The Manitoba Bisons (regular season: 12-8; playoffs: 4-0) advanced to the Canada West men's basketball Final Four, for the second consecutive season, being held at #1 seed and U SPORTS ranked #5 Calgary Dinos on March 3-4 weekend.
The BIsons will play the Dinos (regular season: 16-4; playoffs: 2-0) in the semifinal game on Friday, March 3 at 9 p.m. CT in Calgary.
The playoff game can be seen live on canadawest.tv website.
A Manitoba win against Calgary earns a berth into the 2017 U SPORTS championships.
At the Final Four, the first game will be #2 seed and U SPORTS ranked #9 Saskatchewan against #3 seed and U SPORTS #8 ranked Alberta on Friday at 4 p.m. CT. The winners of both first matches will play in the championship final on Saturday, March 4 at 9 p.m. CT while the teams defeated in the semifinal games will play in the bronze medal match on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.
During this season, Manitoba and Calgary met twice in conference action. They battled during the first weekend of the 2016-17 season at Calgary and split the two game series (Bisons won 85-81 on Nov. 4/16; Bisons lost 102-77 on Nov. 5/16).
Heading into Final Four, the Bisons are rolling as they have not lost in four playoff games (swept #2 UBC in Quarter-final series on road; swept Regina in Play-In series at home). Plus, the Herd has won ten of last 12 conference games before the post-season.
Manitoba is seeking to play in a U SPORTS men's basketball championship for the first time since 1985.
Bison men's basketball - 2017 Canada West Final Four schedule in Calgary
Fri., March 3 Semifinal: Manitoba vs. #5 Calgary at 9 p.m. CT
Sat., March 4 Bronze or Gold medal games at 4 or 9 p.m. CT
Bison Notes: Last season, the Dinos stopped the Bisons playoff run at the Canada West Final Four at Calgary by a score of 100-74. That was the first ever appearance by the Bisons in the men's basketball Final Four.
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(#5 seed) Manitoba Bisons – Men's Basketball: 2017 Final Four Preview
2016-17 CW regular season record: (12-8), T-6th in standings and 5th in RPI standings
2016-17 record vs. Final Four teams: (1-3) Calgary: 1-1; Saskatchewan: 0-0; Alberta: 0-2
Last CW championship / total CW championships: None, 0
Last CIS championship / total CIS championships: 1975-76, 1
2016-17 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 82.8 points per game, 3rd in conference
Defence: 79.2 points per game, 10th in conference
2016-17 CW regular season leaders:
Points per game: 17.4 –
Justus Alleyn, guard
Assists per game: 4.8 –
Ilarion Bonhomme, guard
Steals per game: 1.9 –
AJ Basi, guard
Rebounds per game: 8.7 –
Keith Omoerah, guard
Blocks per game: 0.5 –
Keith Omoerah, guard
Shooting percentage: 56.8% –
James Wagner, forward
Key performer:
Justus Alleyn
Guard
4th year
Winnipeg, MB
Alleyn, 21, played in his fourth season with the Bisons and earned his first conference all-star selection at Manitoba as being named a 2016-17 Canada West Second Team All-Star. Alleyn had his best season statistically as he was tied for ninth in conference scoring at 17.4 points per game. The Winnipeg native also was in tenth spot in conference 3-point percentage at 42.5 and tied for 16th in Canada West in minutes played per game at 30.6 while starting and playing in 19 of 20 conference games. He was also fourth on team with 3.6 rebounds per game, third at 2.1 assists per game and third with 1.3 steals per game,
The 6'2", 200 lbs. guard was co-captain of Manitoba for the first time with the Bisons and led the team to the fifth seed in 2016-17 conference season with a 12-8 record. In the words of his head coach Kirby Schepp, "Justus was our leading scorer and is one of the best two-way guards in the conference."
