A shock result in the Ontario conference playoffs has led to a brutal opening-round draw for the No. 2-ranked University of Victoria Vikes in the U Sports national men’s basketball championship tournament.
The former No. 1 Carleton Ravens were upset by Queen’s in the Ontario semifinals, meaning the 15-time Canadian champions are going into nationals as a wildcard at No. 7, and will meet the Canada West-champion Vikes in the national quarter-finals Friday in Edmonton.
“The seeding committee was handcuffed by the rules,” said UVic head coach Craig Beaucamp.
The rules state the five conference champions and the Ontario runner-up must be ranked in the top six. That leaves no room to move up a wildcard team into the top six seeds, even one as good as the Ravens, who were undefeated and No. 1 all season up to their upset Ontario semifinal loss last week. Carleton is the two-time defending national champion from 2019 and 2020 (the 2021 tournament was not held due to the pandemic) and have won nine of the past 10 national championships. It is a dynasty in every sense of the word, eclipsing UVic’s seven consecutive national championships in the 1980s.
“You’re going to have to win three games in whatever order to become national champion and you’re going to have to go through Carleton one way or the other,” said a philosophical Beaucamp.
“Everybody is good at this stage. It’s pick your poison. One game is one game. Anything can happen. Our guys are excited to play the Ravens.”
Carleton was 14-0 in the regular season and had won its conference playoff quarter-final before the stunning upset conference semifinal loss to Queen’s.
“That loss [to Queen’s], combined with the U Sports regulation that requires the tournament committee to respect conference playoff results, consigned the Ravens to the bottom half of the draw for the first time this century,” U Sports said in a statement.
UVic was 17-1 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs. As it turns out, the Alberta Golden Bears lucked out in their Canada West championship final loss to UVic. The Golden Bears are ranked third and drew Quebec champion and sixth-ranked McGill, considered perhaps the most vulnerable of the conference champions despite being unbeaten in conference. Alberta was also undefeated before losing to UVic in the Canada West final.
Ontario-champion Brock Badgers got the first seed and will meet wild-card eighth-seed Saskatchewan Huskies. The other quarter-final features Atlantic-champion and fourth-seed Dalhousie Tigers against Ontario runner-up and fifth-seed Queen’s Golden Gaels.
The semifinals are Saturday and final Sunday.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
