Monday 19 November 2007

CISHOOPS.CA Top 10: November 19th, 2007

#1 Carleton (10-0 overall, 4-0 in OUA, #1 last week) (this past weekend: defeated Waterloo 77-53 and Laurier 90-66 at home) The Ravens continued to plough through OUA competition with a pair of lopsided wins at home including their home opener on Friday against Waterloo which drew 1,200 fans. Carleton welcomed back starting big 6'7" Kevin McCleery on Saturday night against Laurier. The Ravens have another pair of home games this weekend beginning this Friday night against Western and then Saturday night against #2 Windsor in the season's second battle of #1 vs. #2.

#2 Windsor (8-1 overall, 4-0 in OUA, #2 last week) (this past week: defeated RMC 93-45 and Queen's 71-61 at home) Windsor's pair of honours candidates pulled the Lancers from the brink of defeat in the last 7 minutes of their game against the scrappy Queen's Golden Gaels this past Saturday night as 6'5" Kevin Kloostra and 6'1" Ryan Steer were instrumental in bringing their team back from 8 down against a very strong Gaels squad. The Lancers will look shake the view that they have their troubles on the road, travelling to Ottawa to face the Gee-Gees on Friday and then the CIS season's second #1 vs. #2 matchup against Carleton. Both games will be available via the Internet and the Lancers/Carleton game will be broadcast on Rogers Television (details to follow).

#3 UBC (8-1 overall, 7-1 Canada West, #4 last week) (this past weekend: won at Winnipeg 78-64 and 86-61 at Manitoba) In likely his last pair of games in his hometown of Winnipeg, 6'3" Chris Dyck made lasting memories, going off for 69 points, including a 38 point effort against Manitoba as the T-Birds won a pair of road games. The T-Birds held two normally high scoring teams in the mid-60's on their home floors and kept 5'9" Erfan Nasajpour of Winnipeg to only 10 points in dominating defensively. UBC has pair of games at home this weekend against Thompson Rivers before closing out the first half with a pair of home games against arch-rival UVic.

#4 Alberta (10-2 overall, 5-1 Canada West, #8 last week) (This past week: Defeated Regina 79-71 and then-#6 Brandon 106-93) The Bears dominated the glass led by 6'10" Richard Bates to drop the Cougars from the ranks of the unbeaten before generally dealing well with Brandon's full-court pressure to record a pair of big wins at home. 5'11" Scott Leigh emerged at the point guard spot with a solid second half against the athletic Bobcats allowing 6'2" Alex Steele to net 23 of his team-high 25 points in the second half as Alberta won going away. The Bears play a pair of tough games on the road against Central Division rival Calgary this weekend.

#5 Concordia (5-1 overall, 1-0 in QSSF, #3 last week) (this past week: won at Bishop's 65-63). 6'1" Damian Buckley, limited to 15 minutes after returning from a knee injury, nevertheless made his presence felt with three big buckets down the stretch including one that gave the Stingers the lead for good in the final minute and then the Stingers held on the Gaiters final possession of the game giving Concordia a close victory in their QSSF season opener. Concordia nearly squandered a 16 point, first quarter lead. The Stingers play two more road games this coming weekend, beginning at McGill on Thursday night and then Saturday against Laval in Ste. Foy.

#6 Acadia (8-2 overall, 3-1 in AUS, #7 last week) (this past weekend: had a pair of 24 point victories over visiting UNB, 96-72 and 89-65) Still without 6'1" Paolo Santana, the Axemen nevertheless cleared their bench on both nights in dominating the Varsity Reds at home. 6'5" Leonil Saintil's was a monster on the glass and inside, going off for 27 points and 22 rebounds in the first game and then going 19/17 in the second. Acadia travels to Charlottetown for a pair of games against UPEI Panthers this weekend on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

#7 Brandon (9-3 overall, 5-1 Canada West, #6 last week) (this past weekend: won at Saskatchewan 85-79 and lost at Alberta 106-93) Brandon split a pair of games on their tough road swing, probably the most difficult two-day travel segment in the entire CIS. The Bobcats tried to push the tempo against Alberta and ran out of gas in the second half after a valiant effort in Saskatoon defeating a very good Huskies squad for the second time this season. Brandon returns home to face their rivals from Regina twice this weekend.

#8 Toronto (11-2 overall, 4-0 in OUA, #9 last week) (This past weekend: The Blues won at Lakehead 71-58 and at McMaster 77-60) With a pair of dominating second half surges, the Blues remained undefeated with their usual solid defensive effort and consistently well-balanced scoring attack. 6'3" Mike Degiorgio provided the necessary lift in the second half at Lakehead while 6'2" Rob Paris had three 3's during a 20-1 third quarter run at Mac during which 5 different Blues scored. Toronto now goes back on the road to face their first Top 10 opponent since playing Dalhousie and UBC in October as they travel to #9 Guelph on Friday and then meet the surging Brock Badgers on Saturday afternoon at 4 PM in St. Catharines, ON.

#9 Guelph (10-2 overall, 4-0 in OUA, #10 last week) (this past weekend: won at Laurentian 73-71 and at York 78-66) The Gryphs have now won 10 consecutive games including gutting out a pair of tough road games with their characteristic scrappy "d" and balanced scoring inside and out. Friday night, 6'9" Duncan Milne was instrumental with a huge game inside (24 points, 9 rebounds) and on Saturday the Gryphs held normally high scoring York to only 66 points at home and got a tremendous effort from 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli, who scored their last 10 points of the game to ensure a two-game sweep. Guelph has their next 4 games at home including this weekend when they host Toronto on Friday night and Ryerson on Saturday night.

#10 Cape Breton (10-3 overall, 4-0 in AUS, NR last week) (this past weekend: swept then #5-St. Mary's 72-67 and 86-67) Despite not having a pair of starters in the lineup on Friday night, the Capers rolled with six players and got a clutch three from 5'10" Tremaine Fraser with under 2 minutes to play to knock off St. Mary's and then followed that up with a decisive 19 point win over the Huskies as Cape Breton welcomed back 6'4" Phil Nkrumah. 6'5" Eric Breland had a pair of double doubles as the Capers return to the Top 10 after a three week absence. 6'4" fifth-year wing Paul Blake is still nursing an injury and his status for Cape Breton's important home-and-home set with St. FX remains uncertain.

Also Considered:
Calgary (7-2 overall, 5-1 in Canada West)
Queen's (7-3 overall, 2-2 in OUA)

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