Monday 21 February 2011

CISHoops.ca Top 10 for 21 February 2011

#1 Carleton (29-0, 22-0) (LW: #1)  Most recent match with cross-town rivals uOttawa was tight until the end of the third quarter when Ravens tightened up defensively and on the glass and started making shots, winning by 21 on the road.  6'5" Cole Hobin locked up Gee-Gees star 6'6" wing Warren Ward, who had only 2 of his 19 points after halftime after Hobin missed much of the first half with foul trouble.  Carleton will host an OUA East playoff game next Saturday against either Ryerson, York or Laurentian.  OUA East first round playoff games (Laurentian at Ottawa; York at Ryerson) go Wednesday night.

#2 UBC (25-2, 22-2) (LW: #2)  Comfortable sweep in front of over 2,000 fans each night in Victoria officially locked up first place in CW for Thunderbirds.  UBC begins their first round Best-of-3 playoff at home against #8 seed Manitoba Bisons, who lost their last 6 in a row but still managed to grab the final CW playoff spot.  UBC swept the Bisons in Winnipeg in January with a pair of 15 point victories.  Series begins on Friday.

#3 Cape Breton (18-6, 17-1) (LW: #3)  6'4" Phil Nkrumah had a big game at UNB which officially locked up the top seed in the AUS tournament for the Capers.  The V-Reds were playing their final game in the Lady Beaverbrook Gym, known as the Pit - V-Reds move into a new facility for next season.  CBU is still without 6'1" point guard Jimmy Dorsey who is nursing a shoulder injury and may be back for this weekend's games at home against UPEI and UNB. 

#4 Saskatchewan (27-4, 20-4) (LW: #4)  5'11" Jamelle Barrett once again was the story over the weekend with strong performances in two victories against Calgary.  The Huskies, winners of 20 of their past 21 games overall, begin the post-season with a Best-of-3 series against provincial rival Regina Cougars this coming weekend.

#5 Trinity Western (22-3, 21-3) (LW: #5)   Idle this week, the Spartans officially finish second in Canada West and will host Fraser Valley Cascades in a CW first-round Best-of-3 playoff series in Langley.  The series begins Thursday night.

#6 Lakehead (22-11, 17-5) (LW: #6)  Thunderwolves tripped up on the road at Western on Saturday but are OUA West regular season champions and look forward to hosting an OUA West playoff game at home in the Thunderdome next Saturday.  Potential opponents include Guelph, McMaster and Western.

#7 Dalhousie (19-9, 13-6) (LW: #7)  Tigers blew a late 10 point lead yesterday afternoon in Wolfville as Acadia's Alex McLaughlin tipped in a three point miss as time expired.  Still, Dal is firmly in second and with two wins over X retains a higher ranking than their AUS rivals.  Dal completes their regular season with a home date with cross-town rival Saint Mary's Huskies, still battling for a spot in the AUS tournament.

#8 St. FX (24-6, 13-5) (LW: #8)  An easy sweep of Memorial in St. John's over the weekend gave Coach Steve Konchalski ample opportunity to use his bench.  X simply wants to remain healthy and get their two underrated forwards 6'5" Jeremy Dunn and 6'6" Chad Warren back in the lineup in time for the AUS tournament.  X completes their season at home this weekend hosting UNB and UPEI.

#9 Windsor (18-8, 16-6) (LW: #10)  After a four game losing streak in late January had many questioning Lancers resolve, 6'3" Isaac Kuon led a resurgence allowing Windsor to win their last 5 games of the regular season and finish comfortably in second place.  Windsor will host a playoff game next Saturday with potential opponents including Laurier, Western or McMaster.  A win in that game puts the Lancers into the OUA Final Four in Hamilton in two weeks.

#10 Concordia (18-5, 11-4) (LW: NR)  Within about 20 seconds of a possible third place finish in the QUBL looming large, Stingers pulled a rabbit out of hat on Saturday against McGill on a pair of late 3's by 6'2" Decee Krah and later were aided by an unlikely Bishop's comeback against Laval.  Concordia now is one victory away from going worst-to-first and home court advantage throughout the QUBL post-season.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your top 10 corresponds exactly to the overall CIS standings based strictly on winning % (see Martin Timmerman CIS results).
The only difference is the order in which you placed these 10 teams.
Personally, I would not have CBU ahead of Sask or TWU but that's a judgment call.
Interesting that the three AUS teams are the only ones in that league with winning records.
I think Trinity is still getting a bit of the stick here for its poor showing against UBC.
And Sask are the defending champs and most nights look the part.
On the other hand, Cape Breton's dreadful pre-season record has been all but forgotten (granted, there were injuries but they lost to Holland College, for heaven's sake).
All in all, though, you can't quibble to much with this poll.

Adam Connolly said...

i think this is a very accurate poll.. moreso then the actual coaches poll.. The AUS seems to get crapped on for being top heavy, however the same can be said for most leagues, especially the Canada West.. The top 3 teams in CW have routinely thumped everyone else all season.
The OUA West is really the only division with a solid balance.