CIS Top Ten Tuesday (#22): No. 1 T-Birds 13-0 in men’s hoops, to face No. 7 SFU

OTTAWA (CIS) – The top-ranked team in CIS men’s basketball, the UBC Thunderbirds, is 13-0 in conference play going into a two-game set against No. 7 Simon Fraser.

Men’s basketball

The 2008-09 CIS finalist Thunderbirds improved to a perfect 13-0 in regular season play over the past weekend with a pair of wins in Southern Alberta. No. 1 UBC outscored Lethbridge 88-78 on Friday before overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 6 Calgary (11-4) 79-71 on Saturday night.

The T-Birds, who hold a four-point lead over No. 7 Simon Fraser in the Canada West Pacific division, face another challenging week as they are set to battle the 11-2 Clan on both Thursday and Saturday.

Meanwhile in Ontario, the defending national champion Carleton Ravens (13-1), winners of six of the last seven W.P. McGee trophies, also continued to roll with convincing wins over Queen’s, 74-58, and RMC, 95-44.

The No. 2 Ravens have won seven straight conference duels since a 76-73 loss to No. 8 Lakehead (11-3) on November 27, including four victories by 40 points or more. Carleton faces No. 5 Ottawa (12-2) Wednesday night at Scotiabank Place in the fourth annual Capital Hoops Classic. A year ago, the two rivals from the nation’s capital set a CIS regular season record for a men’s basketball game when they squared off in front of 10,523 fans.

Women’s basketball

The reigning national champion Simon Fraser Clan (13-0) lead the Top 10 for the eighth time in as many coaches’ polls this season following lopsided victories over Winnipeg, 85-50, and Manitoba, 89-48. The Clan, who have not lost since their 2008-09 season opener against Victoria, put their remarkable 51-game win streak on the line Saturday night against No. 9 UBC (10-4).

Women’s hockey

The two-time defending national champion McGill Martlets (14-0) remained undefeated in conference play last Friday thanks to a 3-0 shutout of No. 10 Montreal (11-4-1) that also extended their record streak to 74 straight victories against CIS opponents, dating back to December of 2007. The Martlets, who have led all 13 coaches’ polls this season, visit Carleton (5-8) on Saturday.

Men’s hockey

The reigning University Cup champion UNB Varsity Reds improved to 21-0 in conference play with a 3-1 victory over Moncton and a 9-4 domination of St. Thomas. The V-Reds, who have topped all 11 media polls thus far this season, are off to the best start in CIS men’s hockey since Western Ontario completed a 24-0 regular schedule in 2002-03.

UNB hopes to extend its winning streak this weekend when the V-Reds host a pair of Top-10 opponents. No. 7 Saint Mary’s (12-5-4) is in Fredericton on Friday, followed by No. 4 Acadia (14-4-2) on Saturday.

Women’s volleyball

The two-time reigning CIS champion UBC Thunderbirds are 15-0 in conference play following a pair of impressive straight-set wins over No. 8 Calgary (6-8). The T-Birds, who lead the national rankings for the10th time in as many polls in 2009-2010, go for a fourth straight sweep of a Top-10 rival this weekend when they host No. 2 Bisons (12-3) Friday and Saturday.

Men’s volleyball

The 2008-09 national finalist Laval Rouge et Or (14-0) lead the Top 10 for the fourth consecutive week after they racked up three interlock wins in two days against AUS opponents, including a solid straight-set victory over No. 3 Dalhousie (12-2). Laval travels to Sherbrooke (6-8) and McGill (2-12) this weekend.

Track & Field

The reigning CIS women’s and men’s champion Windsor Lancers climb up to the top of both national rankings this week. The Windsor women move up one position to overtake Saskatchewan, while the Lancer men climb all the way up from No. 5 to take over from Guelph.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / (votes – first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Simon Fraser (13-0) / 504 points (42) / (1)
2. Regina (12-2) / 460 /(2)
3. Windsor (13-1) / 419 / (3)
4. Saskatchewan (9-5) / 377 / (4)
5. Cape Breton (13-0) / 340 / (5)
6. Laval (7-1) / 293 / (6)
7. Victoria (9-4) / 254 / (7)
8. Alberta (11-5) / 210 / (8)
9. UBC (10-4) / 141 / (9)
10. Memorial (9-3) / 79 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Carleton (56), McMaster (40), Calgary (38), Western Ontario (25), StFX (13).

