CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team (2-2) returns home to welcome the MacEwan Griffins (0-4) and attempt to improve upon their .500 record early in the Canada West season.
Both games will be the second with a double-header with the Dinos women's team. Friday's tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m., while Saturday's action is set to start at 6 p.m.
All action will take place inside the Jack Simpson Gym and can be streamed live on CanadaWest.TV.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. INSTANT CLASSIC – Calgary is coming off a Canada West game-of-the-year nominee in a thrilling 92-91 overtime loss at Alberta last Saturday. The Dinos were playing with just eight healthy players after a rash of injuries and got incredible performances in response from guards
Alan Spoonhunter,
Aidan Smith and
Jackson Bayles. The trio of guards combined to play 132 of a possible 135 minutes and netted 72 points, headlined by an incredible 15 of the Dinos' 17 three-pointers on the night.
2. HOPING TO GET HEALTHY – The Dinos were without a number of key players in last weekend's trip up to Edmonton.
Jeffrey Tezo was sidelined for both contests before being joined on the sidelines by fellow starters
Ezeoha Santiago and
Spencer Roberts, as well as key reserve
Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo for Saturday's action. Calgary will look to get healthy with three more weeks of games before getting a break starting Dec. 4.
3. SELECTIVE MEMORY – Both Calgary and MacEwan are coming off consecutive losses. There are plenty of positives for Calgary to take from Saturday's 92-91 OT loss to Alberta, but Calgary will look for a strong response early against MacEwan, who fell 87-58 & 97-69 to Mount Royal.
4. EARLY IMPACT – It took just four games for first-year guard
Alan Spoonhunter to showcase his talents in Canada West. After scoring just 15 points off the bench in the first three games, Spoonhunter got the start this past Saturday and poured in 34 points on Saturday, including going 8-16 from three-point range. He also hauled in 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
5. FINDING IDENTITY – Sitting at 0-4, the Griffins have struggled to carve out an area of strength early in the season. Whether it is rebounding, generating steals, or scoring in transition, creating an identity is critical for the young Griffins to get their season on track.
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