Discussions

The Canada West Final 4 is in Brandon this weekend and here are my thoughts on it.  
 
UBC VS Saskatchewan (6PM, BU Gym)  
This game will be fairly close until the final minutes. As for the Huskies they will come out and play like it is their last game and never give up every time they step on the court. They are hungry to get back to Halifax where they went 1-2 last year. They also have possibly the best CIS player in Canada in Andrew Spagrud. The Huskies beat UBC by 4 points a couple of weeks ago so they know that they can beat them.  
As for UBC they have been at or near the top of Canada West all year and may be playing their best basketball at just the right time. They are riding the momentum coming off of a 2 game sweep of rival and #3 nationally ranked Victoria. They also have Casey Archibald who is a game changer, as well as Chris Dyck who can go off for 20+ points in a half.  
 
As I said earlier it should be very close all game until the final minutes where I see UBC taking over with their tight defense and they'll get stops when it counts and ride their excellent teamwork on offence to win in crunch time  
Prediction - UBC by 7  
 
Brandon VS Victoria (8pm BU, Gym)  
Like their game earlier this year, this should be very fast paced, back and forth game leading to what could be one of the best games that Canada West has seen in a while. The scoop on Victoria is they have a very balanced scoring attack with Jacob Doerksen at 15 ppg. But I think for them to be successful against Brandon, Josh Whyte and Brandon Ellis need to be at the top of their game. When they played here earlier Brandon Ellis was a non factor but Whyte stepped up and kept his team in the game scoring 13 points in a row. If it wasn't for him that game could have been a runaway for Brandon. The Vikes will also have to deal with the home court advantage that the Bobcats have where they have only lost once all year, and a newly invigorated cheering section as we saw last week.  
 
Brandon like Victoria has a very balanced attack where all 5 starters can dominate as well as having 3 or 4 players who can come off the bench and produce during any game. The question is “are they all going to step up and play or will the nerves get to them and will they be rattled?”. People have said that they are not as good as their #1 ranking because all of their "quality" wins have come against teams at the BU Gymnasium. Well that will not be a problem as that is where it will be played at, as well they are expected to have a loud, raucous crowd that can get into an opposing players head.  
 
So with that all being said expect a very fast paced game with a lot of excitement. It will be close and should come down to the final minute with Brandon having the experience as about 75% of their wins and all their losses have come down to the final minutes. If last weekend is any indication, the home crowd will be the deciding factor.  
My Prediction - Brandon by 3  
 
Regardless of the outcomes, the best basketball in Canada will be played at the BU Gym this weekend.