From the Island to the Valley, it's a weekend of big implications in Canada West basketball.
The University of Victoria Vikes men's and women's teams take to the ferries to meet highly regarded opponents from the University of the Fraser Valley tonight and Saturday in Abbotsford.
Vikes men's head coach Craig Beaucamp describes the Valley as a rich and deep source for recruiting hoops talent out of high school. And UFV has taken full advantage with the Cascades women ranked No. 2 in the CIS national top-10 rankings and the Cascades men No. 4.
The women's Cascades are 2-0 in Canada West and led by Sarah Wierks and Courtney Bartel. The men's UFV team is also 2-0 in Canada West and has preseason victories over NCAA Division 1 Ball State and annual CIS powerhouse Carleton.
The UVic women (2-0 in Canada West) are ranked No. 7 nationally, and the UVic men (2-0) are unranked.
"[The Cascades] are obviously very talented and can beat anybody in the country," Beaucamp said of the men's UFV squad.
"This is a good opportunity to find out where we're at. [UFV] is a very good offensive team and shoots well. That's their identity. We can't let them gain confidence early with their shooting. That's when they become very difficult. We have to be solid defending the three-point line and in rebounding."
The Vikes men began the Canada West season last weekend at home in McKinnon Gym with a resounding 73-48 victory over lowly UBC-Okanagan but followed up the next night with an alarmingly lethargic 71-66 win over UBC-Okanagan that wasn't pulled out until the waning moments.
Those kinds of things can happen in back-to-back Canada West weekends, Beaucamp noted. But the Vikes know that against Fraser Valley they can't afford another night like the second one against UBC-Okanagan.
"We've had an excellent week of practice," Beau-camp said.
The UVic women opened last weekend with breezy 87-69 and 83-52 wins over UBC-Okanagan at McKinnon.
The Vikes teams return home next weekend to face Trinity Western in McKinnon Gym.
