At the end of the 2015-16 Canada West conference men's basketball regular season, the #9 Manitoba Bisons finished in third place in the Pioneer Division of the Canada West standings with a 15-5 record and now will host the second place in the Explorer Division the Fraser Valley Cascades (12-8) in the Canada West Quarter-Final best-of-three playoff series played on the March 3-5 weekend.
The best-of-three playoff series commences on Thursday, March 3 with a special start time of 7 p.m. CT for game one then game two commences on Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. CT and, if necessary, game three will be play on Saturday March 5 at 3 p.m. CT. All playoff matches will be played at the Investors Group Athletic Centre - IGAC (U of Manitoba Fort Garry campus).
During this season, Manitoba and Fraser Valley did not meet in conference action but did meet in non-conference play and the Bisons lost 72-67 on Oct. 24/15 at the U of Winnipeg tournament.
The last time the Bisons have hosted a playoff round was way back in the 2003-04 season (lost in three games in divisional semi-final) and last playoff series win by Manitoba Bisons men's basketball team occurred in 2000-01 when the Herd won the GPAC semi-final series at Winnipeg in three games. Manitoba has not won a men's basketball playoff series at home since the 1999-00 season when they defeated Winnipeg in the GPAC semi-final series in three games.
The Herd has had an impressive second half of the conference season as they won the last seven consecutive regular season games and went 8-2 in the last ten contests before the Canada West playoffs start. Manitoba has also beaten several CIS ranked teams so far this season (at Saskatchewan; Calgary and UBC).
This will be the fourth time over the last seven years, since Bison men's basketball head coach Kirby Schepp has taken over the coaching duties at Manitoba, that the Bisons have made the post-season and second consecutive season with a post-season berth.
This is the first playoff meeting between the two teams since Fraser Valley entered Canada West in the 2009-10 season.
In this conference men's basketball season, the Bisons were fourth in scoring offence at 82.6 points per game and tenth in scoring defence at 76.7 points per game. In Canada West assists per game, Manitoba was first with 16.9 per game and in rebounds per game, Manitoba was third in conference at 43.3. In addition, the Herd was tied for sixth with 8.0 steals per game.
Individually, co-captain A.J. Basi was eighth in Canada West and led the team in scoring with 17.9 points per game while Basi was second with 3.0 made 3 pointers per game. Co-captain Wyatt Anders and Keith Omoerah were tied for third in the conference with 9.8 rebounds per game. In assists per game, Ilarion Bonhomme and Omoerah were tied for fourth with 3.8. Basi finished second, Omoerah was fourth and Justus Alleyn was ninth in minutes played per game at 35.1, 34.1 and 33.0.
Bison men's basketball - 2016 Canada West Quarter-Final series home schedule
Date Game Time Place
Thurs, March 3 Game 1: Manitoba vs. Fraser Valley 7 p.m. CT IGAC
Fri, March 4 Game 2: Manitoba vs. Fraser Valley 7 p.m. CT IGAC
*Sat, March 5 Game 3: Manitoba vs. Fraser Valley 3 p.m. CT IGAC
* if necessary
Bison Men's Basketball - Quarter Final Playoff Ticket Prices: $12 adults; $7 non-U of Manitoba students and seniors while children under 12 (accompanied by at least one adult) are free and U of Manitoba students are free. Group Playoff packages are also available and more information at Bison Sports website (gobisons.ca). Playoff single game tickets will be available at the door.
