HALIFAX – The University of Calgary Dinos have landed in Halifax and are ready for Thursday's opener of the U SPORTS Final 8 tournament.

It's the third consecutive Final 8 appearance for the Dinos. Following their 84-77 Canada West gold medal victory over the University of Alberta, Calgary returns to Halifax as the No. 2 seed in the eight-team field. Three victories would earn them national supremacy for the first time in school history, but the Dinos aren't looking past their quarterfinal matchup against the No. 7 Brock Badgers.

There's no natural rivalry between Calgary and Brock, but it's still a match-up full of intrigue. The Badgers were ranked in the top-three nationally for most of the year, but drew the seventh seed after falling to Ryerson in the Ontario semifinal and earning the lone wild card bid to the tournament. It's a berth many in southern Ontario thought should have gone to the Badgers a year ago, when it was the Dinos at received the at-large bid.

The Badgers got a measure of revenge in October, taking a 12-point win over the Dinos on their home floor in preseason action – the Dinos' only loss of a difficult non-conference schedule.

"Our preseason, including Brock, was really good for us," said Dinos Head Coach Dan Vanhooren. "We played McGill, we played Acadia, Ryerson…so we knew how hard we had to play when we get here. Our season was set up for this, and I'm feeling pretty prepared for it.

"How hard we play will be the difference. We feel that's how Carleton has been winning, basically playing harder than anyone else in the country for a long time. All the guys know Xs and Os, all players can shoot and handle the ball. It's going to come down to the effort that's put on the floor, and it has to be an exceptional one."

"We're not the same team that we were when we played them [in October]," said point guard David Kapinga. "We've been talking about 'different team, different result.' The season was long and there were a couple of losses, but it's all worth it at the end of the day to have this opportunity again."

Tip off from the Scotiabank Centre for the U SPORTS quarterfinal between the Dinos and Badgers goes at 11 a.m. MT (2 p.m. Atlantic) Thursday, with streaming coverage at USPORTS.live.

ROAD TO THE FINAL 8
Calgary's ascension into the upper echelon of programs began three seasons ago with their CW title and second place finish at the Final 8. Their loss in the final came against the standard of excellence in U SPORTS men's basketball, the Carleton Ravens. With lessons learned and the majority of their players returning, including Canada West MVP Thomas Cooper, expectations were sky-high for the 2016-17 Dinos. Calgary entered the CW Final Four with the No. 1 seed but their hopes of repeating as CW champs were dashed by the Cinderella Manitoba Bisons. However, their chance at revenge against the Ravens remained. Securing a wildcard berth into the Final 8, Calgary was pitted against Carleton in the first round, again coming up short. The Dinos rallied and finished the tournament with two victories to become consolation champions, but Thomas Cooper had played his final U SPORTS game and the Dinos' future was bequeathed to their young core. 

The 2017-18 season began early for a pair of Dinos, as Mambi Diawara and David Kapinga represented Canada at the Summer Universiade in Chinese Taipei. This experience proved instrumental: Kapinga cemented his status as the leader of the team and Diawara proved he could carry the load offensively on a nightly basis. Opening their preseason against fellow Final 8 teams McGill, Acadia, Ryerson and Brock, Calgary showcased its speed and offensive firepower.

The regular season featured the emergence of one of the best benches in the nation. First-year forward Mason Foreman was named to the CW All-Rookie team, while fifth-year forward Jhony Verrone was awarded CW Defensive Player of the Year. Joining them off the bench, Lucas Mannes and Max Eisele helped control the tempo while Andrew Milner spaced the floor for Calgary. The starting lineup was not without its accolades, as Kapinga was named a CW third-team all-star and Diawara named a CW first-team all-star.

Together this unit's active hands forced 21.9 turnovers per game, the second highest rate in the nation. Teams that cough it up are then faced with the unenviable task of defending against the Dinos in transition. With big-men that can run the floor, including fifth-year senior Connor Foreman who possesses extendable arms a-la Inspector Gadget, and shooters roving the three-point line, including former CW rookie of the year and third-team all-star Lars Schlueter, the ball is going up fast. Calgary closed the season with the second ranked defence and third ranked offence in CW, entering the playoffs as the second seed in CW and No. 5 in the nation. 

Across CW the first round went according to plan, with Calgary dispatching Saskatchewan to force a final four featuring three of the top five teams in the nation. In the semifinal Calgary defeated the then No. 4-ranked UBC Thunderbirds, sweeping the season series 4-0, including a nail-biting 87-84 victory to punch their ticket to the U SPORTS Final 8. Calgary traveled to Edmonton the following week, taking on then No. 2 ranked Alberta for the CW title. The Dinos dropped both contests against Alberta in early January, but you couldn't have guessed it by their performance in the gold medal game. Calgary defeated Alberta 84-77, reclaiming the CW title and earning the No. 2 seed heading into the national championship.

"We had three keys to that game," explained Vanhooren of the Canada West final. "One was the pace of our play – we had to play faster than them because of their size difference with us. We had to win the possession battle by rebounding the ball, and we had to turn them over a few times. We managed to get that done, and all three of those reasons should make us competitive here in Halifax."

So here they are. The 2017-18 Dinos, built with the tantalizingly rare combination of experience and youth, returning once again to the U SPORTS Final 8 – and looking for that elusive first W.P. McGee Trophy for the University of Calgary.

-UC-