GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Mar. 18 & Saturday, Mar. 19
Time: 6:00 p.m. & TBD (CW Final @ 7:00 p.m., Bronze Medal Game @ 5:00 p.m.)
Opponents: Alberta Golden Bears & TBD (Regina Cougars or Victoria Vikes)
Location: Edmonton, Alta.
Venue: Saville Community Centre
Watch: Canadawest.tv
As March Madness gets underway south of the border, it's already time for the Final Four in the Canada West.
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team continues their pursuit of conference glory this weekend in Edmonton.
The Huskies, who are making their fifth Canada West Final Four appearance in the last eight seasons, enter the weekend playing tremendous basketball. After what was arguably their best win of the season in the conference quarter-final — an 88-87 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds — Saskatchewan is winners of 11 of their last 13 games dating back to Nov. 27, which has helped catapult the program into the number-eight spot in the national rankings.
But standing in the way of a U SPORTS Final 8 appearance later this month in Edmonton is the Alberta Golden Bears. After an undefeated regular-season, Alberta ranks number-two in the country. They'll be playing on their home floor in front of their home fans, as they chase after their 12th conference title in program history and first since 2016-17.
Tyus Jefferson and Geoffrey James lead Alberta, as each were named Canada West All-Stars earlier this month. James played a big role in the Golden Bears 103-59 win over the Winnipeg Wesmen in the conference quarter-final, registering a team-leading 21 points on 8-14 shooting.
But Saskatchewan has an all-star in their own right. After a tremednous regular-season, Marquavian Stephens has continued to do the same in the postseason. The Flint, Mich. product is averaging 25.0 points-per-game in the playoffs — good for fifth in the conference — and is hoping to guide the program to their second Canada West title in school history. Stephens, who is in his first season with the program, figures to play a big role for the Huskies as they try and defeat the Golden Bears in the postseason for the first-time since 2005-06 (Saskatchewan beat Alberta once in the 2006-07 playoffs, but ultimately fell in the best-of-three semifinal series).
While top of mind for the Huskies is a conference championship, also lurking is the aforementioned national championship.
With Alberta playing host, there are still two more bids to be given to Canada West schools, meaning should Saskatchewan fall short on Friday night, Saturday's bronze medal game would still have a lot on the line. The Regina Cougars and Victoria Vikes are set to battle in the conference's other semifinal contest on Friday, which will follow the Huskies and Golden Bears clash.
Thoughts from Huskies associate coach Chad Jacobson:
Jacobson on the Huskies being one win away from an appearance in the U SPORTS Final 8:
"It's exciting. These guys have worked so hard all year long to put themselves in this situation. To be able to just be one win away from punching a ticket to nationals, like you said, and obviously it's still a big goal of ours to win a conference championship. I think sometimes we get kind of lost in talking about going to Nationals. But I think we've got an opportunity to do something really special and win a conference championship as well."
Jacobson on the matchup against Alberta on Friday night:
"It's going to be tough, no doubt. They're one of the best teams in the entire country and we've got to play them in their own gym. They're really well coached. They've got a lot of different weapons. They've got size, they've got experience, they've got athleticism and shooters. So it's a big challenge. But I think our guys are up for it. I think our guys are excited. They want to get there and they want to play. We played those guys in October and they smacked us around a bit, so I think we've got a bit of a bad taste in our mouth and little bit of a chip on our shoulder, per se, going into that game. But at the end of the day, we got to stay true to ourselves. We've got to play to our strengths and be who we are and I think we can do that we hopefully can give ourselves a chance to be successful."
Jacobson on the excitement of the team after the one-point win over UBC as they enter the weekend as winners of 11 of their last 13:
"The energy is really, really positive. I think guys are playing so hard and they're playing for each other. They're playing the game for all the right reasons right now and I think it shows on the court. We've had a really good week and a half of preparation, so I hope we can just continue with that momentum going into Friday night."