MEN’S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / (votes – first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (13-0) / 492 points (41) / (1)
2. Carleton (13-1) / 451 / (2)
3. StFX (10-0) / 406 / (3)
4. Cape Breton (10-1) / 368 / (4)
5. Ottawa (12-2) / 316 / (6)
6. Calgary (11-4) / 290 / (5)
7. Simon Fraser (11-2) / 228 / (9)
8. Lakehead (11-3) / 202 / (7)
9. Windsor (10-4) / 171 / (8)
10. Dalhousie (7-5) / 80 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Saint Mary’s (54), McMaster (54), Trinity Western (35), UQAM (18), Saskatchewan (11).

WOMEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)

1. McGill (14-0-0) / (1)
2. Wilfrid Laurier (20-0-0) / (2)
3. Alberta (19-1-0) / (3)
4. Moncton (13-2-1) / (4)
5. StFX (13-2-3) / (5)
6. Manitoba (14-4-0) / (6)
7. York (14-6-1) / (7)
8. Saskatchewan (10-5-3) / (8)
9. Queen’s (14-5-2) / (9)
10. Montreal (11-4-1) / (10)

MEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (votes – first place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UNB (21-0-0) / 160 (16) / (1)
2. Alberta (18-1-1) / 144 / (2)
3. Western Ontario (18-4-0) / 114 / (3)
4. Acadia (14-4-2) / 111 / (4)
5. UQTR (16-3-1) / 98 / (6)
6. McGill (17-4-0) / 85 / (5)
7. Saint Mary’s (12-5-4) / 59 / (9)
8. Lakehead (15-5-2) / 48 / (10)
9. Manitoba (12-6-2) / 33 / (8)
10. Waterloo (15-6-1) / 12 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Wilfrid Laurier (8), Saskatchewan (6), Calgary (2).

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (15-0) / 60 points / (1)
T2. Manitoba (12-3) / 53 / (2)
T2. Montreal (16-0) / 53 / (3)
4. Alberta (12-4) / 49 / (4)
5. Trinity Western (9-7) / 45 / (5)
6. Regina (9-5) / 40 / (6)
7. McGill (13-3) / 33 / (7)
8. Calgary (6-8) / 31 / (8)
9. Brandon (10-4) / 30.5 / (9)
10. Laval (11-5) / 25.5 / (10)

Next highest votes (11th-15th): McMaster (19), Saint Mary’s (13), Waterloo (6), Western Ontario (6), Toronto (5).

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Laval (14-0) / 249 points / (1)
2. Alberta (11-3) / 215 / (4)
3. Dalhousie (12-2) / 201 / (3)
4. Calgary (9-3) / 188.5 / (2)
5. McMaster (12-2) / 142 / (6)
6. Thompson Rivers (8-6) / 125.5 / (8)
7. Trinity Western (8-6) / 106 / (5)
8. Winnipeg (8-5) / 87.5 / (10)
9. Brandon (7-5) / 56.5 / (7)
10. Manitoba (5-8) / 27 / (9)

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Windsor 109 points / (2)
2. Saskatchewan 82 / (1)
3. Western Ontario 73 / (4)
4. Guelph 60 / (3)
5. Toronto 42.5 / (9)
6. York 40 / (5)
7. Manitoba 39 / (10)
T8. Calgary 33 / (6)
T8. Alberta 33 / (7)
10. Regina 26 / (8)

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Windsor 85.67 points / (5)
2. Guelph 78.33 / (2)
3. Saskatchewan 77 / (1)
4. Ottawa 69.5 / (3)
5. Western Ontario 60.5 / (4)
6. York 49 / (7)
7. Regina 47 / (6)
8. Toronto 36 / (9)
9. Calgary 29 / (8)
10. Manitoba 26 / (10)


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