The march is on to the month of March and the CIS Men’s Basketball Championship. Here is my projected top-eight seeding if the tournament was to start today.
1. Carleton (22-0; last week: 1)
The exaggerated exhibition season that is the OUA regular season is over for the Ravens. In anticlimactic fashion, the Ravens captured their 14th consecutive regular-season title. Their undefeated 22-0 record marks just the sixth time they’ve navigated the OUA season without faltering. It’s hard to find a more dominant program in the CIS. No disrespect to Laval football, Western cheerleading and Guelph cross-country, but in my books the leader in the clubhouse is Carleton men’s basketball.
Although he often gets forgotten because he’s been so good for so long, I believe Tyson Hinz is going to be the most dominant Raven in the postseason. There are far more great guards this season than great posts, and the quality of the big men should allow Hinz to go off.
2. Ottawa (20-2; last week: 2)
Where would Ottawa be without Terry Thomas? Not ranked second and possibly not even in the Final 8. The transfer from St. FX has been the Gee Gee’s X-factor, and the former second-team all-Canadian will surely get a first-team nod in 2014. Just imagine how good Ottawa would be if Thomas wasn’t rusty from taking a year off or wasn’t hampered by a groin injury.
Ottawa’s big test will now be improving defensively. Week in and week out, the Gee Gees go through lulls where they fall asleep. The uncontested back door cuts for lay ups will have to be, well, more contested if they are to stay in the competition with the league’s elite.
3. Alberta (20-2; last week: 3)
The most impressive win of the past week was the Alberta Golden Bears eight-point takedown of the No.10–ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, Alberta’s ninth straight win. Coming out of that, the best rookie at Nationals might just be Alberta forward Mamadou Gueye, who dropped a career high 21 on the Huskies. And this as Gueye continues to get comfortable in the CIS and the Bears coaching staff continues to get comfortable with him; the sky is the limit for a kid who can seriously jump out of the gym.
4. Victoria (19-3; last week: 5)
Come tournament time, look for teams with veteran leadership do be those who don’t break under pressure. The Vikes are that team. Fifth-year senior Terrell Evans is so varied in his skill set that on any given night he could lead his team not just vocally but in scoring, rebounding, or by being the guy to step up and take the big shots in the big moments. Fellow senior Chris McLaughlin is another team leader who’s sets the tone by example. Throw in two juniors in Mack Wroth and transfer Marcus Tibbs—both of whom can score in bunches—and you can see why Victoria is dreaming of bringing a banner back to the island.
5. Acadia (14-4; last week: 4)
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. In Acadia’s win over ST. FX, they were both. On the one hand, they’ve secured yet another four-point win to stretch their point total to 38, all but wrapping up the AUS as the Axemen now have a 10-point cushion over UPEI and SMU. On the other, Acadia’s win saw them blow a 19-point fourth-quarter lead and scrape through courtesy of two missed St. FX free throws and a walk-off game winner with 0.1 seconds left. Acadia can’t count on being that lucky much longer, so will have to maintain their best if they plan to make a run deep into March.
6. McGill (12-2; last week: 6)
Week after week I’m forced to defend the Redmen’s chances of winning at nationals. Detractors often wonder how they’ll score against elite teams when they can barely muster enough points to win in the weak RSEQ. My rebuttal is those numbers can be deceiving because of the generally slower pace of play in the Q. Sure their points per game is 26th, and their made field goals rank 21st, but those numbers look outstanding in relation to McGill’s 62 field goals per game, which ranks 38th. What will win out for them are their defensive numbers. Ranking 1st in opponents’ field goal percentage, 2nd in steals and 3rd in points per game allowed—that’s the formula that tells me McGill is a formidable opponent, even for the nation’s top teams.
7. McMaster (18-4; last week; 7)
After suffering their first loss in more than two months, the Marauders bounced back to blow out both Waterloo schools. Their recent domination, combined with Windsor’s loss to Waterloo, helped the Marauders clinch first-place in the OUA West for the first time since 2006. Meanwhile Taylor Black continues to rack up double-doubles and dunk victims, and Leon Alexander is a streak scorer who gets hot and can’t be stopped. We’ll soon see if their athleticism stacks up with the beasts of the OUA East.
8. Windsor (16-6; last week: 8)
Even though they lost to a Waterloo squad that won’t make the playoffs, I still have Windsor as a sleeper at Nationals. Why? For one, Enrico Diloreto was rested against Brock. The senior capped a great career by becoming Windsor’s all-time leading scorer this year. With a bye through the West division quarters, Diloreto and the Lancers get much needed rest until they host to the OUA west division semis. Secondly, freshman Khalid Abdel-Gabar, who might be just as good as Diloreto by the time he graduates and has given Windsor great energy and scoring punch down the stretch. Their challenge? They very well might have to face the Carleton Ravens in the opening game of the OUA Final 4 and the CIS Final 8. Don’t forget, however, they are the last CIS team to beat Carleton, way back in November of 2013.