The No. 7 nationally ranked University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team looks to build off two challenging weekend home-stands to start the month of January with a trip to Manitoba to face the athletic and flashy Winnipeg Wesmen and Manitoba Bisons.
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UVic is coming off a weekend split with the No. 10 ranked Fraser Valley Cascades Jan. 13-14 and a split against nationally ranked Saskatchewan and Alberta on Jan. 6 and 7.
On Friday night, the Vikes face Winnipeg (3-9), a team that has struggled offensively this season, averaging just 68.8 points per game. They are the worst three-point shooting team in the Canada West, shooting just 28 per cent from beyond the arc. The Vikes lead the conference at 43.5 per cent, with 93 made three-pointers on the season.
Vikes senior guard #
Ryan MacKinnon# of Comox, B.C., leads the way, with a conference best 37 three-pointers this season. He's seventh in the Canada West averaging 19.6 points per game to lead UVic. In fact, UVic boasts the top four accuracies in three-point shooting in the Canada West with #
Zac Andrus#, #
Michael Acheampong#, #
Reese Pribilsky# and MacKinnon earning that distinction, all shooting over 45 per cent from beyond the arc.
Winnipeg does not have a Top 30 Canada West scorer, but will look to
Andrew Cunningham (11.8 PPG) and
Dominique Brown (11.3 PPG) for their offensive leadership. The Wesmen's one strength to watch is their prowess on the offensive glass, as they lead the conference with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game. Benny Iko leads the way averaging 2.8 offensive boards a game.
Then on Saturday, UVic faces the hot and high-scoring Manitoba Bisons (8-4), which lead the Canada West averaging 88.1 points per game (Victoria is fourth in the conference averaging 83.5). However, the Vikes defence sits as the second best unit in the conference averaging 73.2 points against per contest.
The Bisons are the hottest team in the Canada West, riding a six-game winning streak entering the weekend with contests against UBC (8-2) on Friday night and UVic on Saturday.
Kevin Oliver is Manitoba's top scorer and rebounder (14.3 PPG, T-18th Canada West; 8.5 RPG, 6th Canada West), but they have some balance as
Kurtis Sansregret (13.8 PPG, 22nd Canada West),
Jonar Huertas (13.4 PPG, 24th Canada West) and
Stephan Walton (12.7 PPG, 27th Canada West) are all capable of putting up big games.
SCOUTING THE WESMEN
Record: 3-9 (T-7th Prairie Division)
Recent Games: Defeated Brandon 66-61 to snap a six-game losing streak last Saturday in Winnipeg, led by
Mack McNee's second straight 17-point effort
2011-12 Wins: Brandon, Alberta, Lethbridge
2011-12 Losses: Lethbridge, Trinity Western, Fraser Valley, Alberta, Manitoba (2), Thompson Rivers, UBC Okanagan, Brandon
Did you know: Winnipeg has all three wins on home court this season
Remaining Games:
Jan. 20 vs. UVic
Jan. 21 vs. UBC
Jan. 27 and 28 at Regina
Feb. 3 and 4 vs. Saskatchewan
Feb. 10 and 11 at Calgary
SCOUTING THE BISONS
Record: 8-4, T-1st Prairie Division, Canada West
Recent Games: Six straight wins in conference play over Regina (116-89, 94-83), Thompson Rivers (86-78), UBC Okanagan (80-65), Winnipeg (99-80, 87-70)
2011-12 Wins: Winnipeg (2), UBC Okanagan, Thompson Rivers, Regina (2), Brandon, Alberta
2011-12 Losses: Brandon, Alberta, Trinity Western, Fraser Valley
Did you know: The Bisons boast a 4-1 record on home court this year
Remaining Games:
Jan. 20 vs. UBC
Jan. 21 vs. UVic
Jan. 27 and 28 at Lethbridge
Feb. 2 and 3 vs. Calgary
Feb. 10 and 11 at Saskatchewan
