By In-Ting Ho
The 2017–18 U SPORTS Men’s Basketball preseason will feature 61 matches against NCAA Division I teams this summer, the most since 2011–12. Eleven matches featuring Laurentian, McGill, and UBC will be played at the Ciudad Deportiva Arena in San José, Costa Rica, while eight featuring Brock and Carleton will be played at the Sport & Fitness Center at the University of the Virgin Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Although NCAA Division I teams extended their all-time series lead to 621–96 after the 2016–17 pre-season, U SPORTS teams are coming off their best performance ever against DI teams from across the border; 16 wins were recorded with an average margin of victory of 12.1 points. The win-loss record was once again in favour of NCAA teams across the 45 games played that year, but U SPORTS teams won 35.6 per cent of their games with an average point differential of -5.1 points, the highest marks in both categories since the 1995–96 season.
Among their 16 victories against NCAA DI opponents in 2016–17, U SPORTS teams won four times by a margin of at least 15 points; the victors on all four occasions were schools based in Ottawa. Most notably, the Carleton Ravens recorded a 100–75 victory on Aug. 7, 2016 over the Wichita State Shockers, who went on to be a No. 11 seed at the NCAA tournament that season and ultimately lost to Kentucky in the second round. The 25-point margin is the eighth-largest margin of victory all-time by a U SPORTS team over an NCAA Division I opponent.
Games to Watch
1. Wednesday, August 16: Brock Badgers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Sport & Fitness Center, University of the Virgin Islands, 6:00 PM ET
Photo credit: Mackenzie Gerry - Johneil Simpson with the jumper from the corner
The Vanderbilt Commodores will compete against U SPORTS teams for the first time in their 117-year history. According to the Tennessean, the Commodores originally intended to play in Italy, but travel complications involving three non-American players forced the team to change its destination to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where U.S. citizens do not need a passport to enter. The Brock-Vanderbilt tilt will be one of the matches featured in the 2017 Paradise Jam Summer Tours, hosted by Basketball Travelers Inc. on the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas.
In Bryce Drew’s first year as head coach, Vanderbilt finished the 2016–17 season with an overall record of 19–16. Entering the SEC tournament as the seventh seed, the Commodores knocked off Texas A&M and upset second-seeded Florida 72–62 in overtime before being defeated 76–62 by third-seeded Arkansas in the semifinals. Vanderbilt then punched their first-ever ticket to the NCAA tournament as a No.9 seed, but lost to Northwestern 68–66 in the first round. Despite the graduation of All-SEC First Team member Luke Kornet (Lexington, Kentucky), Drew’s Commodores will return leading scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis (Charlotte, North Carolina).
Brock finished the 2016–17 season as OUA bronze medallists, and will be looking to improve on its 1–4 record against NCAA DI teams last season. The Badgers, who defeated the Binghamton Bearcats 80–69 on Aug. 9, will host the Jacksonville Dolphins on Aug. 13 in St. Catharines, Ont., before flying to the U.S. Virgin Islands; the Vanderbilt tilt will be their first of four games there. The Badgers then face the Northern Colorado Bears on Aug. 17 before a back-to-back set against the James Madison Dukes wraps up their U.S. Virgin Islands tour. Two-time OUA First Team All-Star and leading scorer Dani Elgadi (Waterloo, ON) as well as OUA All-Rookie Daniel Cayer (Montréal, QC) will be returning for the Badgers.
2. Monday, August 21: Ottawa Gee-Gees vs. UNH Wildcats
Champlain College Saint-Lambert, 7:00 PM ET
Having toured Quebec previously in 2004 and 2011, the UNH Wildcats are hoping to improve on their 3–3 all-time record against U SPORTS teams this preseason. The Gee-Gees and Wildcats will face off for the first time ever at Champlain College in Saint-Lambert, Que.
UNH is coming off their second consecutive 20-win season as well as a third consecutive trip to the America East semifinals, where they lost 74–41 to top-seeded and eventual America East champions Vermont. Daniel Dion (Cedar Park, Texas), who set a program record for three-pointers in a season and was named to the All-America East Third Team, as well as All-America East Second Team member Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) have since graduated from the program, but Tanner Leissner (Converse, Texas), who was named to the All-America East First Team and NABC District 1 Second Team last season, will be returning to the Wildcats roster.
