MBB: Play-In and Quarterfinal Preview

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Feb. 20, 2025 - There is no margin for error as the Canada West men’s basketball postseason tips off this week with single-elimination games at host sites in Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg.

Teams seeded fifth through twelfth will compete on Friday in the play-in round. The winners will then advance to join top four seeds in quarterfinal action on Saturday.

When the sun rises on Sunday, just four teams will be left with their tickets punched to next week’s semifinal round.With eight do-or-die games in the span of just over 30 hours, fan won’t want to miss a second of the drama on the hardwood.

Don't miss a moment of the exciting playoff action with all games streamed on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel.

Games at Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary, AB

#5 Trinity Western Spartans (12-8) vs. #12 Brandon Bobcats (7-13)

#4 Calgary Dinos (16-4) vs. #5/#12 winner

This is the first meeting since November 2023 between the Spartans and Bobcats, who are both playing their best basketball of 2024-25. After starting the season with five straight defeats, Trinity Western has won 12 of 15 and enters the postseason riding a four-game winning streak. Brandon has wins in three of its last four games, including a victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies on the last night of regular season to overtake the Regina Cougars for the Prairie Division’s final playoff spot.

Led by Canada West’s leading scorer point scorer Nate Petrone, the Dinos are also in peak form, with eight wins over their last nine contests, two of which came against the Bobcats on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Calgary hasn’t played the Spartans since the 2023-24 regular season, when the Dinos went 2-0 against Trinity Western at Jack Simpson Gym.

Games at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, B.C.

#6 Winnipeg Wesmen (16-4) vs. #11 Mount Royal Cougars (10-10)

#3 UBC Thunderbirds (15-5) vs. #6/#11 winner

More than three months after they met in Calgary during the early stages of the regular season, the Wesmen and Cougars renew acquaintances in Vancouver. Winnipeg beat Mount Royal by scores of 83-58 and 62-52 in mid-November, in what would prove to be the Cougars’ two-lowest scoring outputs this season. Winnipeg was the only team in Canada West to allow fewer than 70 points per game during the regular season, but Mount Royal boasts league’s third leading scorer, guard Keivonte Watts.

UBC did not face either Winnipeg or Mount Royal during the regular season. In fact, the T-Birds haven’t seen either of their potential quarterfinal opponents since 2023. UBC, which is looking to avoid consecutive seasons of not reaching the semifinal round for the first time since the start of this century, boasts the top rebounding margin in Canada West this season.

Games at Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg, Man.

#7 Thompson Rivers WolfPack (10-10) vs. #10 Alberta Golden Bears (10-10)

#2 Manitoba Bisons (16-4) vs. #7/#10 winner

The first-ever postseason meeting between Alberta and Thompson Rivers offers quite the dichotomy. Historically, all signs point to the Golden Bears, who have never lost to the WolfPack. But based on data from the 2024-25 season, this is a toss-up: both teams had a record of exactly .500, and they are within just a few points of each other for both average scored and allowed per game.

Manitoba will certainly be looking on with great interest. The Bisons haven’t lost to Thompson Rivers since 2016 but split a pair of thrillers against the Golden Bears in Winnipeg just four weeks ago, winning 88-82 in overtime on Jan. 24 before losing the next night by a score of 71-69. Defence is the motor that makes Manitoba’s engine run: the Bisons allow just 70 points per game, second fewest in the league, and lead Canada West in both opponent’s field goal percentage and three-point percentage.

Games at CARSA Performance Centre in Victoria, B.C.

#8 Lethbridge Pronghorns (11-9) vs. #9 UFV Cascades (9-11)

#1 Victoria Vikes (20-0) vs. #8/#9 winner

This is another play-in battle that looks very close on paper: both teams allow exactly 78 points per game, while UFV scores 80 points per game, just a hair more than Lethbridge at 78.5. Lethbridge finished the season with the better record, but the last six games have seen the Cascades go 4-2 while the Pronghorns are just 1-5. UFV has won these teams’ two previous postseason meetings, defeating the Pronghorns in the best-of-three quarterfinal round in both 2012 and 2014. ​

At stake is a date with the No. 1 ranked team in U SPORTS, the three-time defending Canada West champion Vikes. Victoria steamrolled through this season, winning all 20 of its games by an average of nearly 20 points per game. The list of victims includes both of Victoria’s potential quarterfinal opponents, who were each beaten twice at home by the Vikes in 2024-25. The Vikes have never lost a playoff game in the friendly confines of the CARSA Performance Centre since it opened in 2015.