Men’s Basketball
Athletes of the Week: Veinot brother-sister basketball duo honoured
Brock takes the top seed for the second time in program history, Carleton picks up wildcard berth
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (U SPORTS) — The Brock Badgers, who won the OUA Wilson Cup with a 95-75 win over Queen’s on Saturday, will be the top seed going into this week’s U SPORTS Men’s Final 8. This is the Badgers’ second time as the No. 1 seed, with the last time coming in 1992, when they went on to win their first national championship.
Championship website: https://usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/m/info
U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2022 national tournament, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live, up to and including the gold medal game on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern. The full webcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.
Rounding out the seeding behind the Badgers are the No. 2 Victoria Vikes (Canada West champions), No. 3 Alberta Golden Bears (CW finalists and hosts), No. 4 Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions), No. 5 Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists), No. 6 McGill Redbirds (RSEQ champions), No. 7 Carleton Ravens (wildcard) and No. 8 Saskatchewan (CW bronze medallists).
The Carleton Ravens, who spent the season ranked Number 1 and were undefeated in the regular season, were a logical choice to take the wildcard bid given by the tournament seeding committee, which is made up of U SPORTS coaches. The Ravens missed out on an automatic berth when they were upset by Queen’s last Wednesday. That loss, combined with the U SPORTS regulation that requires the tournament committee to respect conference playoff results, consigned the Ravens to the bottom half of the draw for the first time this century.
Quarter-final action gets underway on Friday with the top-ranked Badgers taking on Saskatchewan at 3 p.m. (all times Eastern) followed by Dalhousie vs. Queen’s at 5 p.m.. The evening session sees the hosts Alberta taken on McGill at 8 p.m. Eastern and Victoria vs. Carleton at 10 p.m. Eastern.
NOTES: A complete championship preview will follow on Wednesday … All-Canadians and major award winners will be announced on Thursday.
SEEDING:
- Brock Badgers (OUA champions: 14-1 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
- Victoria Vikes (CW champions: 17-1 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
- Alberta Golden Bears (CW finalists / hosts: 16-0 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)
- Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 12-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
- Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists: 9-5 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)
- McGill Redbirds (RSEQ champions: 12-0 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)
- Carleton Ravens (Wildcard: 14-0 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)
- Saskatchewan Huskies (CW bronze medallists: 11-5 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times EASTERN TIME)
Friday, April 1
- 3 p.m.: Quarter-final #1—No. 8 Saskatchewan vs. No. 1 Brock
- 5 p.m.: Quarter-final #2—No. 5 Queen’s vs. No. 4 Dalhousie
- 8 p.m.: Quarter-final #3—No. 6 McGill at No. 3 Alberta
- 10 p.m.: Quarter-final #4—No. 7 Carleton vs. No. 2 Victoria
Saturday, April 2
- 3 p.m.: Consolation #1—Loser Quarter-final #1 vs. Loser Quarter-final #2
- 5 p.m.: Consolation #2—Loser Quarter-final #3 vs. Loser Quarter-final #4
- 8 p.m.: Semifinal #1—Winner Quarter-final #1 vs. Winner Quarter-final #2
- 10 p.m.: Semifinal #2—Winner Quarter-final #3 vs. Winner Quarter-final #4
Sunday, April 3
- 3 p.m.: 5th-place game
- 5 p.m.: Bronze Medal
- 8 p.m.: Gold Medal