The road to the Canada West basketball championship begins this weekend as both the Men's and Women's programs from the University of Manitoba Bisons and the Men's programs at the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and Brandon University Bobcats prepare for their respective basketball playoff matchups.
Women's Basketball
The Manitoba Bisons women's basketball team enters the Canada West playoffs as the No. 12 seed and will face the No. 5 Calgary Dinos in a play-in game hosted at Fraser Valley. The winner of that matchup will advance to the quarterfinals against No. 4 Fraser Valley. The single-elimination format means every game is a must-win, and the Bisons will look to pull off an upset to extend their season.
Men's Basketball
Three Manitoba-based men's programs have earned playoff berths, setting the stage for a high-stakes weekend:
- Manitoba Bisons (No. 2 seed): The Bisons will host the winner of the No. 7 Thompson Rivers WolfPack vs No. 10 Alberta Golden Bears in Winnipeg on Saturday at 7:00 pm at IGAC. A win would send them to the semifinals as they look to make a deep postseason run.
- Winnipeg Wesmen (No. 6 seed): The Wesmen travel to UBC to take on the No. 11 Mount Royal Cougars on Friday night in their play-in matchup. A victory would set up a quarterfinal game against No. 3 UBC.
- Brandon Bobcats (No. 12 seed): The Bobcats head to Calgary to face No. 5 Trinity Western in their play-in game on Friday night. If they advance, they will meet No. 4 Calgary in the quarterfinals.
With three men's teams and the Bisons women's squad competing, Manitoba basketball will be well-represented in the Canada West playoffs opening rounds. Fans can follow all the action and results in person this Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, on the Canada West website, streaming on the CanadaWest.tv and game results in the Rogers Scoreboard.
Read more about the Canada West game previews at...