The waiting is over for the UNBC Timberwolves basketball teams.
They’re both going to the U Sports Canada West playoffs.
They will travel together to Winnipeg for a one-game playoff Thursday night against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
The UNBC men qualified for the playoffs for the second time in three seasons in their six-year Canada West history. The male T-wolves (10-10) finished their 20-game season last weekend and were all but guaranteed a spot in the postseason as they headed into their bye weekend.
The top 12 teams make the playoffs and UNBC finished 10th in the standings.
But playoff matchups in Canada West are based on each team’s rating performance index (RPI), which reflects the strength of their opponents throughout the season. The UNBC men finished with an RPI of .4763 (12th in Canada West), which means they will take on No. 6 Winnipeg (.5107 RPI). The top four teams (UBC, Calgary, Manitoba and Lethbridge) earned first-round playoff byes.
The Wesmen are coached by former UNBC men’s team coach Mike Raimbault. The game is at 6 p.m. PT Thursday.
Heading into the weekend, the prognosis was somewhat more dicey for the T-wolves women, looking for their second-straight Canada West playoff berth. They finished at 9-11 a week ago and were clinging to 11th place when the rest of the league resumed play on Friday.
As it turned out, UNBC finished 10th and had the 10th-best RPI (.4775) and will play the sixth-place Wesmen (.5399) in a one-game playoff Thursday at 4 p.m. PT.
Regina, Saskatchewan, Trinity Western and Victoria each drew first-round byes.
This marks the first time in UNBC history that both basketball teams have made the Canada West playoffs in the same season. In October, the T-wolves men’s and women’s soccer teams both clinched their first-ever playoff berths, competing in the university league. UNBC joined CIS/U Sports in 2012.
“It’s a really proud moment,” said UNBC athletics director Loralyn Murdoch. “It’s something we’ve strived to achieve and it took six years. We had the men’s basketball team make it first and then the women’s basketball team last year and now all four teams.
“It’s showing growth, it’s showing the continuity we’re having with our coaching and the hard work the coaches are putting in with recruitment and it’s showing the institutional support that we’re getting. It’s all starting to pay off.”
Murdoch is hopeful this is a sign UNBC’s four sports programs are on their way to becoming more of an annual threat to push for titles, like the two basketball teams were when they played in the B.C. college league, starting in 1995.
“Unfortunately, when we decided to go into U Sports, in Canada West, our soccer programs on the women’s side especially weren’t where they wanted to be,” said Murdoch. “So they had to work their tails off to get competitive and to win games and they’ve showed huge strides in the past three years.
“Our season in soccer is too short to not be in contention to be a playoff team. We want to extend that season as long as possible. On the basketball side, we’re trying to get back to where we were in the college ranks when we were putting some banners on the wall. Both the men’s and the women’s teams did an exceptional job this year of being in every single game and winning when they needed to.”
Crowds at the Northern Sport Centre for basketball games were consistently in the 800 to 1,000 range and Murdoch expects attendance will continue to rise at UNBC’s home games as the teams become more competitive.
“Since January, our crowds were fantastic – we’re getting the butts in the seats, they’re having a great experience, it’s a family environment and we’re the only game in town that is student athlete-driven,” Murdoch said. “These kids are doing so much in the community. They’re doing excellent work in the classroom and they’re at the top of the game across the nation.”
Thursday’s games will be webcast live on canadawest.yaretv.com.
