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Saskatchewan women, Ottawa men grab top spots heading into 2025 Final 8s
March 9, 2025

Saskatchewan women, Ottawa men grab top spots heading into 2025 Final 8s

The Saskatchewan Huskies women and the Ottawa Gee-Gees men are the top seeds heading into this week’s INDOCHINO U SPORTS Final 8, presented by Victory Creative Group. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2025 national tournaments, which run from Thursday to Sunday at the War Memorial Gym and the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on  UBC's Vancouver campus.

Championship website (W): https://en.usports.ca/championships/2024-2025/2024-25_WBB/index

Championship website (M): https://en.usports.ca/championships/2024-2025/2024-25_MBB/index

In the women’s bracket, Saskatchewan took top spot for the second straight year after going 18-2 in regular season play and defeating UBC 71-59 in Saturday’s Canada West final. The Huskies will be looking to upgrade from the silver medal they won last year, when they lost to this year’s No. 3 seed, and the two-time defending champions, Carleton in the championship game.

The complete women’s field, in seeding order, is as follows:

  1. Saskatchewan Huskies (CW champions: 18-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
  2. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 19-3, 3-0)
  3. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 22-0, 2-1) 
  4. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions: 18-2, 2-0)
  5. UBC Thunderbirds (hosts and CW finalists: 18-2, 2-1)
  6. Bishop’s Gaiters (RSEQ champions: 11-5, 2-0)
  7. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalists/at-large: 14-2, 1-1)
  8. Alberta Pandas (CW bronze medallists/host berth: 18-2, 2-1)

The Laval Rouge et Or were awarded the at-large berth by the tournament seeding committee, which is made up of U SPORTS women’s basketball coaches, after posting a 14-2 regular-season record but being up set 56-50 by Bishop’s in the RSEQ final. 

On the men’s side, Ottawa took top spot defeating Queen’s 95-87 in Saturday’s Wilson Cup final. The Gee-Gees, who are seeking their first W.P. McGee Trophy, come in top ranked for the second time in program history, the other being 2014.

The complete men’s field, in seeding order, is as follows:

  1. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 20-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
  2. Calgary Dinos (CW champions: 16-4, 3-0)
  3. UBC Thunderbirds (hosts and CW finalists: 15-5, 2-1)
  4. Victoria Vikes (CW bronze medallists/host berth: 20-0, 2-1)
  5. Bishop’s Gaiters (RSEQ champions: 14-2, 2-0)
  6. UPEI Panthers (AUS champions: 12-8, 2-0)
  7. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists: 16-6, 2-1) 
  8. Concordia Stingers (at-large/RSEQ finalists: 14-2, 1-1)

The Concordia Stingers were awarded the at-large berth by the tournament seeding committee, which is made up of U SPORTS men’s basketball coaches, after posting a 14-2 regular-season record but falling to Bishop’s in the RSEQ final. 

Once the eight participating teams are established in each bracket, the teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be seeded no lower than No. 6, and to avoid intraconference matchups in the first round.

All eight quarterfinals will be played on Thursday as part of four doubleheaders, with each session feature one men’s and one women’s game: (all times Pacific)

Session 1 (War Memorial Gym):

  • 11 a.m.: Men’s #5 Bishop’s vs. #4 Victoria
  • 1 p.m.: Women’s #6 Bishop’s vs. #3 Carleton 

Session 2 (Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre)

  • Noon: Women’s #7 Laval vs. #2 Ottawa
  • 2 p.m.: Men’s #8 Concordia vs. #1 Ottawa

Session 3 (War Memorial Gym)

  • 5 p.m.: Men’s #7 Queen’s vs. #2 Calgary
  • 7 p.m.: Women’s #8 Alberta vs. #1 Saskatchewan

Session 4 (Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre)

  • 6 p.m.: Women’s #4 SMU at #5 UBC
  • 8 p.m.: Men’s #6 UPEI at #3 UBC

Consolation games for both men and women will take place on Friday, with the men at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with the women following at 5 and 7 p.m., all in the War Memorial Gym. The men’s semifinals are set for Friday night, starting at 6 and 8 p.m. in the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre

The fifth-place games are Saturday at 1 p.m. (men) and 3 p.m. (women) in the War Memorial Gym., with the women’s semifinals at 6 and 8 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

On Sunday, the bronze medal games will take place at 10 a.m. (men) and noon (women) in the War Memorial Gym, with the gold medal games at 1 p.m. (men) and 4 p.m. (women) in the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

Tickets for the event are currently on sale at usportstickets.ca

All 22 games from the combined event will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English, with the men’s gold medal game to be broadcast on CBC and Sportsnet at 1 p.m. Pacific (4 p.m. Eastern) and the women’s game to be on Sportsnet at 4 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. Eastern). In French, the games will be carried on Radio Canada’s digital platforms, with Sunday’s gold medal games being aired on TVA Sports. The full broadcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at https://en.usports.ca/Broadcasts/Broadcast_Info