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CIS Final 8 PREVIEW: Top-ranked teams looking for redemption


OTTAWA (CIS) - The Carleton Ravens, Calgary Dinos and UBC Thunderbirds, the three top-seeded teams at the 2009 Final 8, will all be looking for redemption this weekend when the CIS men's basketball championship is contested at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

Championship web site: www.universitysport.ca/e/final8/2009

The Final 8 gets under way Friday with the quarterfinal round and concludes Sunday with the presentation of the national final at 4 p.m.

In addition to the championship game, The Score Television Network will broadcast the last two first-round duels on Friday evening (quarterfinal No. 4 on tape delay) and the semi-finals on Saturday night. SSN Canada will webcast all main-bracket matches (quarters, semis, final).

The tournament host and OUA champion Ravens enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second straight year. Canada West champion Calgary and Canada West finalist UBC are seeded second and third, respectively, followed by the No. 4 Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA finalists), No. 5 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA bronze medallists), No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions), No. 7 Concordia Stingers (QSSF champions) and No. 8 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (AUS finalists).

StFX received the wildcard berth following a vote from a committee comprised of CIS coaches.

Calgary and Concordia kick off the tourney Friday at 12:30 p.m., while the second quarterfinal duel pits UBC against Dalhousie at 2:30 p.m. The evening session will see both hometown teams in action as Ottawa faces Western Ontario at 6 p.m., while Carleton battles StFX at 8 p.m.

New national champions will be crowned on Sunday as the Brock Badgers missed the OUA playoffs with an 8-14 record after graduating a number of star players following their 2007-08 championship run.

After claiming five straight W.P. McGee trophies in Halifax from 2003 to 2007, the Ravens' dream of moving closer to Victoria's all-time record of seven consecutive CIS titles came to a disappointing end in front of their home fans last winter, when they dropped an 82-80 double-overtime decision to Acadia in the semi-final round.

The loss also ended Carleton's record-tying streak of 18 straight wins at the national tournament, dating back to 2001.

The Ravens are back with a vengeance this year. Ranked No. 1 in 13 of 14 coaches polls this season, they have racked up 24 straight wins since an 80-68 conference-opening loss at Windsor back on November 7, and enter the Final 8 sporting a stellar 33-1 mark against CIS rivals including a convincing 71-57 victory at Western in the OUA Wilson Cup final.

Among the Ravens' nine non-conference wins against CIS rivals this season was an 83-61 domination of StFX, their first-round opponent on Friday, on the last day of the Rod Shoveller Memorial Tournament in Halifax, on January 4. The previous day, Carleton had defeated eventual AUS champion Dalhousie 69-57.

Carleton and StFX met twice at the Final 8 during the Ravens' five-year championship run, with Carleton prevailing 67-65 in the semi-final round in 2005 and 63-59 in the title match in 2004.

This year's Ravens are led by OUA MVP, fifth-year guard Stuart Turnbull, who topped the team in scoring in conference play averaging 16.7 points per game, and fellow fifth-year senior and 2007-08 CIS player of the year, forward Aaron Doornekamp, who averaged 14.4 points and a team-high 6.95 rebounds per outing.

Guard Rob Saunders, also a fifth-year senior, was named OUA defensive player of the year and was the leader of a unit that allowed a CIS-low 63.3 points per night in the regular season.

The No. 2 Dinos and No. 3 Thunderbirds are also looking for redemption this week. The two rivals met in the Canada West final on February 28, with the Dinos prevailing 80-76 at UBC.

Calgary was considered a national contender a year ago following an 18-4 regular season, the team's best conference record in 30 years, but failed to qualify for the CIS championship after going 0-2 at home at the Canada West Final Four.

UBC's recent struggles at the Final 8 are well documented. The 'Birds have lost in the opening round in each of their five appearances since 2003.

"Every team that is successful has to go through a lesson prior to achieving any success, and that's what happened to us last year," said ninth-year Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren, whose team has never won the W.P. McGee trophy. "Last year the guys were looking past the Final Four, and all the expectation was causing us some problems. We've done a better job of keeping focused on the moment this year and that's been a great lesson moving forward. With the talent we have, if we keep them where they need to be mentally, we can be successful."

Calgary boasts a rare talent in fifth-year forward Henry Bekkering, a six-foot-six, 235-pound athletic specimen whose Internet notoriety has continued to blossom since transferring from Eastern Washington prior to the 2006-07 campaign. The elder Bekkering - brother Ross is also a Dino and was named a Canada West first-team all-star this season - is best known for his high-flying dunks but he has demonstrated this season that he is about much more than the flush, finishing fourth in Canada West with 20.2 points per game - most notably a 41-point outburst at Alberta.

