The conference is called sa国际传媒 West but it might as well be the Wild West when it comes to basketball.
Below the established favourites 鈥� and indeed those teams are overwhelmingly favoured 鈥� there are few certainties.
The defending U Sports champion University of Calgary Dinos, who last spring finally won the first men鈥檚 basketball national title in school history, are projected to again win sa国际传媒 West.
The intra-provincial powerhouses Saskatchewan Huskies, coached by Canadian Olympic team mentor Lisa Thomaidis, and the Regina Cougars are again favoured to vie for top spot in sa国际传媒 West women鈥檚.
It鈥檚 a jump ball for everything else.
鈥淭he top group looks set, but after that, the league will be close,鈥� said Craig Beaucamp, entering his 16th season as UVic men鈥檚 head coach.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of parity. Every weekend will be pivotal.鈥�
It鈥檚 much the same outlook in the 17-team sa国际传媒 West women鈥檚 league.
鈥淭he conference is top-heavy. But after that group, there is opportunity for a lot of teams and there could be a lot of movement within that next group,鈥� said Dani Sinclair, entering her sixth season as UVic women鈥檚 team head coach.
It begins with both Vikes teams travelling to play the University of Winnipeg Wesmen tonight and Saturday on the Prairies to open their sa国际传媒 West seasons. The Vikes might as well get used to the planes and hotels because each UVic squad plays seven of its first 10 games on the road.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough first half of the schedule,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important for us to get results right away this weekend in Winnipeg to start. In sa国际传媒 West, you have to take care of home court, and then nick at least one of the two games on a road weekend.鈥�
The Vikes men are ranked No. 6 in the sa国际传媒 West coaches鈥� pre-season poll and Winnipeg No. 11 among the 17 teams.
UVic graduated no players after last regular season鈥檚 10-10 record and enters this season with four fifth-year players. The Vikes will be led by Claremont Spartans graduate Mason Loewen, a swing guard who led the team in all categories last season with 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Look for Jordan Charles of Duncan to have a breakout campaign after averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Former sa国际传媒 West rookie of the year, Scott Kellum out of Issaquah, Washington, provides stability at the point-guard position and is also capable of catching fire and will be interesting to watch as he looks to find his freshman form in now his third season with the squad.
鈥淲e have good balance, but defence and rebounding need to be consistent for us to be successful in a tough and physical conference,鈥� said Beaucamp.
Meanwhile, the lethal-shooting pair of Amira Giannattasio from Hamilton, Ont., and Parkland Panthers graduate Kristy Gallagher are looking to light up their fifth seasons with the UVic women鈥檚 team, and illuminate their graduating year with a big run, after contributing so much to the UVic program the previous four seasons.
鈥淲e all think so highly of those two and they have meant so much to us since they stepped on the floor in Day 1 with this program,鈥� said Sinclair.
Giannattasio led the Vikes with 17.9 points per game and Gallagher with 4.2 assists. Marissa Dheensaw鈥檚 team-leading eight rebounds per game will be missed, however, as she sits out this season with a torn ACL.
Sinclair had good success last season by reaching into Kelowna for now-sophomore Ashlyn Day and will be looking for the same this season with prize Kelowna rookie recruit Roza Kalashnikoff.
The Vikes, however, will need to shake off an uneven exhibition season.
鈥淚n preseason, we didn鈥檛 know what team we were getting from game to game. We need consistency,鈥� said Sinclair.
The Vikes are No. 7 in the sa国际传媒 West coaches鈥� pre-season poll after going 16-4 in the 2017-18 regular season. Winnipeg is No. 10 in the pre-season coaches鈥� opinion after going 14-6 last season.
鈥淭he middle group in the conference is going to be a toss-up this season and it鈥檚 going to go weekend to weekend,鈥� said Sinclair.
The Vikes鈥� men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 sa国际传媒 West home openers are next Thursday at CARSA gymnasium against the UBC Thunderbirds.
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