You can’t oversell the University of Victoria-University of British Columbia rivalry in Canada West basketball, which will be renewed Thursday night at UVic’s CARSA gym and Friday night at the venerable UBC War Memorial Gymnasium.
Through good years and bad, the UVic players especially have circled this annual home-and-home fixture first on their schedules. It’s more than a cross-strait rivalry for the Vikes. It’s the chance to take on the province’s big-metropolis university and more than hold their own, especially during the UVic dynasty years. The rivalry has included Canadian national team players on both Vikes and Thunderbird men’s and women’s rosters.
“It goes back to the history of Canada West when UBC and UVic were the only two schools in the conference; and the third school, Simon Fraser, played in NAIA,” said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp.
“That has sparked this rivalry . . . and it helped that both UVic and UBC have had good teams over the years.”
The upper hand has ebbed and flowed over time as players came and went. It is UBC, led by the splendid Island-product and defending Canada West MVP Conor Morgan, which is in a dominant phase at the moment on the men’s side. The Thunderbirds are 15-3 in Canada West and ranked No. 4 in the U Sports national top-10 poll. The Vikes are 10-8 in conference and in a wild scramble among nine teams vying for the remaining eight of 12 playoff positions. Four teams, including UBC, have clinched playoff berths.
Morgan is a sleek six-foot-nine forward who plays like a shooting guard and he will again be a handful for the Vikes as he makes his final regular-season Canada West appearance in his hometown. The Mount Douglas Secondary Rams graduate is an international and represented Canada last summer at the World University Games and Jones Cup in Taiwan. His fluid inside-outside game is classically European and Morgan looks to have a big-money pro career in the offing overseas.
Morgan’s UBC career, however, has been marked by regular-season domination by the Thunderbirds followed by post-season heartbreak. That included an emotionally crushing first-round loss at home in 2016 when UBC hosted the U Sports national championship tournament, and also last season, when the clearly hobbled Morgan was far less than 100 per cent in a stunning first-round playoff loss to the Manitoba Bisons. The fifth-year standout is currently second in both conference scoring and rebounding (23.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per-game-average) and would like nothing more than to finish off his otherwise-splendid UBC career with that U Sports national title that has so far eluded him.
“UBC has length and athleticism and is the top rebounding team in the conference,” said Beaucamp, of the daunting task facing the Vikes over back-to-back nights on both sides of the strait.
Plotting on the other bench will be Beaucamp’s nemesis of many seasons, and UBC head coach, Kevin Hanson. He is supported by Thunderbirds assistant coach Spencer McKay, a former Vikes great and member of the UVic Sports Hall of Fame.
“Our defence and rebounding will be the keys for us. They are what has separated us from the top teams in the conference and from winning close games and gaining consistency,” added Beaucamp, of what has limited UVic this season.
Conversely, offence hasn’t been an issue for the Vikes. These guys can score and average 83 points per game.
“And we do that with balance, with four to six guys in double digits scoring each game,” said Beaucamp.
The women’s UVic team (14-4) puts its 10-game winning streak on the line in the Canada West set against UBC (10-8 ), which is on a six-game victory roll of its own.
Third-place UVic has clinched at least a first-round playoff series at home but has set its sights on the first-round byes that go to the top-four teams in the regular season. As important as the UBC games are for that, there is that added subjective dimension of playing the T-Birds.
“This rivalry is a thing in and of itself. It’s always fun to play UBC,” said Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair.
“Quite a few of the players on both teams have grown up together and that adds to the emotion on both sides. This annual home-and-home always attracts great support for both teams in both gyms.”
UVic has overcome injuries this season that would have severely hampered most teams.
“We’ve had the ability to focus on the task at hand and not look too far ahead,” said Sinclair.
“Our players have been understanding and accepting of their roles and have performed in them.”
Those roles have shifted with the downing of important players, including the season-ending ACL injury to two-way forward cog Marissa Dheensaw.
“Players have had to step into different responsibilities, including some younger players,” said Sinclair.
“But the load has not fallen on two or three players. Everybody is contributing. Nobody cares who gets the attention.”
Two veterans, however, have notably stepped up to take command. Amira Giannattasio and Kristy Gallagher combined for two-game totals of 54 and 45 points, respectively, in a sweep of the Mount Royal Cougars last weekend at CARSA Gym.
“Kristy and Amira have shouldered a lot of the leadership responsibilities,” said Sinclair.
The Vikes-Thunderbirds women’s game Thursday is at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m.
