished couldn’t score and they couldn’t keep the puck out of the net, finished last in the West in both categories.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey departures: F Adam Stuart, F Jaskirat Gill, F Jesse Grespan, D Kyle Lamb\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey arrivals: F Ryan Andersen, F Troy Barss, D Jeremie Perron, G Andrew Perugini\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKey player: Mackenzie Micks was their second leading scorer as a rookie and, of the top three forwards, he is the only one who returns. He led the team in goals and powerplay goals and will be counted on to do the same this year if the Lions want to make the playoffs.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E2011-12 outlook: There is nowhere to go but up for this team. And they will. They had nothing but rookies last year, and they will surely benefit from the experience that last year brought. They bring in another sizable rookie class, which will make for a rough opening. But I think this team will settle in. Their opening weekend, admittedly against weak opposition, was promising. If goaltender David Blair can improve on his rather poor 2010-2011 season, this team will definitely take a step or two forward. Now if only this team could hold on to their young talent (re: Stuart, Gill and Lamb) for longer than a season, they might legitimately be competitive one day.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPredicted conference finish: 7th (This is more of a statement on the impending downfall of Laurier, Windsor and UOIT than the stark improvement of York)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResults thus far: Toronto 5-4 \u003Cb\u003EYork\u003C\/b\u003E (OT), York 5-2 \u003Cb\u003EUOIT \u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003EPlease visit \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\"\u003Ecisblog.ca\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/b\u003E.\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/feeds\/2974727046861202909\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/hockey-2011-12-oua-west-preview.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2974727046861202909"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/8220121611828242531\/posts\/default\/2974727046861202909"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.cisblog.ca\/2011\/10\/hockey-2011-12-oua-west-preview.html","title":"Hockey: 2011-12 OUA West season preview"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"E. Daum"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-033k-d3bhvI\/Twanlgk4UOI\/AAAAAAAAAUQ\/7H1mIFMDzyA\/s220\/TWITTER.png"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}}]}});