Simon Farine's Tigers Return to the big stage two years after being brushed aside by UBC.by Armaan Ahluwalia
On Friday night the 3rd ranked Saskatchewan Huskies will do battle against the 6th ranked Dalhousie Tigers at the Metro Centre in Halifax. Here is an individual breakdown of the teams, players and numbers.
#3 Saskatchewan Huskies – Canada West (20-4)
Key Players:
Jamelle Barrett 5’10, 25.3 ppg
Rejan Chabot 6’0, 21.6 ppg
Nolan Brudehl 6’6, 11.4 ppg 8.7 rpg
#3 Saskatchewan Huskies – Canada West (20-4)
Key Players:
Jamelle Barrett 5’10, 25.3 ppg
Rejan Chabot 6’0, 21.6 ppg
Nolan Brudehl 6’6, 11.4 ppg 8.7 rpg
Meet The Huskies
This team has been described to be super athletic and fast. With bigs who can get up and down the floor causing problems for slower big men. Led by Barrett and Chabot who scored 25 points and 21 a game respectively. This team is set in the back court, with experience and explosiveness. The Huskies averaged 96.1 points a game and allowed only 80.7 during the regular season giving them plenty of breathing room. Now the scoring in the Canada West conference typically tends to be a run and gun shooting league with higher point totals than the more defensive AUS.
They have three guys at 6’8 with two of them getting substantial playing time. This is a team that has experience as they won it last year with a talented roster. They came in as an underdog and pulled off victories against UBC and Carleton on their way to winning it all. That team last year was different but with a lot of veteran guys in the mix this will help their cause. Their head coach is Barry Rawlyk who is the interim head coach, he is in his 4th year with the team.
They have three guys at 6’8 with two of them getting substantial playing time. This is a team that has experience as they won it last year with a talented roster. They came in as an underdog and pulled off victories against UBC and Carleton on their way to winning it all. That team last year was different but with a lot of veteran guys in the mix this will help their cause. Their head coach is Barry Rawlyk who is the interim head coach, he is in his 4th year with the team.
#6 Dalhousie Tigers – AUS (14-6)
Key Players:
Simone Farine 6’2 19.1 ppg 6.4 rpg 4.5 apg
Key Players:
Simone Farine 6’2 19.1 ppg 6.4 rpg 4.5 apg
Joseph Schow 6’9 14.8 ppg 9.5 rpb
Juleous Grant 6’3 11.5 ppg
Juleous Grant 6’3 11.5 ppg
Meet The Tigers
Do not let their record fool you. This team is tough, gritty and knows how to shut down all-stars. This Dalhousie team is loaded with experienced players who are in their final year of eligibility. Their depth has been a strong point as they have a solid rotation going with players coming in to fill the roles everywhere. They are led by AUS All-star Simone Farine who was the MVP of the AUS tournament this past weekend. Helping outFarine is 5th year senior Joseph Schow who is a tough, passionate player who gets rebounds and creates matchup problems for defenses. The Tigers are a very strong defensive team who like to dictate the style of the game and shut down their star players. They shut down St. FX to 7 points in the first quarter of the semi-final and only allowed Acadia to 6 in the first quarter of the Championship.
This past AUS championship marks the 2nd time in three years for the Tigers and only the 3rd in school history. Last time the Tigers were a young team who made it to the CIS Final 8 and that experience will now play some dividends going back for a second time with a great chance. They average scoring 80.2 points a game and allow 68.2 points per game. In a league filled with All-Stars (Haywood, Upshaw, Carter) the Tigers have done their job in slowing down opposing offenses. John Campbell is their head coach in this 9th season.
Breakdown
This past AUS championship marks the 2nd time in three years for the Tigers and only the 3rd in school history. Last time the Tigers were a young team who made it to the CIS Final 8 and that experience will now play some dividends going back for a second time with a great chance. They average scoring 80.2 points a game and allow 68.2 points per game. In a league filled with All-Stars (Haywood, Upshaw, Carter) the Tigers have done their job in slowing down opposing offenses. John Campbell is their head coach in this 9th season.
Breakdown
This game is going to be televised on TSN 2 (live). I wonder why, this game has all the makings for an instant classic. Both these teams have fire power and explosiveness which make them so deadly. Let’s throw away the seeds for a minute as in the CIS it is hard to gage how a team does in different leagues.