"It's really too bad that Henry is seen only as a dunker, just because that's something he's really good at doing," said Vanhooren. "For a guy who averages 20 points and seven rebounds, he has all-Canadian numbers, and for the last two years all the expectation about winning around our program has been because he joined the lineup.

"He hasn't really gotten his due as a great basketball player, and I think this tournament is a good chance for him to showcase his talents. I only hope that he plays as well as he can so that everyone can see what he's capable of. He did that at Canada West, and that's why we won."

The Thunderbirds are coming off yet another spectacular Canada West campaign that saw them take first place in the overall standings and lead the conference in both offence (85.1 points per game) and defence (66.1). UBC was the only team besides Carleton to top the national coaches poll this season (Week 3) and was ranked in the top three all year, spending 10 weeks at No. 2 and three at No. 3.

Friday's No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal match-up will be an OUA battle between Western Ontario and Ottawa.

The rivals only met once this season however, with the Mustangs winning the conference opener 73-53 back on November 7, in London.

"Looking at the draw we have a tough road ahead, but we're up to the challenge. Playing Ottawa, we face a very good team and in their own back yard which is basically a home game for them," said third-year Western head coach Bradley Campbell, whose Mustangs captured their lone W.P. McGee trophy in 1991. "And we would see a tough semi-final match-up if we get past Ottawa. If we win a national championship, it's going to be earned."

The Gee-Gees clinched a berth in the CIS tourney thanks to a 73-59 OUA bronze-medal win over Windsor on Saturday.

"We didn't want to let this opportunity slip away," said fourth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe, who scored 24 points against Windsor and was Ottawa's top scorer this season with a 17.6 point-per-game average. "If we didn't bring our A-game the end result could have been different."

Dalhousie upset StFX 72-60 in Saturday night's AUS final to advance to the Final 8 for only the second time in team history. The Tigers went 0-2 in their first appearance in 1996, losing to Toronto and Acadia.

The X-Men, on the other hand, seem to be in the McGee trophy mix every year, and are making their seventh trip in 10 years to the national championship. StFX has been crowned on three occasions, most recently in back-to-back seasons in 2000 and 2001 when they were led by current UBC assistant coach Randy Nohr.

Concordia returns after a one-year absence following a come-from-behind 79-76 win over UQAM in the QSSF title game. The Stingers trailed by 10 points at halftime against the Citadins but exploded for a 27-16 third quarter.

The Quebec champions struggled in the first half of the season, going 6-4 in their first 10 conference outings, but enter the national tourney on an eight-game winning streak.

"Early on, we were a little disjointed, but we seem to have settled down in the last month and a half," said 17-year head coach John Dore, who guided Concordia to its lone CIS title back in 1990. "The best way to describe us is we're a very athletic team. We win all our close games. Mentally, we are very tough."

"At the nationals we're there talent-wise. For us to win, we have to play harder and smarter than the other teams."



TEAM PROFILES

No. 1 Carleton Ravens

Head Coach: Dave Smart (10th season)
Regular season record: 21-1
Regular season standing: 1st OUA East (1st overall OUA)
Playoff record: 3-0
Playoff finish: OUA champions
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): No. 1
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 1 (13 weeks - No. 2 in Week 3)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners (OUA East): Stuart Turnbull (MVP), Rob Saunders (defensive MVP), Dave Smart (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA East): Stuart Turnbull, Aaron Doornekamp
Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA East): none
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 12th
CIS championship all-time record: 20-9
CIS championship best result: 5-time champions (2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003)
CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (semi-finalists)
CIS championship sequence: 7th straight appearance, 8th in 9 years

No. 2 Calgary Dinos

Head Coach: Dan Vanhooren (9th season)
Regular season record: 17-5
Regular season standing: 1st Canada West Central Division (2nd overall Canada West)
Playoff record: 4-0
Playoff finish: Canada West champions
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): Tied No. 5
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 4 (5 weeks)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners: none
Conference 1st team all-stars: Ross Bekkering
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Henry Bekkering
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 7th
CIS championship all-time record: 4-9
CIS championship best result: Finalists (1966)
CIS championship last appearance: 2004 (semi-finalists)
CIS championship sequence: Return after 5-year absence, 3rd appearance in 17 years

No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds

Head Coach: Kevin Hanson (9th season)
Regular season record: 21-2
Regular season standing: 1st Canada West Pacific Division (1st overall Canada West)
Playoff record: 5-1
Playoff finish: Canada West finalists
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): No. 2 (last 4 weeks)
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 1 (1 week - Week 3)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners: Chris Dyck (student-athlete), Kevin Hanson (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars: none
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Chris Dyck, Josh Whyte
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 17th
CIS championship all-time record: 19-19
CIS championship best result: 2-time champions (1972, 1970)
CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (6th place)
CIS championship sequence: 4th straight appearance, 6th in 7 years

