While the U.S. has been taken over by university basketball fever as of late, Canada had their own version of March Madness.
While the U.S. has been taken over by university basketball fever as of late, Canada had their own version of March Madness. From March 12-15, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) hosted its annual Final 8 men’s basketball tournament at Ryerson University in Toronto. The tournament saw the eight best universities from east to west compete for the right to hoist the W.P. McGee trophy and fight for the right to be called the best men’s basketball team in Canada.
In the end, the Carleton Ravens captured their fifth straight national championship in a blowout 93-46 victory against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. There were nearly 17,000 fans who attended the tournament and almost 4,000 who watched the national championship game, according to the CIS website.
The home crowd was treated to a Cinderella-like tournament: the Ryerson Rams, who weren’t considered to be a strong contender, captured a bronze medal—their first medal in Final 8 history. It was also the first time that the tournament was played in Toronto, an honour that Rams head coach Roy Rana did not take lightly.
“I take it personally, this event was a special one for Toronto,” Rana said.
Rana was hired by the Rams in 2009 and had never seen such strong support for the school, and his team, until the tournament started.
“When I got here we had 150 people at the games, we needed to beg them to come,” Rana said. “So this type of support from our students and our communities is pretty special.”
Carleton’s head coach, David Smart, raved about their host and for the city of Toronto.
“I love it, the faculties and floor were unbelievable. It is nice to win in Toronto with the basketball fans in city,” Smart said. “We like to say that Ottawa is the capital of Canadian basketball, but it is hard to argue against Toronto.”
The Ravens basketball program is the greatest university dynasty this country has ever had. They have captured 11 national championships in the past 13 years with Smart behind the bench. Despite their roaring success, not many people in this country even know who they are—in part because Canadian university basketball doesn’t have the same following compared to other sports. People who live in the U.S. were introduced to the basketball powerhouse just last year when the program was featured in an ESPN article titled, “The Canadian college basketball dynasty you’ve never heard of.”
For the past five years the Ravens have been led by British Columbian brothers Philip and Thomas Scrubb. Philip—who had 28 points in the championship game and was named Player of the Tournament for the third time in his career—is regarded as one of the greatest CIS basketball players in history. His brother, Thomas, is known for his defensive abilities and has won two consecutive CIS Defensive Player of the Year titles.
“I just wanted to come in and work hard every day in practice. I was fortunate enough to have success with great teams,” Thomas said.
“We’ve been together our whole lives … just to see all of the success [Thomas] had right from the start really helped me pick up my game to get to his level on the court,” Philip said. “It is cool, winning five national championships in five years, but I would not have been here if I did not get help in my five years. It is a tribute to my teammates and coaches.”
Having taken the court for Carleton for the last time, the Scrubb brothers will have a meeting with their coach to discuss their future prospects of playing in Europe or even the NBA.