Tale of the Weekend
 
VICTORIA – It's simple this weekend for the UVic Vikes men's basketball team: win and you're in.
 
Hosting the Winnipeg Wesmen at the CARSA Performance Gym, the Vikes find themselves stuck in a playoff race that is destined to be neck and neck right down to the wire. Five tickets to the postseason remain up for grabs, and the Vikes are one of the seven teams yet to clinch that still has a chance to continue playing past this weekend.
 
Playing the Wesmen on February 10 at 8 p.m., and February 11 at 7 p.m., only one thing is clear, two wins guarantees the Vikes a playoff berth, win only one of those games and the picture gets a lot murkier.
 
"Under the circumstances I think the fact we go into Friday controlling our own destiny is all we can ask for at this stage," said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp. "That's a positive but it doesn't change much, we've had a lot of weekends where we say it's a must-win situation but now we are past talk, and it's a reality."
 
Currently tied with both the MacEwan Griffins and Regina Cougars for the twelfth and final playoff spot at 7-11, the Vikes are facing a Wesmen team that is 12-6 and also has a lot at stake this weekend, with a first-round bye still possible for Winnipeg.

With a split on the weekend the Vikes playoff fate will depend on the results of a number of games throughout the conference.
 
Regardless of how the playoff picture shakes out, the game on Saturday night will be the last one inside the CARSA Performance Gym for Vikes forward Grant Sitton.
 
"He's been a good ambassador for the program and is a very talented offensive player," said Beaucamp. "He's brought some excitement to the gym every night and a little bit of a wow factor on the offensive side of the ball."
 
Last Time Out

The Vikes were swept in Fraser Valley last weekend by scores of 87-83 and 87-79, two games that they were close until the very last minutes of play.
 
"We have to find some ways to get some stops, that's been an Achilles Heel of ours consistently when the game is on the line," said Beaucamp. "Most nights when we shoot the ball well we give ourselves a pretty good chance to win, but to finish games down the stretch you have to get some stops, right now that's not a strength of ours."

Sitton scored 26 points Friday night, though being outscored 22-10 by the Cascades in the fourth quarter cost the Vikes the game. Third-year Vike Justin Kinnear scored a season-high 24 points on Saturday night but the UVic couldn't keep pace with a high-powered Cascades offence.
 
The Wesmen meanwhile, helped keep the Vikes playoff chances alive by sweeping the Regina Cougars last weekend with victories of 102-93 and 87-81. Three players; Brian Ofori, Brandon Tull and Alex Igual all scored over 20 points in the Friday night game.
 
By the Numbers
 
82.7: The number of points per game Winnipeg scores, fourth-highest in Canada West.

709: The number of points Sitton has scored in his three years of Canada West regular season action.
 
Coach's Take
Craig Beaucamp, Vikes head coach
 
"It doesn't really change how you prepare or how the kids play, obviously we want the best effort possible and after that, it is a let it fall where it does kind of thing."
 
"Right now where we are in the development process we have an opportunity to extend our season and get some experience for this group. If we can extend our season by another weekend or two, that will help the team as we move ahead, which includes obviously this years team but also our development moving forward."
 
"Grant's been around for three years and he's seen both sides. In his first year we were in the national championship, in the final four and he had that experience. He's also been in situations where we've been fighting for the playoffs."
 
"He's done things on the court for a six-foot-nine guy that we haven't seen many times before.  He's a six-foot-nine guy that basically plays like a two guard, and that's not very common. He's brought some excitement to the gym every night and a little bit of a wow factor on the offensive side of the ball."
 
Game Information
 
Friday, Feb. 10 – 8:00 p.m. – vs. Winnipeg Wesmen, CARSA Performance Gym, Victoria B.C.
Watch live on canadawest.tv
Buy tickets at govikesgo.com/tickets

Saturday, Feb. 11 – 7:00 p.m. – vs. Winnipeg Wesmen, CARSA Performance Gym, Victoria B.C. 
Watch live on canadawest.tv
Buy tickets at govikesgo.com/tickets

Winnipeg Wesmen (12-6)
U Sports National Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standings: t-4
RPI: 0.5191
Last Week: 2-0
Streak: W 2
Last Canada West Title: N/A
Last U SPORTS Title: N/A
 
Canada West playoff tie-breaking scenarios
Two Teams Tied:
1. Win/Loss record in head to head competition.
2. Win/Loss record versus common opponents.
3. Each teams RPI ranking.
4. Points difference in head to head competition between the tied teams.
5. Points difference using all games versus common opponents.
6. Points difference using all games played.
7. Coin flip by Canada West President.