The Windsor Lancers Men's Basketball team is headed to the CIS National Championship Tournament this weekend for the second time in four years.
The Lancers begin the tournament seeded No. 4, after an impressive 17-5 regular season and a west division regular season title. Coach Oliver's squad has been in the national ranking all year and will face the No. 5 CWUAA champion Saskatchewan Huskies.
Their last CIS appearance in 06-07 saw the Lancers lose their opening game against the University of Brandon, before dropping a 79-62 heartbreaker to the Concordia Stingers to bow out of the tournament.
“We're looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of playing the best teams in CIS,” said five-year Windsor head coach Chris Oliver. “Saskatchewan has had a great end of season stretch and is an impressive team. We will have to defend and rebound, while continuing our confident offensive play to be successful.”
The Huskies are riding a 10-game winning streak and have won 14 of 15 since early January, including upsets of UBC and Calgary at the Canada West Final Four en route to the first-ever conference title in program history.
The explosive Lancers have received a very balanced attack this season, lead by a trio of all-stars. Isaac Kuon was named to the OUA first all-star team, while Nigel Johnson-Tyghter was named to the OUA second all-star team. In addition to the two veterans, first year standout Josh Collins was named to the OUA rookie all-star team.
Kuon's dynamic play has been showcased through much of the season, as one of the OUA's most talented scorers; he finished ninth in the province in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game. His touch around the rim has made him a threat on the court all season long.
Friday's opening round will see Windsor take on Saskatchewan at 6:00pm. Calgary will battle Cape Breton in the quarter final opener at 12:30 p.m., UBC and Lakehead will tip-off at 2:30p, and Carleton squares off against UQAM in the 8 p.m. nightcap.
TSN2 will also broadcast the last two opening-round duels Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., as well as both semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. SSN Canada will have live webcasts of the first two quarter-finals and the three consolation matches.
Joining the No. 4 seeded Lancers in Ottawa are the OUA champion and top-seeded Carleton Ravens, the No. 2 Cape Breton Capers (AUS champions), No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West bronze medallists), No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champions), No. 6 Lakehead Thunderwolves (OUA bronze medallists), No. 7 Calgary Dinos (Canada West finalists), and No. 8 UQAM Citadins (QSSF champions).
