CIS men’s basketball: Stingers top final national rankings
March 7, 2007; OTTAWA (CIS) – The Concordia Stingers top the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s basketball charts for the first time in over a decade. Two days away from a highly-anticipated match-up with the Laval Rouge et Or in the Quebec conference final, the Stingers move up one spot to grab first place in the final national coaches poll of the 2006-07 season. Concordia had spent the last five weeks at No. 2 and has been ranked no lower than eighth in 15 polls this year. With the No. 1 ranking, the Stingers, who have lost only once this season in 17 conference and playoff outings, position themselves well for the wildcard voting, should they be upset by Laval in the QSSF title game.
The recipient of the wildcard, the eighth and final ticket for the CIS Final 8 in Halifax in two weeks (March 16-18), will be announced Sunday morning, along with the seedings. Behind Concordia, the four-time defending national champion Carleton Ravens and the UBC Thunderbirds also move up one position in the new rankings to second and third place, respectively. The Ravens qualified for the Final 8 on Saturday with a two-point win (65-63) over arch-rivals, the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA East final. Carleton faces the No. 8 and OUA West champion Windsor Lancers Saturday night in the OUA title match, a duel that will prove crucial for seedings at the nationals. The Thunderbirds also earned a berth in the CIS tournament over the weekend by reaching the Canada West final, where they handed former No. 1, the Brandon Bobcats their first defeat in 17 games (76-73). Brandon, ranked No. 1 the last five weeks, drops to No. 4 following the loss. The Gees-Gees hang on to No. 5 despite their loss to Carleton, which should help them in the wildcard voting should Concordia capture the QSSF crown.
Rounding out the final Top 10 are:
- No. 6 StFX X-Men: await opponent in AUS semi-final (Friday), looking for Final 8 berth.
- No. 7 Cape Breton Capers: await opponent in AUS semi-final (Friday), looking for Final 8 berth.
- No. 8 Windsor Lancers: won OUA West, will face Carleton in OUA final, qualified for Halifax.
- T-No. 9 Acadia Axemen: will face Dalhousie in AUS quarters (Thursday), looking for Final 8 berth.
- T-No. 9 Victoria Vikes: finished fourth at Canada West Final Four. In wildcard hunt.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
(regular season & playoff records) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Concordia (15-1 / 1-0 playoffs) / 449 pts / (2)
2. Carleton (19-3 / 2-0 playoffs) / 410 pts / (3)
3. UBC (20-3 / 6-0 playoffs) / 383 pts / (4)
4. Brandon (20-2 / 3-1 playoffs) / 355 pts / (1)
5. Ottawa (18-4 / 1-1 playoffs) / 284 pts / (5)
6. StFX (14-6) / 258 pts / (7)
7. Cape Breton (15-5) / 200 pts / (8)
8. Windsor (15-6 / 2-0 playoffs) / 176 pts / (10)
T9. Victoria (20-3 / 2-4 playoffs) / 162 pts / (6)
T9. Acadia (14-6) / 162 pts / (9)
Other teams receiving votes: Saskatchewan (52), Laval (14), McMaster (13), Toronto (13), Saint Mary’s (11).
With thanks to the tremendous data base of scores and game recaps kept by Bob Adams on his Bob Adams CIS Sports page Bob Adams CIS Sports Page , see below for a summary of the past 10 AUS tournaments (since 1996-97) including championship game score and top seeds.
Cape Breton CAPERS broke an eight-year run by St. FX as the #1 seed in the tournament by finishing first in the AUS this season. The CAPERS have been a top two seed now for each of the past 4 seasons. X has captured 6 of the past 7 AUS tournaments including last season's 83-72 victory over Cape Breton and 7 of the last 10 tournament championships overall. This season's 5th ranked team, St. Mary's, has been in 6 of the last 10 tournament championship games, capturing the tournament championship in 1998-99 over Acadia. SMU had a run of 4 consecutive championship game appearances (all loses) including 3 against St. FX. St. FX is the only AUS school to appear in each of the last 11 tournaments (including this season) while St. Mary's has appeared in 10 of the last 11, missing the tournament only in 2002-03.
AUS TOURNAMENT SUMMARY (since 19996-97; tournament champions and #1 seeds in BOLD)
2005-06 St.FX 83, Cape Breton 72 Top 6 seeds: X, CB, SMU, MUN, PEI, UNB
2004-05 St. FX 82, SMU 72 Top 6 seeds: X, CB, SMU, UNB, PEI, ACA
2003-04 St. FX 74, UNB 64 Top 6 seeds: X, CB, UNB, ACA, PEI, MUN
2002-03 UPEI 74, SMU 65 Top 6 seeds: X, ACA, SMU, PEI, DAL, UNB
2001-02 St. FX 78, SMU 68 Top 6 seeds: X, UNB, SMU, PEI, MUN, DAL
2000-01 St. FX 76, SMU 57 Top 6 seeds: X, SMU, ACA, UNB, MUN, CB
1999-00 St. FX 68, SMU 62 Top 6 seeds: X, UNB, SMU, ACA, MUN, CB
1998-99 SMU 81, ACA 62 Top 6 seeds: X, SMU, UNB, DAL, CB, ACA
1997-98 ACA 73, DAL 66 Top 6 seeds: ACA, SMU, CB, UNB, SFX, MUN
1996-97 St. FX 59, ACA 54 Top 6 seeds: MUN, X, DAL, SMU, ACA, CB
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