With just three weeks left in the regular season, the battle for playoff positioning is heating up. Both Bisons basketball teams will be looking for a big weekend in the stretch run against the visiting MacEwan Griffins. Click here to get tickets. 

For the women, Friday and Saturday's contests will feel like a playoff atmosphere, as both Manitoba and MacEwan are currently on the outside of the playoff seeding looking in. With both teams at 2-12, a sweep would go a long way in trying to keep pace with UNBC, Victoria and Lethbridge, all of whom are battling for playoff spots 11 and 12 with records of 5-9. Manitoba lost to UNBC earlier in the new year, but haven't faced Lethbridge or Victoria, so RPI could come into play. 

Last weekend, Manitoba went back and forth with an 8-6 Mount Royal squad, with both games being decided by ten points or less. Despite being down a few key veterans and fighting a size mismatch, the Herd performed well, led by senior Keziah Brothers, who posted her first career double-double last Friday, with 24 points and ten rebounds. 

Overall, five different Bisons scored in double figures a week ago, including Spain native Mar Tomas Arbos, whose ten points last Friday were one off a career high. Rookie Brynn Endicott also stepped up with her fourth double-figure showing of the year, while starting in her second game as a freshman. 

Additionally, nine different players had at least one basket last Saturday, and that versatility will be key again this weekend against the Griffins. Notably, sharp-shooting guard Talia Peters has scored a combined 28 points in her last six games, while forward Samantha Onyebuchi has 18 points, four steals, three assists and ten rebounds since coming back from injury in the new year.

Brothers and fellow back court veteran Lauren Bartlett also continue to climb up Manitoba's all-time record book. Brothers' 43 career blocks are tied for fourth all-time, while Bartlett's all-time three-point percentage of 42.1 and minutes per game total of 33 are both first in Bisons history. 

On the Griffins' side, guard Noelle Kilbreath and 6'1" forward Mackenzie Farmer lead the charge. The former averages 13 points per game while the latter averages just under 15, and is also the only player in school history to record 1000 career points. The fifth-year also broke the program record for steals in a season, with 59 in 2019-20. 

On the men's side, the 13-1, No. 8 nationally ranked Bisons are one of the hottest teams in the country. Winners of eight games in a row, and rocking a 6-0 record at home, the Herd welcome the winless MacEwan Griffins to town. The Herd need just four wins to set a new single-season record since joining Canada West, and can move closer to that goal this weekend.

Last weekend, Manitoba got starting forward Wyatt Tait back from a lower body injury, and his presence added even more versatility to one of the deepest rosters in the conference. Six different players have scored over 100 points this season, while another three have added at least 60. Overall, Manitoba leads CanWest, giving up just 72.6 points per game, while they are also first in blocked shots, with 70, assists, with 257 and steals per game, with 11.14. 

Manitoba's full-pressure, relentless defence, and transition game on offence are lethal. Look for defensive anchor Isaac Miller-Jose, whose 27 blocks are a career high and the sixth most in single season program history, to help lead the charge. Guard Mason Kraus' 2.6 steals per game are also third most in single season history, and he's just eight away from cracking the top ten in terms of steals in a season (currently at 37). 

Additionally, physical 6'7" forward Jonam Kazadi tied his career high, with 11 points last Saturday in a sweep of Mount Royal. He added ten the game prior, marking the first time he's scored in double figures in both games during a series. A menace in the paint who also uses his strength to get to the line, Kazadi's field goal percentage of 59.5 is second in single season history, just behind Myron Dean's 59.7. 

MacEwan has no players in the top 25 in scoring. Matthew Usunde leads the team with 12.71 points per game, and is also the leading rebounder, with 6.8. For Manitoba, national Rookie of the Year contender Simon Hildebrandt is in the top ten, averaging 17.1 points per game.