It isn鈥檛 often you get a marquee match-up in November in basketball.
But there are always exceptions, and tonight is one of them as the University of Victoria Vikes (4-0) and Calgary Dinos (3-1) hook up in the new CARSA Gym for what should be a revealing early-season men鈥檚 basketball clash in sa国际传媒 West.
鈥淐algary is a solid team with a good returning corps,鈥� said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp.
But he also isn鈥檛 reading too much into the latest CIS national top-10 poll that has the Dinos at No. 7 and his Vikes an honorable mention, despite that UVic has the better conference record.
鈥淥ur pre-season [2-6] was less than impressive,鈥� Beaucamp said about the apparent discrepancy.
Dan Vanhooren鈥檚 Calgary squad was 6-1 in the pre-season.
鈥淲e still have to earn our stripes,鈥� Beaucamp said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only two weeks into conference play and we can鈥檛 get ahead of ourselves.鈥�
The Vikes will face a Calgary backcourt led by the explosive six-foot-five guard Thomas Cooper from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who leads sa国际传媒 West in scoring with a per game average of 27.8 points But there鈥檚 more to this team than the dynamism Cooper brings.
鈥淐algary is well-rounded and with depth,鈥� Beaucamp warned.
鈥淭he Dinos can solidly go 10 deep. They are a good rebounding team that puts a lot of pressure on the boards and they are good in transition, too, which puts pressure on opposing defences.鈥�
The Dinos are coming off a pair of overtime games against the Manitoba Bisons, a 90-87 victory and a 96-90 loss despite 38 points from Cooper in the latter. The Vikes last week swept the previously CIS top-10 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies and are beginning to again look like the program that reached the CIS national Final Four each of the past two seasons.
The Vikes鈥� early conference success has been built on a foundation of staunch defence with an ad hoc approach to offence.
鈥淥ur defence gives us a chance every night,鈥� Beaucamp said.
鈥淥n offence, we are finding ways to score, with different guys stepping up on any given night. We are sharing the ball well, and someone steps up.鈥�
Mack Roth of the Vikes is seventh in sa国际传媒 West scoring with a per game average of 20 points. Grant Sitton is eighth at 19.5. The Vikes and Dinos conclude their two-game set Saturday night in CARSA.
The sa国际传媒 West women鈥檚 set tonight and Saturday at CARSA features the 3-1 Dinos on a three-game winning steak against the 1-3 Vikes on a two-game losing skid.
All-round player Claire Colborne of Calgary leads the conference in rebounding with an average of 12.8 boards per game. She also can put the ball back in and averages 13 points per game.
Both teams have a sa国际传媒 West top-10 scorer. Kristie Sheils of Calgary is eighth with 16.3 points per game and outside threat Amira Giannattasio is tied for 10th at 15.5 points.
Kristy Gallagher of the Vikes leads the conference in three-point percentage at 66.7, while teammate Nicole Karstein is fourth in field-goal percentage at 57.6.