The Gee-Gees will be without Second Team All-Canadian and two-time U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year Caleb Agada (Burlington, Ont.), who graduated and is now playing in Spain, but are returning OUA First Team All-Star Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles (Ottawa, Ont.), who will suit up for Team Canada at the Summer Universiade in Taipei. James Derouin also added two U SPORTS transfers to his 2017–18 roster: Kenny Jean-Louis (Montreal, Que.), who was the leading scorer for the Cape Breton Capers last season and will be starting his Masters in Education, and Sean Stoqua (Ottawa, Ont.), an AUS All-Rookie in 2011–12 who transferred from Acadia University.
3. Friday, August 25: Northeastern Huskies at Carleton Ravens
Ravens Nest, Carleton University, 7:00 PM ET
The Huskies hold an all-time record of 14–2 against U SPORTS teams. The opponent in both losses? Carleton. In fact, the Ravens have never lost to the Huskies, having won by 30 points in 2008 and by 13 in 2012. Northeastern will be one of four teams from the Colonial Athletic Association (Hofstra, James Madison, Towson) to compete against U SPORTS teams this preseason, the most of any NCAA Division I conference.
Northeastern finished the 2016–17 season with a 15–16 overall record, but lost to the third-seeded Towson Tigers in the first round of the CAA tournament. Graduates from the Huskies program last year include CAA Player of the Year, AP All-America Honorable Mention, NABC District 10 First Team member, and leading scorer T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas), but coach Bill Coen will be hoping to pass the torch on to CAA All-Defensive Team member Devon Begley (Pearland, Texas) and his teammates. Sophomore and former Team Ontario U15 star Maxime Boursiquot (Ottawa, Ont.) will be making his homecoming at the Ravens Nest. Prior to his NCAA career, Boursiquot played less than 10 minutes away from the Carleton campus at Immaculata High School, where he graduated as its all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
Coming off their 13th U SPORTS championship in 15 years, the Carleton Ravens have defeated NCAA DI teams 28 times, the most of any U SPORTS school, and are the only U SPORTS team to have a winning record (27–24) against NCAA DI teams in Canada. The Ravens play the Huskies again in Boston on Oct. 22, and will visit three additional NCAA DI teams (Dartmouth, Providence, Colgate) before starting their OUA regular season.
After hoisting their seventh consecutive W.P. McGee Trophy, the Ravens lost Final 8 Most Valuable Player and Second Team All-Canadian Kaza Kajami-Keane (Ajax, Ont.), U SPORTS Player of the Year Connor Wood (Guelph, Ont.), and OUA Second Team All-Star Ryan Ejim (Toronto, Ont.) to graduation. However, eight-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year Dave Smart will be bringing back U SPORTS All-Rookie Team member Eddie Ekiyor (Ottawa, Ont.) into the fold.
4. Wednesday, August 30: Siena Saints at McGill Redmen
Currie Gym, McGill University, 7:00 PM ET
The 2013 preseason was the last time the Saints crossed Lake Ontario for an exhibition basketball tour. With their new coach at the time, Jimmy Patsos, Siena went 3–1 against U SPORTS teams in Montreal. The lone loss was against McGill, who won 74–72 on a buzzer-beating three by Simon Bibeau (Saint-Bruno, Que.). The Saints will be looking to avenge that loss on Aug. 30 as part of their Canadian tour in Ottawa and Montreal from August 27 to 31.
Since that fateful encounter four years ago, Siena went on to win the CBI championship in Patsos’ first year at the helm, while the Redmen added three more RSEQ championships and are fresh off a run to the semifinals at the Final 8 in Halifax.
Four-time RSEQ Coach of the Year David DeAveiro will certainly be glad to see the returns of Final 8 All-Star, RSEQ First Team All-Star, and leading scorer Jenning Leung (Laguna, Philippines), Second Team All-Canadian and reigning RSEQ Player of the Year Dele Ogundokun (Hamilton, Ont.), RSEQ Rookie of the Year Kendrick Jolin (Montreal, Que.), and RSEQ Second Team All-Star François Bourque (Terrebonne, Que).