Basketball vs. Saskatchewan – January 18 (12/2 PM), January 19 (12/2 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonWBB and @BisonMBB on Twitter
Both Bisons basketball teams return to IGAC red hot as they face tough tests from the visiting U of S Huskies.
The No. 10 ranked
Bisons men (11-1) have yet to lose in regulation, having won eight straight dating back to the first half. Situated comfortably in the Canada West playoffs, the Bisons need to get strength of schedule wins in order to earn a top two seed — this weekend's games present an opportunity to do just that.
The No. 9 Huskies are led by guard JT Robinson, who's averaging 19.2 points per game on 46.6% shooting — presenting an excellent matchup for fifth-year Bison
Rashawn Browne, who has jumped to third in Canada West scoring at 20.8 PPG. Browne has scored 22 or better in three straight games heading into this weekend.
The
Bisons women (7-7) are also on a win streak, but face a stiff test against a perennial contender and U SPORTS No. 1 Saskatchewan (12-0). Led by Canadian women's national team coach Lisa Thomaidis, the Huskies' top scorer has been Summer Masikewich, who has put up 18.0 PPG and is third in the conference in offensive rebounds with 46.
Shooting will be key for the Bisons, as Manitoba has been lights out from three in the last six games — where they've won five of them. First-year
Lauren Bartlett in particular has astounded from deep, shooting 61.8% on 3.1 attempts per game — best in the conference by a full 12 percentage points.
Bisons basketball tickets are $10 at the door, with UM students and fans 12-and-under in free!
Volleyball vs. UBC – January 17 (6/7:45 PM), January 18 (6/7:45 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @BisonMVB and @BisonWVB on Twitter
The
Bisons men (7-7) are looking at a potential playoff preview this weekend against the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds (11-3), who come in winners of ten in a row. Manitoba is still battling for a home playoff series, six points back of fourth place Alberta (10-4) with eight matches to go.
The T-Birds boast three top 20 hitters in Matt Neaves, Coltyn Liu, and Michael Dowhaniuk, with all three averaging over 2.53 kills per set. They've also been the conference's best team behind the service line, with 119 service aces overall. Manitoba, meanwhile, have been exceptional on defence this season — tops in the conference in solo blocks (43) and second in digs with 530.
It's been a struggle for the
Bisons women (2-14), meanwhile, but they can play spoiler to a UBC team on the edge of the playoff picture with a record of 6-8. The T-Birds attack has been led by third-year Gabrielle Attieh, who is putting down 3.41 kills per set this season on 414 total attacks.
Manitoba, meanwhile, has improved their attack out of the middle of late. Fifth-year
Allison Alcock has been steady all year, averaging 1.73 kills per set, but first-year
Jaidyn Spencer has come on strong lately — tallying at least seven kills in three of the last four matches she's played in.
Bisons volleyball tickets are $10 at the door, with UM students and fans 12-and-under in free!
Women's Hockey vs. UBC – January 17 (7 PM), January 18 (2 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
LISTEN: UMFM second stream (Friday), UMFM 101.5 (Saturday)
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsWHKY on Twitter
Bisons women's hockey (5-13-1-1) is fresh off undoubtedly their biggest win of the season, knocking off No. 6 ranked Calgary at home last Saturday 2-1. They stick around the 'Flem for another week, taking on the surprisingly struggling UBC Thunderbirds (7-9-1-3), who have lost eight straight games.
These two teams met in the Canada West semi-finals last season, as Manitoba swept a hotly contested series. The makeup of these teams is different this year, though, as UBC won the first meetings in October, holding the Bisons scoreless in two wins in Vancouver.
This weekend, the Bisons will be looking to fifth-year
Jordyn Zacharias for continued offensive production, as she has points in four of the last six. Second-year goalie
Erin Fargey has also played well, winning her last two appearances and posting a 1.64 GAA.
Bisons hockey tickets are $10 at the door, with UM students and fans 12-and-under in free!
Men's Hockey at UBC – January 17 (9 PM), January 18 (4 PM)
WATCH: CanadaWest.TV
UPDATES: follow @umbisonsMHKY on Twitter
The Bisons men (9-10-1) pulled off an upset of their own last weekend, beating No. 8 Calgary 2-1 at Father David Bauer Arena. This weekend, they'll continue to battle for a home playoff series, as they sit just five points back of Mount Royal (11-7-2) in fourth place.
They take on a UBC team (4-11-5) that they previously split a series against in October. Two sophomore forwards have come alive since then, though, as
Devon Skoleski has five points in the last four games and
Colton Veloso scored three goals in last weekend's series against Calgary and has five total since winter break.
UBC has struggled in the scoring department all season, meanwhile. With just 44 tallies, they're tied with Regina at the bottom of the conference.
Track & Field – Golden Bear Open, Optimist Winter Open – January 17-18
The Bisons track and field team splits home and road action this weekend. At the James Daly Fieldhouse, athletes compete in the Optimist Winter Open, while others will compete against conference opponents in Edmonton at the Golden Bear Open — hosted by the U of A.
After this split, the next meet for the Bisons is the Bison Classic, which takes place January 31 and February 1 at James Daly Fieldhouse.
Notes from the Range
