Henry IV certainly couldn’t have imagined basketball but the Shakespearean line of heavy is the head the wears the crown is often used by sports scribes to describe the burden borne by defending champion teams or those ranked No. 1.
There are no shortage of teams in sa国际传媒 West men’s basketball looking to knock off the defending conference champion and current U Sports national top-ranked University of Victoria Vikes.
“Being ranked No. 1 in the country may be beneficial for the program in terms of reputation and recruiting, but it’s not any help on the court in a game situation,” said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp.
“Most of the teams that play us are loose with nothing to lose.”
The Vikes found that out by escaping with a 93-89 win Friday night against the Trinity Western University Spartans in a game that went right to the wire as Vikes star guard Diego Maffia did not play the second half due to an injury described as a hip flexor.
The Vikes went into Saturday night’s game without defending sa国际传媒 West MVP and 2022-23 U Sports scoring-champion Maffia and lost 92-85 in overtime as their perch atop the national poll will likely be short-lived.
You don’t get to be No. 1-ranked in the nation without other weapons in the quiver and the Vikes have plenty, including Renoldo Robinson, Elias Ralph, Aaron Tesfagiorgis, Ethan Boag and Izzy Helman out of Claremont, six-foot-11 Sergio Pereira from Shawnigan Lake School, six-foot-six Shadynn Smid out of Cowichan Secondary and rookie standout Griffin Arnatt from Oak Bay. But that wasn’t enough against TWU on Saturday.
You simply can’t overcome completely what the presence of Maffia brings to the court.
“Diego garners so much attention from the other team that it gets other guys open for shots,” said Beaucamp.
Meanwhile, the UVic women’s team defeated Trinity Western 78-74 on Friday night and won 64-53 on Saturday night in Langley as the Vikes are on a three-game winning run.
“Everybody is healthy now and that makes a difference,” said Vikes head coach Carrie Watts.
“Different pieces are starting to click.”
They include veteran Tana Pankratz, who had 21 points Saturday, returning from injury after the Christmas break and rookie Makena Anderson, out of St. Michaels University School, beginning to emerge and looking as if she is on the threshold of a big career inside Ring Road.
“There are few six-foot-four perimeter players who can move like Tana [Pankratz] and she looks happy and relaxed on the court,” said Watts, a former national-team player.
“Makena [Anderson] has shaken off her rookie jitters and is now taking some courageous shots. She has such a competitive will to win.”
The Vikes men’s and women’s teams are in Winnipeg next weekend to take on their University of Manitoba Bisons counterparts before returning to Ken and Kathy Shields Court at CARSA Gymnasium to play the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Jan. 26-27.
