Heavy playoff implications and a notable program milestone are among the storylines for the Bisons men's basketball team as they play host to the MacEwan Griffins this Friday and Saturday at IGAC. Click here for tickets. 

The 8-6 Bisons enter the weekend coming off a split against nationally ranked Alberta. They handed the second-place Golden Bears just their fourth loss of the season last Friday on the road, but the hosts earned redemption on Saturday. With the result, Manitoba is in a log jam, battling for a top two conference spot in Canada West's Prairie Division. Winnipeg sits in first, at 11-3, followed by Alberta, and then Mount Royal, at 10-6 with Calgary and Manitoba just behind in fourth and fifth, at 8-6. 

The Bisons swept MRU two weeks ago, so they hold the tie breaker over the Cougars, and they still have two games against Winnipeg, both next weekend. Therefore, a playoff hosting spot (granted to the top two teams in the Prairie Division) is not out of reach. But, in order to keep that reality alive, Manitoba will need to take care of business on the weekend against a 3-11 MacEwan team that has played far better than what their record indicates. 

The Griffins are coming off a split against Calgary, who Manitoba also split against earlier this year. It was the first time in program history that the Griffins had ever beaten the Dinos, and even sweeter given GMU's coach is former U of C national champion and U SPORTS tournament MVP David Kapinga. 

Under the leadership of the first-year bench boss in Kapinga -- a former walk-on for the Dinos who blossomed into one of the premier players in the nation -- GMU has knocked off not only last year's national finalists, but also the Wesmen, 79-70 on November 1st. In that game, three members of the Griffins' roster finished in double figures in scoring, led by Marcus Moore, who scored 16. He and Diego Presingular -- who put down 12 points and led GMU with 15 points against the Dinos -- are both averaging over 12 points per game this year. 

It's been a total team effort this year for GMU, with ten different players averaging over 13 minutes per game. That includes rookie Khushal Shukla, who poured in 11 points off the bench against Calgary, while four Griffins finished in double figures overall. 

Manitoba counters with one of the deepest rosters in the country. That includes their leadership core, six of whom are approaching an enormous program record. 

Bisons seniors Mason Kraus, Daren Watts, Cieran O'Hara, Tito Obasoto, Jonam Kazadi and Samuel Jensen need just one more career regular season win to reach 63. That would establish a new program record for a set of teammates, passing national champions Rick Watts and Darryl Rumsey (1971-76). 

Kraus already holds the school record for career regular season steals, with 226 (and counting), while Watts leads the team and is sixth in Canada West, with 17.6 points per game. He and Kraus have both eclipsed 1,000 career points as Bisons, while O'Hara is once again near the top of the conference in rebounds per game (fifth, eight RPG). Meanwhile, Obasoto is coming off a regular season career-high 22 points in Friday's win against Alberta. 

Jensen -- historically one of the conference's most efficient three-point shooters -- and Kazadi, an imposing force down low -- add further depth for a Manitoba side that is giving up just 76.6 points per game this year while averaging 8.4 steals per game. Every member of their roster plays at least nine minutes per contest overall.