Injuries are relative in that their impact depends on when they happen. They become more acute for team prospects the later in the season they occur.
That鈥檚 the situation for the University of Victoria Vikes who head into the final weekend of the sa国际传媒 West men鈥檚 basketball regular season missing forwards Matthew Ellis, Dominick Oliveri and Jason Scully.
The Vikes hope to have all three back in time for the playoffs next weekend but can ill-afford to risk playing them tonight and Saturday in Langley against the winless Trinity Western Spartans (0-18).
Not that this weekend is meaningless. Fifth-place UVic (13-5) has an outside shot of placing in the top-four 鈥� a position which comes with a first-round playoff bye 鈥� with a sweep of Trinity Western and results going right in other games.
A win in Langley guarantees fifth place but UVic would drop to sixth spot in the unlikely event of a Spartans sweep.
鈥淚t鈥檚 next man up,鈥� UVic head coach Craig Beaucamp said of his team鈥檚 injury situation.
鈥淲e are down three starters and in an awkward spot. So it鈥檚 all hands on deck against a Spartans team that has nothing to lose. Our depth is going to be tested for sure. We hope to have everyone back for playoffs. But we don鈥檛 want to push guys back into action too early [this weekend].鈥�
With the injuries concentrated at the forward positions, guard play could dictate matters this weekend. That means veteran Scott Kellum, sophomore Aaron Tesfagiorgis and breakout rookie Diego Maffia will be key in the backcourt.
鈥淲e may have to resort to small ball,鈥� said Beucamp.
While not getting complacent because of last-place Trinity Western鈥檚 record.
鈥淲e have to play hard,鈥� said Beaucamp.
The top 12 teams in the conference make the playoffs with the top four receiving first-round byes. The other teams will play single-game play-ins next weekend with No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.
Even if they don鈥檛 crack the top four, the men鈥檚 Vikes are guaranteed to at least host a playoff play-in game next weekend on Ken and Kathy Shields court at CARSA gym.
The UVic women (11-7) are in seventh place and also looking on track to host a play-in playoff game next weekend at CARSA.
These will be the final regular season games in the careers of men鈥檚 Vikes forward Hayden Lejeune and women鈥檚 Vikes players Kristy Gallagher, Marissa Dheensaw, Morgan Roskelley and Katie Langdon.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming off an emotional home weekend where we honoured our senior athletes. This is weekend in Langley is about getting focused and finishing strong,鈥� said UVic head coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淲e want to be playing well going into playoffs. TWU (5-13) works hard. A team with nothing to lose is scary. They came into our gym and took one from us last year.鈥�
The winners of the sa国际传媒 West men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 play-in rounds next week will advance to the conference quarter-finals Feb. 21. The semifinals are Feb. 23. They are all one-game affairs, with the top-two seeds hosting four teams each.
The sa国际传媒 West championship game is Feb. 29 at the highest remaining seed.
The conference champion advances to the U Sports national championship tournament March 5-8 at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa.
