University of the Fraser Valley head coach Barnaby Craddock jokingly refers to his team's debut at the CIS men's basketball nationals in Halifax as an "Egg McMuffin game."
That's because the Cascades' quarter-final match-up on Friday against the Lakehead Thunderwolves is the first game of the tournament, tipping off at 12 p.m. Atlantic time. Factor in the four-hour time difference, and that's 8 a.m. Pacific time.
"I think it's going to be a fantastic game – if anyone in Abbotsford can get up and watch it at 8 a.m., they'll enjoy it with their Corn Flakes," Craddock cracked.
All joking aside, acclimatizing themselves to the time difference will be crucial for the Cascades.
It's to their benefit that Craddock has prior experience coaching at a national tourney in Halifax – he guided the Brandon Bobcats to a silver medal in 2007.
"We haven't played basketball at eight in the morning all year long, so that's the chore right now," acknowledged Craddock, whose team flew to Halifax on Tuesday. "We'll make sure we're getting up early in the morning and going to bed early, and we'll try to get some exercise in the a.m.
"We're not going to make any excuses – we're going to step out there Friday and put our best foot forward."
The Cascades are seeded fifth at nationals, and No. 4-seeded Lakehead figures to be a tough foe. The Thunder Bay, Ont. squad was ranked No. 2 in the nation for much of the season, but suffered an upset defeat to Ryerson in the Ontario semifinals. They were awarded the lone wildcard berth to nationals, though.
"They're very athletic," Craddock analyzed. "They're a very solid team, but at the same time, we've been ranked No. 4 for multiple weeks. They can score from one to five, and we can score from the one to five positions as well."
Craddock said that Sam Freeman will play at nationals. The fourth-year shooting guard, UFV's second-leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, was limited to just nine minutes of court time in the Canada West final vs. Alberta last Saturday.
"He had an ankle injury going into the weekend, and he toughed it out with a few Advils and helped us get that big win vs. Victoria on Friday," Craddock said of Freeman, whose 44 three-pointers were fourth-most in Canada West during the regular season. "Then on Saturday, it was just a little too much for him. But he'll take the days off, and be out there to do it again on Friday."
The Cascades' games at nationals can be viewed live online at www.ssncanada.ca.
WOMEN CHASING NATIONALS BERTH
The UFV women's hoopsters are still in the mix for a berth to their national championship tourney, which runs March 17-19 in Calgary.
The task at hand for head coach Al Tuchscherer's squad is to win a tough four-team regional in Ottawa this weekend. The Cascades are the fourth seed in the mini-bracket, and they open against the No. 1-seeded host Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday. The other semifinal features the defending national champion Windsor Lancers and the Cape Breton Capers.
The Cascades are coming off a disappointing fourth-place finish at the Canada West Final Four, and head coach Tuchscherer said his team will need a more consistent effort this weekend to extend their season.
"We're going to have to play our best basketball to move on," Tuchscherer noted. "It isn't out of the realm of possibility, but we have to put two good games together."
HEAD-SCRATCHING SEEDINGS
There's a case to be made that both UFV basketball teams got the short end of the stick from their respective seeding committees.
On the men's side, UFV was No. 4 in the final coaches' poll of the regular season, but slid to the No. 5 seed at nationals, despite the fact No. 3-ranked Saskatchewan did not qualify for the Final 8.
The upshot is, the Cascades face an exceedingly tough road to the title game, having to go through Lakehead in the quarter-finals and potentially top-seeded Carleton in the semis.
UFV was leapfrogged in the seedings by Alberta, who went from No. 7 in the final coach's poll to No. 2. That's understandable – the Golden Bears beat the Cascades in the Canada West final.
Tougher to comprehend is why the seeding committee put Quebec champ Concordia ahead of UFV. Concordia was No. 9 in the latest national poll, and the Cascades beat them in non-conference play.
Craddock declined the opportunity to gripe about where his team ended up, but he did take issue with the fact Acadia is seeded No. 8 at nationals, while St. Francis Xavier is No. 6. Acadia beat St. FX in the Atlantic conference final, but St. FX was given the higher seed because they spent more weeks in the national rankings during the season.
"I think Acadia should have been put ahead of St. FX," Craddock asserted. "I'd like to see more respect given to the conference champions. I don't think you can win your conference and then be put behind the team that you beat."
The women's regional draw might be even more baffling.
Ottawa is competing in UFV's bracket, despite the fact they've already locked up a national berth after winning the Ontario championship. They're apparently involved because they'd been pre-selected as a regional host site.
Windsor and Cape Breton have something of an inside track on a national berth, as the winner of their semifinal would automatically claim the regional's lone berth if Ottawa defeats UFV. The Cascades, on the other hand, have to win two games regardless.
Tuchscherer is wondering why his team is the No. 4 seed, behind Cape Breton. UFV was No. 8 in the last national coaches' poll, while Cape Breton was No. 10 after being unranked the week before.
"I'm not quite sure why we're seeded fourth, we're a little disappointed with that," he admitted. "It's an extremely difficult draw."