No. 4 Western Ontario Mustangs

Head Coach: Bradley Campbell (3rd season)
Regular season record: 19-3
Regular season standing: 1st OUA West (tied 2nd overall OUA)
Playoff record: 2-1
Playoff finish: OUA finalists
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): No. 4
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 4 (1 week)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 10
Conference award winners (OUA West): Alex Brzozowicz (defensive MVP / student-athlete), Bradley Campbell (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA West): Bradley Smith, Keenan Jeppesen
Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA West): none
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 13th
CIS championship all-time record: 14-14
CIS championship best result: 1-time champions (1991)
CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (semi-finalists)
CIS championship sequence: 2nd straight appearance, 3rd in 8 years

No. 5 Ottawa Gee-Gees

Head Coach: Dave DeAveiro (8th season)
Regular season record: 19-3
Regular season standing: 2nd OUA East (tied 2nd overall OUA)
Playoff record: 2-1
Playoff finish: OUA bronze medallists
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): No. 3 (last 4 weeks)
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 2 (3 weeks)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners (OUA East): Dax Dessureault (student-athlete)
Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA East): Dax Dessureault, Josh Gibson-Bascombe
Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA East): none
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 6th
CIS championship all-time record: 6-7
CIS championship best result: Semi-finalists (2007, 1993)
CIS championship last appearance: 2007 (semi-finalists)
CIS championship sequence: Return after 1-year absence, 3rd appearance in 5 years

No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers

Head Coach: John Campbell (7th season)
Regular season record: 13-7
Regular season standing: 3rd AUS
Playoff record: 3-0
Playoff finish: AUS champions
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): unranked
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 8 (1 week - Week 2)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 9
Conference award winners: none
Conference 1st team all-stars: none
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Simon Farine
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 2nd
CIS championship all-time record: 0-2
CIS championship best result: Tied for 7th (1996)
CIS championship last appearance: 1996 (tied for 7th)
CIS championship sequence: 2nd appearance in history, 1st since 1996

No. 7 Concordia Stingers

Head Coach: John Dore (20th season)
Regular season record: 12-4
Regular season standing: 1st QSSF
Playoff record: 2-0
Playoff finish: QSSF champions
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): No. 7
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 3 (3 weeks - first 3 weeks)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners: Damian Buckley (MVP), Jamal Gallier (defensive MVP), John Dore (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars: Damian Buckley
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Jamal Gallier
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 17th
CIS championship all-time record: 18-25
CIS championship best result: 1-time champions (1990)
CIS championship last appearance: 2007 (5th place)
CIS championship sequence: Return after 1-year absence, 3rd appearance in 5 years

No. 8 St. Francis Xavier X-Men

Head Coach: Steve Konchalski (34th season)
Regular season record: 17-3
Regular season standing: 1st AUS
Playoff record: 1-1
Playoff finish: AUS finalists
Final Top 10 ranking (Feb. 24): Tied No. 5
Best Top 10 ranking (14 weeks): No. 3 (3 weeks)
Number of weeks in Top 10 (14 weeks): 14
Conference award winners: Christian Upshaw (MVP)
Conference 1st team all-stars: Christian Upshaw, Tyler Richards
Conference 2nd team all-stars: none
CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 14th
CIS championship all-time record: 18-16
CIS championship best result: 3-time champions (2001, 2000, 1993)
CIS championship last appearance: 2006 (semi-finalists)
CIS championship sequence: Return after 2-year absence, 7th appearance in 10 years

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Eastern Time)

Thursday, March 12
Practice schedule at Scotiabank Place (open to media)
10:00 - 10:50 Calgary
10:55 - 11:45 Concordia
11:50 - 12:40 UBC
12:45 - 13:35 Dalhousie
13:40 - 14:30 Western Ontario
14:35 - 15:25 Ottawa
15:30 - 16:20 Carleton
16:25 - 17:15 St. Francis Xavier

19:15 All-Canadian Reception (Marriott Hotel - Victoria Room)

Friday, March 13
12:30 Quarterfinal #1: No. 2 Calgary vs. No. 7 Concordia
14:30 Quarterfinal #2: No. 3 UBC vs. No. 6 Dalhousie
18:00 Quarterfinal #3: No. 4 Western Ontario vs. No. 5 Ottawa (The Score)
20:00 Quarterfinal #4: No. 1 Carleton vs. No. 8 St. Francis Xavier (The Score / tape delay: 22:00)

Saturday, March 14
12:30 Consolation #1
14:30 Consolation #2
18:00 Semifinal #1 (The Score)
20:00 Semifinal #2 (The Score)

Sunday, March 15
13:30 5th-place consolation final
16:00 Final (The Score)


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