U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 Preview

Storylines to watch for each of Canada’s top men’s teams heading into national championship weekend

Acadia Axemen guard Ryan Regault flying to the hoop during the AUS men’s basketball championship game on Sunday, February 22nd at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, NS. Photo by Tim Krochak

This weekend is the most exciting in Canadian University basketball all year, and before tipoff this Friday, we broke down the key storylines for each of the eight teams participating in this year's national championships, and what makes this weekend such an exciting event for basketball fans all over Canada.

1. University of Victoria Vikes

Top Players: Ethan Boag (Canada West MVP), Renoldo Robinson, Shadynn Smid

Record: 20-3

• The defending national champion Victoria Vikes are the number one team in the country for a reason, and have proven all year long, under the leadership of former Dalhousie Tiger assistant coach Murphy Burnatowski, that they are the most complete team in the country. This team is led by the best three-point shooter in the country and Can West MVP, Ethan Boag, who is shooting an unbelievable 54.3% from 3 this season, and fourth-year star Renaldo Robinson, who exploded for 34 points in the Vikes Can West championship victory over UBC. This weekend, Coach Burnatowski will hope to make history and become the first head coach to ever win a men’s basketball national championship in both of their first two seasons in charge of a program. The Vikes will start this quest against a familiar Calgary team, whom they defeated 91-78 earlier this season and who they also defeated in the 2025 national championship game. However, on Calgary’s home soil, this is a much more exciting match-up than your typical #1 vs #8 seed game. Last time the Vikes were ranked #1 heading into nationals, they were upset by the host team and eventual national champions Laval.

2. TMU Bold

Top Players: Aaron Rhooms (National POTY), Deandre Goulbourne, Gabriel Gutsmore

Record: 20-5

• TMU, and their high-powered offence led by national player of the year and back-to-back OUA MVP Aaron Rhooms, have a chance to make school history this weekend and win the first national championship in school history. This is a team that has won 8 straight games going into these national championships, and an exciting matchup against a disciplined UBC squad will kick off this weekend's festivities. No player other than Rhooms has scored more than 20 points in a game since January 23rd against Windsor, and if the Bold are going to capture a national championship this weekend, they will need their superstar senior guard to lead the way.

3. Laval Rouge

Top Players: Christophe Tshibola (National ROTY), Thierry Tshibola, Jayden Larosiliere,

Record: 18-7

• Laval rolls into this weekend as the consensus hottest team in the country, winning 10 games in a row on route to an RSEQ championship. This team is led by remarkable freshman Christophe Tshibola, who made history this season, winning both RSEQ Rookie of the year of RSEQ MVP in the same season, while leading the conference in points, assists, and minutes played as a rookie. Sharpshooter Jayden Larosiliere also led the RSEQ in 3 pointers made, and will play a huge role in Laval’s efforts this weekend. Laval has an opportunity to make history and win their 2nd national championship in 3 years. They will face the powerhouse Carleton Ravens on Friday in what could be the most exciting of our quarterfinal match-ups, and will hope to match their play during the 2023 national championships, this time no longer being viewed as an underdog, but rather as one of the scariest teams in the country.

4. Acadia Axemen

Top Players: Ryan Regault, Kyle Munro, Gabe Davignon

Record: 15-8

• Atlantic Canada will be staying up late Friday Night to cheer Acadia on as they hope to build on this historic season with a national quarterfinal victory against the Bishop's Gaiters. The turnaround of this Acadia team has been nothing short of remarkable, as this program overcame all odds to do it all in one year and hoist an AUS championship. Ryan Regault will play a huge role in the Axemen’s efforts this weekend, but everyone on this Acadia team seems to be capable of exploding on any given night. Point guard Kyle Munro controls this offence, and will need to have a big weekend if Acadia want to make some noise on the national scene. Acadia will need to carry the momentum of Scotiabank Centre to Calgary this weekend if they want to be the first AUS basketball national champion since 2001.

5. Bishops Gaiters

Top Players: Charles Robert, Yanis Malanda, Etienne Gagnon

Record: 17-4

• This has been a special season for this Bishops Gaiters. The team spent the entire season ranked in the top 3 nationally, 4 weeks as the number one team in the country, and every week except for one ranked inside the top 2 nationally. The Gaiters started this season red hot winning 15 of their first 16 games of the season, but may have found their kryptonite in a Laval team who are responsible for 3 of their 4 losses the entire season. The team is led by senior Charles Robert and Sophomore Yanis Malinda offensively, and bolstered by a strong disciplined core. The Gaiters have only won a national championship once in their history and that was in 1998. twenty-eight years later with their best team since, the Gaiters hope to make history this weekend in Calgary.

6. Carleton Ravens

Top Players: Marjok Okado, Aubrey Dorey-Havens, Louth-Mohamed Coulibaly

Record: 17-5

• The Carelton Ravens have won 17 of the last 23 national championships in men’s basketball, and despite going into this tournament as the #6 seed, there is no doubt that head coach Taffe Charles will have this Ravens team ready to win a national championship this weekend. As usual, the Ravens are one of the deepest teams in the country , incredibly well-coached and disciplined on the defensive side of the ball. They will need to quiet down Laval’s Christophe Tshibola on Friday afternoon, and if they are able to do so and move on to the national semi-final, there’s no reason why Carleton shouldn’t be odds-on favourites to win their 18th national title this weekend.

7. UBC Thunderbirds

Top Players: Nikola Guzina, Nylan Roberts, Holt Tomie

Record: 23-6

• Despite being consistently one of the best teams in the country, UBC has never seemed to get over the hump in men’s basketball and hasn’t won a national championship since 1972. However, this Thunderbirds team is incredibly talented, deep, young, and capable of beating any team in the country on any given night. This was proven by their ability to beat the number one-ranked Vikes not once, but twice this season before eventually falling short to the Vikes in the CanWest championship game. The team is led by second-year Nikola Guzina and veteran floor general Holt Tommie, who will need to be at their best if they want to slow down TMU this Friday. First-year interim head coach Phil Jalalpoor has done a fantastic job with this Thunderbirds team. The question remains,will this team be able to get over the hump and win their first national title in 54 years this weekend?

8. Calgary Dinos

Top Players: Mrigendra Dhaliwal, Hayden Franson, Dre Francis

Record: 17-15

• As hosts of the tournament, the Calgary Dinos were recipients of an automatic bid to qualify for these national championships, but that’s not to say they aren’t a scary team to play against. Longtime Dino’s head coach, Dan Vanhooren, led the team to their lone national championship in 2018 and was one game away from winning another in 2025. Despite losing the 2025 national player of the year this season in Nate Petrone, this Dino’s season has bounced back nicely, and the 2026 season has seen the emergence of Mrigendra Dhaliwal and Hayden Franson as focal points of the Dino’s offence. Two years ago, Laval came into the national championships as the autobid host team and won a national championship on home soil. Could we see a similar story with this Dino’s team in 2026?