I have spent the last few weeks literally ignoring the NBA. I didn’t watch the All Star Game and it took a day or two before I heard about Dwyane Wade smacking Kobe in the face resulting in countless memes and “separated at birth” images involving Bryant and his new mask (Shaq from Steel and Blank Man are my personal favourites). This is par for the course at this time of year, though; every March I lose interest in the big league and my attention is diverted to something I enjoy even more: March Madness.
With all the conference tournaments happening this week I’ve spent hours at work sneaking peeks at games between Illinois State and Creighton, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s (I’m currently streaming this epic overtime match as I write this), and Murray State vs. Tennessee State. Keeping track of all these mid-major teams trying to extend their season and have a chance in the big dance is just as exciting, if not more so, than watching the Raptors limp their way into the draft lottery.
The NCAA Tournament is for most Canadians the first glimpse at the future stars of the NBA. Unless you’re one of the few who wants to shell out the dough to pay for some sort of super sports pack or take the time to find online streams, chances are you’ve spent most of the basketball season watching the NBA. However, with everyone and their mother entering some sort of March Madness bracket (and yes, my mother won mine last year) either through their friends, family, or office, the regular sports fan who doesn’t normally follow college basketball will be paying close attention for the next month.
The bracket, however, is not yet set; teams still have to win conference titles, decisions have to be made about teams on the bubble, and we still have to wait before the whole big show gets under way. In the meantime there is something closer to home that could fill the need. This Friday, March 9th, the Men’s CIS basketball championship gets underway in Halifax, and not only will it be exciting to watch, but we can also watch it on TV.
NBA TV will be airing (unfortunately on tape delay) all of the CIS championship games from March 9th-11th, as well as the women’s championships the following weekend. The schedule for the men’s action coming up this weekend can be found on the CIS website. Now for all of you not familiar with the CIS this season let me give you a little breakdown:
Basically Carleton is the team to beat; they have won the tournament seven of the past nine years and are looking to make it eight in the last ten as they enter the tournament undefeated. They won the Wilson Cup (the OUA championship) in stunning fashion, drubbing Ryerson 82-39. Ryerson (7th seed) qualified for the tournament as well, and will face 2nd seeded Alberta the first round. Carleton, led by their top scorers Phillip Scrubb and Tyson Hinz, are seeded 1st overall in the tournament and will face Acadia, the 8th seed despite having won the AUS (Atlantic University Sport) championship over St. Francis Xavier.
The Ravens’ top two players have become a fearsome duo in the CIS. In 2011, Hinz was named CIS player of the year after posting averages 17-6-2.6 on the 2010 season. Scrubbs was second on the Ravens in terms of points, posting 13.1 PPG in 2010, and followed that up with a fantastic 2011 season in which he scored 16.2 PPG while shooting an incredible 57% from downtown, leading Carleton in scoring. The Ottawa school will be tough to beat with the two all-stars on the court.
Also from Ontario, the Lakehead Thunderwolves (4th seed) managed to secure a wild card spot in the tournament and will face Fraser Valley (5th seed), the runner-ups to the Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West Conference. Saskatchewan, the top team in the Canada West conference, lost to Alberta in the semifinals and was beat out by Lakehead for the final spot in the CIS tournament due to a coaches’ poll. The Thunderwolves, ranked 2nd in the CIS for seven consecutive weeks, were upset by Ryerson in the OUA semifinals despite recording a 20-2 record on the year. Lakehead has one of the most exciting guards in the CIS, Greg Carter, who put up 9.4 PPG to go along with his 5.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 steals.
In the last of the quarterfinal matchups, Concordia, winner of the RSEQ, will face off against the runner-up in the AUS, St. Francis Xavier. Terry Thomas has been the star player for the X-Men all season logging 18.9 points and 8.1 assists per game, recording the 5th highest field goal percentage in the CIS. Despite going into the game against the Stingers as a 6th seed, an upset of the 3rd ranked Concordia is quite possible.
So there you have it, a little primer on what to expect from the CIS Championship this weekend. I like the Ravens’ chance to repeat this year and would put my money on them, but it would be interesting to see a matchup between them and 2nd seeded Lakehead, a battle of the Ontario teams. No matter who wins, I’m happy to see Canadian college sports get some airtime before we all delve into the NCAA tournament. Not to say that I’m not going to keep streaming all the major and mid-major conference championships leading up to Selection Sunday, but it’s bound to be an exciting slew of games that hit a little closer to home.
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Nick McIsaac is Toronto Standard’s sports writer. Follow him on Twitter (for everything sports related) at @nickclass.
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