This is rivalry weekend in U.S. NCAA football, so why not also Canadian U Sports hoops?
The University of Victoria Vikes meet the UBC Thunderbirds in cross-strait sa国际传媒 West men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball games tonight at 6 and 8 on Ken and Kathy Shields court in the CARSA Performance Gym.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a rivalry of mutual respect,鈥� said Vikes men鈥檚 coach Craig Beaucamp. 鈥淲e鈥檝e both had our streaks and runs.鈥�
The Vikes did in reaching three consecutive U Sports championship tournaments, and the U Sports national Final Four in both 2014 and 2015.
Now it鈥檚 the Thunderbirds鈥� turn to be cresting as they come in 4-0 in conference play and as the No. 2 ranked team nationally in U Sports. The Thunderbirds have something to prove this season after underachieving at the national championship tournament they hosted last March.
The Vikes are 2-4 in conference.
Kevin Hanson鈥檚 UBC squad swept both games last season after UVic did the same the season before.
鈥淭hey are deeper than we are right now and they rebound so well,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淏asketball is about possession and we need to rebound well against them.鈥�
That鈥檚 made difficult by the presence up front of six-foot-nine Victoria-product Conor Morgan for UBC. The Mount Douglas Secondary graduate is second in sa国际传媒 West scoring with a 21.5 points-per-game average.
The women鈥檚 UVic-UBC weekend provides a bit of a dichotomy. UBC is 4-0 in conference action, yet unranked nationally. UVic is 4-2 and ranked No. 10 in the U Sports top-10 poll.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to put any stock in that [rankings],鈥� said Vikes coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淭hese are two evenly matched teams who are going to play with lots of emotion because our rivalry.鈥�
Both sides go in with four-game winning streaks.
鈥淭he last four games were important, bounce-back wins for us,鈥� said Sinclair, whose team began the season with two road losses to the nationally ranked Regina Cougars.
Crucial over the past four games for the Vikes has been the rebounding of Jenna Bugiardini. The UVic centre is second in sa国际传媒 West with a 9.7 rebounds per game average.
The back ends of both series are at venerable War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, with the women鈥檚 UBC-UVic return matchup on Saturday night and the men鈥檚 matin茅e game on Sunday.
The quick turnout makes for an interesting return visit for the women鈥檚 teams.
鈥淲e鈥檒l both be on the 9 a.m. Saturday morning, but somehow we鈥檒l manage to avoid each other on the ferry,鈥� quipped Sinclair.
鈥淥ne team is going to happier than the other team on that boat [pending the result of tonight鈥檚 game].鈥�
But would you expect anything less of a rivalry weekend?
