The U Sports Final 8 National Men’s Basketball Tournament is returning to Calgary for the first time in almost 50 years.

The eight best university men’s basketball teams in the country will descend on the Blue Sky City for a three-day Canadian March Madness tournament to compete for this year’s U Sports National Men’s Basketball Championship W.P. McGee Trophy. 

“From the beginning when I started to where we are now as a program, we have a bit more support from our alumni and our support groups, and that’s allowed us the opportunity to host a tournament like this,” University of Calgary Dinos Head Coach Dan Vanhooren said.

“The department and the people here have done a great job of trying to bring it here and they get a lot of credit for what’s going on.”

The Dinos will host the tournament at Jack Simpson Gymnasium, but enter as the lowest-ranked team.

Still, with the tournament’s single-game elimination format, any of the eight competing teams will have a shot at a national title — as long as they can win three games in a row against the best competition in all of Canada.

“It brings a lot more urgency to the teams, recognizing that it is just one game, you win or you go home,” Toronto Metropolitan Bold guard and U Sports National Player of the Year Aaron Rhooms said.

“I’m sure we’re gonna see a big crowd here in Calgary.”

The tournament tips off with the quarterfinals on Friday at noon, starting with UBC taking on TMU. Tickets for the tournament are available online and all games will be broadcast live on CBC Gem and CBC Sports in English and French.

Meet the competition

The tournament first began in 1963 and last came to Calgary in 1980, seven years before the Jack Simpson Gymnasium opened. 

The Carleton Ravens have won the most titles of any Canadian university, racking up 17 W.P McGee trophies, including seven in a row from 2011-2017. They will represent the Ontario University Athletics conference (OUA) at this tournament along with the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold.

Historically, OUA teams have dominated this tournament, but teams from the Canada West conference (CW) are improving, appearing in five of the last nine tournament finals and winning two national titles — the Dinos’ 2018 championship and the Victoria Vikes’ victorious run last year. Both universities will represent CW this year, along with the UBC Thunderbirds.

“Us playing in Canada West, there’s that idea that it’s a softer league and not as skilled, but this year, it was a tough league,” Vikes forward and CW Player of the Year Ethan Boag said.

“Even us just playing in B.C., none of the games were easy. Calgary is good, all the teams from the Prairies were strong.”

The Laval Rouge et Or and Bishop’s Gaiters will represent the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (Quebec Student Sports Network) conference (RSEQ), while the Acadia Axemen will be the lone representative of the Atlantic University Sports conference (AUS).  

Bigger than basketball

National tournaments like this one bring enormous economic benefits to the cities that host them; according to Sports Tourism Canada, the 2022 U Sports Vanier Cup National Football Tournament generated $1.6 million in GDP for Canada, including $1.35 million for the province of Ontario and $1.1 million for the host city of London. 

Football tournaments generally net the highest attendance of any U Sports National Tournament, but with this year’s basketball tournament taking place in one of Canada’s major cities — and a prime sports hub — the economic impact could be considerable for Calgary.

Championship favourites: University of Victoria Vikes

Having won last year’s tournament and the second-most national titles of any university (9), it’s hard to pick against the Vikes.

Averaging the third-most points per game (88.2) at the highest efficiency rate (1.09 points per possession), Victoria scorches the nets every time they step onto the court and will look to score their way to another national championship. 

“We’re excited, we’ve been lucky and been here for the last five years, so it’s nice to have it closer to home,” Boag said. “Having experience in the tournament, it gives us a sense of calm… we believe pressure is a privilege.”

Sleeping giants: Carleton Ravens

After losing a close OUA Final to the TMU Bold, the Carleton Ravens enter the tournament as the sixth seed, in front of only the UBC Thunderbirds and U of C Dinos. That makes the most successful U Sports team of all time this year’s biggest underdog.

“Expectations are high, standards are high, so we just have to live up to those,” Calgarian Carleton guard Marjon “MJ” Okado said. “Coach is always pushing us each and every day, practising, competing hard, so we have to take care of what we have to take care of.”

The Ravens play at a blistering pace, averaging the third most shot attempts per game (71.1), and have the best defence in U Sports, allowing the fewest points per game (63.5).

Calgarian to keep your eye on: Mrigendra Dhaliwal

U of C Dinos rookie Mrigendra “Dennis” Dhaliwal made headlines as a high school athlete for wearing his Patka, or small turban, while torching opposing teams on the court. His rookie U Sports campaign only added to his fame, as he averaged 12.8 points per game for his hometown team on his way to a CW All-Rookie Team selection. 

Dhaliwal says he is motivated by the prospect of inspiring everyone watching him play.

“The confidence my teammates and coaches give me, I use to make big shots and big plays,” Dhaliwal said. “All the young kids who look up to me, my family, my friends, everything I do is for them.”