CALGARY – It's a rare occurrence that not many around these parts have ever experienced. But with Canada West's 2009-10 schedule thrown into disarray because of next month's Olympics in Vancouver, the University of Calgary Dinos basketball teams will remain in the friendly confines of the Jack Simpson Gym for the foreseeable future, hosting three consecutive weekends and six straight games apiece. And it all begins with the latest chapter in a storied rivalry.

With nine games remaining in the regular season and the next six on home court, both Dinos teams will look to extract as many victories as possible before heading to Brandon and Lethbridge to close out the campaign. Next week two of the Pacific Division's best, Victoria and UBC, are on the slate, with Regina to follow Jan. 30-31. But first…

The No. 4-ranked Dinos (9-2) face one of the few teams that has been able to solve them over the last three seasons in the Alberta Golden Bears. The teams split their four meetings last season before a two-game Calgary sweep in the playoffs en route to the Dinos' conference championship.

The Battle of Alberta takes on a new look this season, however, with a new storyline in rookie Alberta head coach Greg Francis. Don Horwood's legendary career came to a close in the aforementioned Central Division Final in the Jack last year, and Francis was tapped to take over the Golden Bears program.

With the graduation of the Bears' top three scorers from last season, Francis has led a youth movement that has presented its challenges to the squad from the Main Gym. After rattling off four straight wins to open the year, the Bears have managed just one victory in their last eight tries – that being a tight 71-70 decision at home against Saskatchewan.

Freshman Jordan Baker looks to be the next star in evergreen and gold and is very much in the running for the conference's rookie of the year award. The Edmonton native and son of former Pandas head coach Trix Baker leads Alberta in scoring with 12.5 per game – but the fact that he sits just 27th on the Canada West scoring charts illustrates some of the Bears' offensive woes. At just over 68 points per game, only 0-11 Winnipeg has scored fewer points this season than the Alberta Golden Bears.

Harvey Bradford and Scott Leigh provide the veteran presence on the squad, joining Baker as players averaging around the 30-minute mark.

While scoring has been a major concern for the Bears, it was defence that nearly let the Calgary Dinos down last weekend before Ross Bekkering's seven free throws in the extra period gave them an 88-86 OT win over Lethbridge.

With a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Dinos were outscored 27-11 in the final 10 minutes to force the game to overtime. Bekkering went to the line eight times in the extra five minutes, with the game-winning points coming with just 3.1 seconds left on the clock – a clock that didn't start after the subsequent inbound by Lethbridge, forcing the officials to call the game.

With that close call in a hostile environment behind them – a game which may pay dividends down the road – the Dinos return home to face a desperate Bears team and open their own six-game home stretch. At 9-2, the Dinos hold a 3.5 game lead over second-place Saskatchewan (5-6) and look poised to grab the division's top seed in the crossover playoffs. A sweep of the Bears would greatly increase the likelihood of that happening while also putting Alberta in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in recent memory.

The Dinos boast the second-highest offensive output in the conference, just 0.3 points-per-game behind No. 1 UBC at 85.8. Bekkering and fellow fifth-year senior Robbie Sihota sit fourth and fifth, respectively, on the conference's scoring chart with 18.5 points per game, with Tyler Fidler cracking the list at number 21 (13.6).

Freshman point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson will be one of Jordan Baker's biggest rivals for rookie-of-the-year honours. While his scoring numbers are slightly below Baker's at 10.5 per game, the Winnipeg native has started all 11 games for the Dinos and leads the team with 31.1 minutes per game. He is in the top 10 in the conference in assist-turnover ratio (third), assists (ninth), and steals (seventh).

Third-year Bowness grad Dustin Reding has provided yeoman service to the Dinos in the sixth man spot, showing impressive improvement over the past three seasons with the team and becoming a key contributor.

The Pack the Jack Six Pack homestand continues next weekend with a marquee Pacific Division match-up. The opener has the Victoria Vikes in town for another historic rivalry, while next Saturday night's game against the top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds is likely the most anticipated regular season game in all of CIS basketball this year.

At all six games of the homestand, the first 100 University of Calgary students in attendance will receive a free six-inch sandwich courtesy of Subway® Restaurants and all students can enter to win a variety of prizes, the value of which will increase with attendance at subsequent games. Students that attend at least five of the six games will be entered into a draw for a ski weekend for four at Whitefish Mountain resort in Montana, courtesy the University of Calgary Alumni Association.

-UC-