A number of teams in the pre-season CISHOOPS.CA Top 10 went down to defeat over the weekend, some playing tough opponents on the road, and several other teams had solid performances that warrant consideration for a spot in the rankings. Expect some significant swings in this poll early in the year as the difference between speculation of relative strengths and weaknesses of each team and the realities are shown on the floor.
#1 Carleton (3-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #1 (LAST WEEK: defeated UQAM, Guelph & Dalhousie at home) The Ravens took care of business at home over the weekend despite being tested by Guelph and as mentioned previously Carleton is as deep as they've ever been in the Dave Smart coaching era, are balanced and have two National team-calibre players in Aaron Doornekamp and Ryan Bell. THIS WEEK: at Guy Vetrie Memorial tournament in Victoria with #2 Brandon, Alberta and the host Vikes
#2 Brandon (3-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #2 (LAST WEEK: defeated Lakehead, Simon Fraser and Saskatchewan at home) Brandon also swept three games in their own tournament including a comfortable 103-87 win over then-#5 Saskatchewan. Dany Charlery had an All-Canadian-type weekend (we missed his performance in the weekly recap) and Nick Quick appears to be fitting in well after a long absence. THIS WEEK: at Guy Vetrie Memorial tournament in Victoria with #1 Carleton, Alberta and the host Vikes
#3 Acadia (3-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #9 (LAST WEEK: defeated Ryerson and Victoria at home) The Axemen have won all their games comfortably including a neutral court win two weeks ago against St. Mary's and a solid defeat of UVic. MUN transfer Leonil Santil has stepped right in and produced inside scoring and rebounding for this already talented and deeper defending AUS champions. THIS WEEK: at Eric Garland tournament at UNB with St. Mary's, Western and others; First Game vs. RMC, Friday at noon eastern
#4 Windsor (2-1 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #3 (LAST WEEK: defeated Bishop's and York; lost to McGill 101-98 - all at McGill Redbird Classic) Still trying to shake the label of not being able to win big games away from the St. Denis Center, the Lancers lost a tight 3 point game at McGill on Saturday night, allowing the vastly-improved Redmen to take 42 free throws. 6'8" Greg Surmacz had back-to-back 30 point games and touted 6'3" guard Isaac Kuon has a weekend under his belt as Windsor learns to deal with the higher expectations of a defending OUA champion returning virtually their entire rotation from a year ago. THIS WEEK: Friday night vs. Lambton College in Chatham, Ontario - Earl Grant Memorial Game
#5 Concordia (3-1 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #4 (LAST WEEK: defeated Manitoba; lost at Winnipeg in overtime - at Pembina Chrysler Classic in Winnipeg) The Stingers season-opening, three-game winning streak ended on Saturday night after an overtime loss in a hostile environment before 1,300 fans in Winnipeg. Concordia has been without star guard Damian Buckley and has still performed reasonably well with emerging young players such as Andre Johnny and Sebastien Martin. THIS WEEK: Saturday 3 PM at St. Lawrence College and Sunday at Noon at Queen's, both in Kingston, Ontario
#6 UBC (0-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #6 (LAST WEEK: DNP. THIS WEEK: Host Toronto (3-0) at 4 PM ET on Saturday
#7 Cape Breton (3-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking NR (LAST WEEK: defeated then-#10 Laval by 6, then-#8 Brock by 21 and host UPEI by 2 to capture UPEI Mickey Place tournament championship) Led by fifth-year forwards Eric Breland and Paul Blake, the Capers are back in the Top 10 after a stellar weekend in which their young players like Phil Nkruma, Al Aliovic, Tremaine Fraser and Mark McGarrigle were very good. THIS WEEK: DNP
#8 McGill (4-0 vs. CIS) Last Ranking NR (LAST WEEK: defeated York, then-#3 Windsor and Bishop's to capture their own Redbird Classic championship) McGill had arguably their biggest weekend in the Craig Norman coaching era, winning their own tournament including a thrilling defeat of Windsor as 6'4" Sean Anthony garnered tournament MVP award and McGill showed off their tremendous depth, wearing teams down with a deep, talented group. THIS WEEK: Friday 7 PM at St. Lawrence College and Saturday 2 PM at Queen's, both in Kingston, Ontario
#9 Saskatchewan (2-1 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #5 (LAST WEEK: defeated Simon Fraser in overtime, Lakehead and lost to Brandon by 16 at the Brandon Super 8 tournament). The Huskies pulled out a victory over Simon Fraser on a neutral court, tying the game with 1.2 seconds remaining and then running away in OT before rarely threatening the Bobcats in the championship game of the Brandon tourney. A very deep and talented team led by 6'8" Moser candidate Andrew Spagrud. THIS WEEK: Host Regina, Lakehead and Memorial at the Huskie Invitational at home in Saskatoon
#10 St. Mary's (2-1 vs. CIS) Last Ranking #7 (LAST WEEK: defeated Ryerson comfortably and Victoria by one; two weeks ago lost to Acadia in Moncton. SMU has been working in a talented group of newcomers and just welcomed back star guard Mark McLaughlin from an injury. The loss to Acadia combined with a tight win over a UVic team that Acadia handled easily drops SMU from last week's ranking. THIS WEEK: At Eric Garland Memorial tournament; First round game Friday vs. Western at 4 PM Eastern
Dropped out of Top 10: Brock (2-1 vs. CIS), Laval (1-2 vs. CIS)
Also considered: Toronto (3-0 vs. CIS), Winnipeg (2-0 vs. CIS).
1 comment:
A fair dose of respect for the AUS.
I'm not sure what to make of Acadia's performance so far. The win over SMU might be questionable, given that SMU was without two potential all conference players. And the win over VIC was VIC's third tough game in three days.
I'm also not convinced yet about CBU. I didn't see the tournament, but something about that Mickey Place event makes me wonder just how strong Brock and Laval really are. UPEI is a young team and I'll be surprised if they are really top tier this year. Certainly will be at some point, but I don't see that yet. So my vote is still out on CBU and their win on the Island.
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