The Huskies have great scoring ability and possibly one of the best players in the country Jamelle Barrett. They have great speed and athleticism which can cause teams a havoc. If the Huskies turn this game into a shootout, they will have the upper hand. Dalhousie is not a major scoring team that goes out and scores 100 points a game. That is just not who they are. They grind out games slowly by wearing down a team. The Tigers were exposed a little bit in the Acadia game as big and explosive 6’10 Owen Klassen gave Schow a tough time. For those that don’t know Joseph Schow he is a big 6’9 guy who is a great rebounder and a physical guy. He is also a tad slow which is something that Klassen is not. This could be important if the Huskies use their quick and explosive big men to try and get by the slower defensive Schow. Although in the second half of the Acadia game Klassen was ineffective due to a zone defense which made a difference. If the Huskies can increase the pace of the game which forces Dal to keep scoring they will have a good chance.
The Tigeres are extremely good defensively and do not allow teams to make good shots and really shut down key players when needed. Stephen Lopez might not show up on the scorers sheet with big numbers, but his biggest contribution is his speed and defensive skill. Lopez has been key with shutting down big offensive threats all season and with a deep bench their bench has been able to do the same. Schow and Sandy Veit have been absolute monsters on the offensive glass as their size has been causing problems all year. This is an advantage that Dal can use, with the 2 big men up front they will be able to control the glass against a slightly smaller Saskatchewan team. Their X-Factors in this game could be either Juleous Grant who usually starts and has that great scoring touch and plays solid minutes, he could get hot at any point in the game. Another player who could come off the bench and give some scoring to the Tigers is Peter Leighton, the 3 point shooter who is around a 50% shooter. Look for them to be key to help Dal control the style of game and not let it run away into a shootout.
The Huskies have great scoring ability and possibly one of the best players in the country Jamelle Barrett. They have great speed and athleticism which can cause teams a havoc. If the Huskies turn this game into a shootout, they will have the upper hand. Dalhousie is not a major scoring team that goes out and scores 100 points a game. That is just not who they are. They grind out games slowly by wearing down a team. The Tigers were exposed a little bit in the Acadia game as big and explosive 6’10 Owen Klassen gave Schow a tough time. For those that don’t know Joseph Schow he is a big 6’9 guy who is a great rebounder and a physical guy. He is also a tad slow which is something that Klassen is not. This could be important if the Huskies use their quick and explosive big men to try and get by the slower defensive Schow. Although in the second half of the Acadia game Klassen was ineffective due to a zone defense which made a difference. If the Huskies can increase the pace of the game which forces Dal to keep scoring they will have a good chance.
The Tigeres are extremely good defensively and do not allow teams to make good shots and really shut down key players when needed. Stephen Lopez might not show up on the scorers sheet with big numbers, but his biggest contribution is his speed and defensive skill. Lopez has been key with shutting down big offensive threats all season and with a deep bench their bench has been able to do the same. Schow and Sandy Veit have been absolute monsters on the offensive glass as their size has been causing problems all year. This is an advantage that Dal can use, with the 2 big men up front they will be able to control the glass against a slightly smaller Saskatchewan team. Their X-Factors in this game could be either Juleous Grant who usually starts and has that great scoring touch and plays solid minutes, he could get hot at any point in the game. Another player who could come off the bench and give some scoring to the Tigers is Peter Leighton, the 3 point shooter who is around a 50% shooter. Look for them to be key to help Dal control the style of game and not let it run away into a shootout.
Results / Prediction
I think that game will be extremely close as the Huskies can score lots of points and the Tigers can be good defensively. I think that the Tigers can pull the upset here at the Metro Centre already having some experience playing on it a week prior. I think that the Saskatchewan team will have some explosive athletes but I like Farine after having a monster AUS tournament where he dominated. I think that the deep bench will also play to Dal’s advantage and make a difference late in the game. Experience will play a big factor in this game as they made it 2 years ago and now their goal is to win it this time. I also think that Dal will be able to slow down the offensive machine in Saskatchewan even though they too have CIS Final 8 experience.
Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer with the Dal Gazette. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.
Sportstream is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies and the Halifax Rainmen. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_. Email:comments@sportstream.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment