UFV Cascades Basketball Schedule for Weekend of March 2nd
Men’s Basketball
Canada West “Final Four” at Saskatoon, SK
Friday, March 2 Cascades v Victoria 6:15PM
Saturday, March 3 Bronze Medal Game 6:15PM
Gold Medal Game 8:00PM
Women’s Basketball
Canada West “Final Four” at Regina, SK
Friday, March 2 Cascades v Regina 7:00PM
Saturday, March 3 Bronze Medal Game 5:00PM
Gold Medal Game 7:00PM
(ALL TIMES LISTED – SASKATEWAN TIME ZONE)
CANADA WEST.TV – www.ufv.ca/athletics
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s and women’s basketball programs have qualified for the 2012 Canada West “Final Four” tournaments. This marks the first time in the six year association with Canada West that both programs have advanced at the same time to the elite four tournament.
The Cascades men’s basketball team will travel to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where they will face Pacific Division rival the University of Victoria Vikes in the first Canada West semi-final. During the Canada West regular season the Cascades split their two conference games with the Vikes, winning 79-70 and falling 91-67, both games were played in Victoria.
The Vikes come into the semi-final as the Pacific Division Champions with a 14-4 regular season and 16-5 overall record including their playoff series with the University of Calgary Dinos, who they beat at the buzzer in game three on a layup. UFV comes into its first ever Canada West “Final Four” semi-final fresh off Joel Friesen’s three point shot at the buzzer that gave the Cascades game three with a 69-68 victory over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Cascades are now 15-6 in regular and post season play.
“We have been looking forward to being in this tournament since the end of last year. This is why our guys have been putting in all the hours of hard work, and we will be proud to step on the court in Saskatoon and compete for our conference championship,” said UFV head coach Barnaby Craddock.
The winner of the semi-final game on Friday night automatically receives one of two Canada West bids to the “show” the CIS National Championship Tournament, in Halifax, NS, weekend of March 9-11, 2012. The Cascades are currently ranked 4th in the CIS top ten rankings and have been ranked the entire CIS regular season. The host Saskatchewan Huskies and the Alberta Golden Bears are the other two semi-finalists in Canada West.
The Cascades women’s basketball team will travel to Regina, Saskatchewan where they will face the Prairie Division Champions and CIS number One ranked team, the University of Regina Cougars. The Cougars sport an impressive 22-0 regular and post season record, including their two game sweep of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in the Canada West quarterfinals. In their only Canada West regular season meeting Regina defeated UFV, 78-61, in Regina.
The Cascades are coming off their sweep of the University of Calgary Dinos, at Envision Athletic Centre, their first home playoff series win in six years in the conference, their second straight quarterfinal playoff series sweep. The Cascades swept the Wesmen, in Winnipeg last year. UFV sports an impressive 14-6 regular and post season record going into the semi-final. They are ranked 9th in the CIS top ten poll. The UBC Thunderbirds and Saskatchewan Huskies are the other two Canada West semi-finalists.
The Canada West champion automatically receives a bid to the CIS women’s basketball national championship, in Calgary, Alberta the weekend of March 16-18. The other three Canada West finalists all will participate in the CIS national regional tournaments in Saskatoon and Ottawa with an opportunity to earn a spot in the “Final Eight” tournament.
Catch the Cascades on CANADWEST.TV
The UFV Cascades men’s and women’s basketball teams Canada West “Final Four” games will be broadcast on CANADAWEST.TV starting with tomorrow night’s semi-finals. Catch all the exciting hoops action by logging onto www.ufv.ca/athletics and clicking on the CANADAWEST.TV link on the front page of the Cascades web site.
For further information contact David Kent, Sports Information, 604-309-7658 david.kent@ufv.ca
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