Hamilton, ON- Almost all the teams had been determined already by the end of Saturday night for the men’s and women’s basketball U SPORTS Final 8 tournaments. Now, we know the seeding and matchups.
On the women’s side, the OUA champion Carleton Ravens earn the number one seed. The last time the Ravens were the one seed, they won the national title in 2018. They face the host Cape Breton Capers.
The Alberta Pandas – fresh off their first-ever Canada West title – earn the number two seed and will face the Acadia Axewomen, who earned the at-large berth after losing in the AUS title game.
The OUA finalist Queen’s Gaels earned the number three seed after losing to Carleton at home. The Gaels had the top regular season in the OUA and will face the RSEQ champion UQAM Citadins. The Citadins are coming off road victories against Laval and Bishop’s in the RSEQ playoffs.
Finally, the fourth versus five matchup pits the AUS champion Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Huskies against the Canada West finalist Calgary Dinos. It’s the Huskies sixth-ever appearance at nationals and first since 2016. Meanwhile, it’s the Dinos’ 17th appearance and first since 2020.
With the way the bracket is set up, the winner of Carleton-Cape Breton will face the winner of SMU-Calgary. The winner of Alberta-Acadia will face the winner of Queen’s-UQAM.
Quarterfinals Schedule (all times Atlantic)- March 9
11:30 am: (3) Queen’s vs (6) UQAM
2 pm: (2) Alberta vs (7) Acadia
5:30 pm: (4) Saint Mary’s vs (5) Calgary
8 pm: (1) Carleton vs (8) Cape Breton
Men’s Field Revealed
The Victoria Vikes have been to nationals 25 times before. Now, for the first time since 2006, they will be the number one seed. The Vikes are coming off their second straight Canada West title and will face the AUS finalist UPEI Panthers in the quarterfinals. The Panthers lost to the host St. Fx X-Men in the AUS championship game.
Speaking of those X-Men. After capturing their first AUS title since 2006, they will host the Queen’s Gaels, who earned the at-large berth. Queen’s finished fourth at nationals last year and lost to the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semi-finals this season.
On the other side of the bracket, the two Ottawa schools could be on a collision course for their fourth meeting of the year. In the Ottawa Gee-Gees path stands the Winnipeg Wesmen, who reached the Canada West title game and are making their first nationals appearance since 1994.
Carleton faces the RSEQ champion UQAM Citadins. The Ravens lost to the Gee-Gees in the OUA finals. The Citadins are coming off a victory against the Bishop’s Gaiters to capture the RSEQ title. This is UQAM’s third-ever appearance at the Final 8, with their previous two coming in 2006 and 2010.
The way the seeding works out, the winner of Victoria-UPEI faces the winner of St.Fx-Queen’s. The winner of Ottawa-Winnipeg faces the winner of Carleton-UQAM.
Quarterfinals Schedule (All times Atlantic) – March 10
12 pm- (3) Carleton vs (6) UQAM
2 pm- (2) Ottawa vs (7) Winnipeg
6 pm- (4) St.Fx vs (5) Queen’s
8 pm- (1) Victoria vs (8) UPEI
Featured Image: U SPORTS website