MBB: VIC takes first in preseason poll
Your complete season preview ahead of Friday's opener

CALGARY - With the excitement of Canada West basketball just days away, the conference's coaches have weighed in on who they think will win the coveted championship title this season. The Victoria Vikes collected the highest points through the poll, favoured to make it back-to-back titles.
The Vikes handed the Alberta Golden Bears their first loss of the season in the conference finals last season, coming together as a unit to send a statement to the league. The team will be looking for its CW-best 17th banner this season, with a slew of teams waiting and ready to stop them.
The Alberta Golden Bears are in revenge mode after the Vikes put an end to their perfect season last spring. The team is without last year's CW Player of the Year, but added a few key pieces into its fundamentally sound program. The Golden Bears are chasing their 13th title, their first since 2016-17.
Rounding out the top three are the UBC Thunderbirds, a team that posted a 16-2 record last season before losing a one-point game to Saskatchewan in the conference quarter-finals. UBC boasted the conference's third-best offence last season and will see their core return to take a run at gold this year.

The grit and speed that is CW basketball starts Friday. For the complete 2022-23 schedule, click here.
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2022-23 CW MBB PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team - Points (First-place votes)
- Victoria Vikes - 249 (11)
- Alberta Golden Bears - 241 (5)
- UBC Thunderbirds - 233 (1)
- Calgary Dinos - 196
- Regina Cougars - 186
- Manitoba Bisons - 181
- Lethbridge Pronghorns - 142
- Winnipeg Wesmen - 140
- Saskatchewan Huskies - 137
- Trinity Western Spartans - 136
- Brandon Bobcats - 133
- Fraser Valley Cascades - 82
- Thompson Rivers WolfPack - 73
- UNBC Timberwolves - 69
- UBCO Heat - 63
- Mount Royal Cougars - 30
- MacEwan Griffins - 21
NOTE: Coaches ranked all opponents 1-16. First-place votes worth 16 points, second-place worth 15 points etc.
2022-23 TEAM PREVIEWS
For your complete team-by-team preview, click here.