An unusual final sa国际传媒 West weekend of the basketball regular season awaits the University of Victoria Vikes teams tonight and Saturday at the CARSA Performance Gym against their Brandon Bobcats counterparts.
The Vikes men (7-11) find themselves in an uncomfortably strange situation and will miss the playoffs after having made the CIS national championship tournament the past three seasons and into the Final Four the last two years. It鈥檚 the first time since 2009 that UVic won鈥檛 be part of the post-season dance. The previous times it happened were in 2002 and 2003.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfamiliar territory for us and obviously not the position we wanted to be in,鈥� said UVic coach Craig Beaucamp.
鈥淭here are all sorts of emotions and feelings.鈥�
There was an era when UVic and Brandon were both national championship dynasties. But that was a long time ago. The last-place Bobcats are 1-17 and will again miss the playoffs.
The Vikes women鈥檚 squad, however, has all to play for. They can secure a playoff berth with a sweep of the Bobcats. They can still get in with one loss, although that will involve scoreboard watching from other games.
鈥淲e never talk about the implications of games,鈥� said UVic coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淭he players know. We don鈥檛 need to make the games bigger than they are. We have to be focused in the moment.鈥�
UVic, Brandon and UBC are all tied at 7-11 in the standings, with Winnipeg at 8-10 among the group vying for the final playoff positions.
鈥淏randon鈥檚 starting five is as good as any in the league and is very dynamic,鈥� warned Sinclair.
鈥淲e need to control the ball, the boards and the pace of the game against them.鈥�
The Vikes are in the unique position of not graduating a senior this season as they look to hosting the 2017 CIS national championship tournament next spring at CARSA.
This weekend, meanwhile, will be the final one in Vikes colours for graduating men鈥檚 players Brandon Dunlop, Reiner Theil and Mack Roth.
Beaucamp described the situation as 鈥渂ittersweet.鈥�
鈥淩einer and Mack have been to the national championships the past three years, the last two in the Final Four, and this is not the storybook final season they might have wanted,鈥� added Beaucamp.
鈥淎nd this is Brandon Dunlop鈥檚 third stint with the Vikes and he as been to the national championships and has been a great leader for this program. He is a teacher and will be a pillar in the basketball community on the Island for many years to come. I give full credit to all three [graduating] players this season for the leadership roles they displayed. It鈥檚 easy to lead when you鈥檙e winning but harder during a rebuilding process. I鈥檓 proud that all three guys will graduate with degrees, [Dunlop] with his second.鈥�
Don鈥檛 anticipate a slow rebound over several seasons. Not in this program.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not looking for a three- or four-year turnaround. We want to be back to the national tournament next year,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淲e will see who will be in the fold as we move forward. It鈥檚 a big recruiting year. It鈥檚 going to be a very busy off-season.鈥�
