By Canadian Press

A capsule look at the U Sports men’s basketball Final 8

Mar 12, 2025 | 9:11 AM

A capsule look at the eight teams competing in the U Sports men’s basketball Final 8 in Vancouver.

Teams are listed by seeding heading into the tournament, along with their respective regular season records. The tournament runs from Thursday to Sunday.

1. Ottawa (20-2)

The Gee-Gees enter this tournament having won their second Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title in three seasons. However, it’s been 10 years since Ottawa has made a national final, having lost to the dynastic Carleton Ravens in the 2014 and 2015 title games. Boasting first-, second- and third-team OUA all-stars Dragan Stajic, Ankit Choudhary and Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta — also the OUA defensive player of the year — the Gee-Gees look to finally break through with their first national title in program history.

2. Calgary (16-4)

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Led by Canada West player of the year Nate Petrone, the Dinos come in with plenty of momentum as the conference champions. Petrone, who was second in the country with 24.2 points per game, scored a career-high 38 points in Calgary’s 109-96 conference title win over UBC. The Dinos have only lost once in almost two months. But their quest for a second national title will be put to the test early against OUA finalist Queen’s to open the Final 8.

3. UBC (15-5)

The host Thunderbirds had their momentum doused by Calgary in losing the Canada West title game, but it doesn’t take away from their body of work. UBC has gone 7-1 between regular season and post-season play since the start of February and were third in Canada West scoring at 87.0 per game, only behind Calgary and Victoria. Led by Canada West first-team all-star and sophomore Adam Olsen, the Thunderbirds start their journey for their first national title since 1972 with a matchup against UPEI.

4. Victoria (20-0)

The Vikes have chugged along despite the loss of star guard Diego Maffia to a torn ACL back in January. Victoria, which had won the previous three Canada West titles, has been in the mix for some years at this tournament but hasn’t found a way to break through to the title game. Without Maffia, who was U Sports player of the year in 2023-24, it will be quite the challenge, but the Vikes have proven they belong among the best in the country despite the loss.

5. Bishop’s (14-2)

Bishop’s looks to keep the national crown in the RSEQ as it enters the Final 8 seeking its first national title since 1998, and second in program history. Last season, it was host Laval who shocked everyone with a national title win. The Gaiters, who defeated Concordia 75-61 to win the RSEQ crown on March 1, look to play spoiler in the Final 8, starting with a matchup against the Vikes.

6. UPEI (12-8)

The Panthers ended a 22-year drought in winning the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) crown, defeating the top-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men 84-79 on March 2. The win comes two years after UPEI fell 104-54 to St. Francis Xavier in the title game. Led by top scorers Kyree Thompson and Kamari Scott, the Panthers will look to carry that momentum in looking to take out the hosts in the quarterfinals.

7. Queen’s (16-6)

The Gaels are no regular seventh-seeded team entering this tournament, being the OUA finalists and having been in the national title game last season. Led by star rookie Ollie Engen, who was fifth in OUA scoring at 18.8 points per game, and OUA second-team all-star Luka Syllas, Queen’s aims to be knocking on the door of its first-ever national title for a second consecutive year.

8. Concordia (14-2)

The Stingers look to be the Cinderella story of the tournament, aiming to rebound from a tough conference title loss to Bishop’s. Concordia’s one national title came in 1990, with two finals appearances since — in 1995 and 2005. While every team enters the tournament with the goal of winning it all, the Stingers will face a tall task against the Gee-Gees in their first step toward that goal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press