THUNDER BAY, ON – The Lakehead Men’s basketball team begins the regular season ranked #6 in the nation, after posting an 8-3 record during exhibition play. The Carleton Ravens once again sit atop CIS basketball at #1, and with good cause. They have not been beaten by a CIS opponent since the 2011 OUA playoffs, by Lakehead. While Carleton has shown no signs of aging (their superstars Tyson Hinz and Phil Scrubb are in their 4th and 3rd years, respectively), Lakehead’s roster will lose 6 players (3 of them starters) to graduation at the end of this season.
The only other OUA team in the Top 10 was the Windsor Lancers, a division rival for Lakehead, and one they have gotten the better of in recent years (5-1 since 2009).
To put things in perspective from more recent results, Lakehead’s 3 losses in the preseason have all come against Top 10 teams – #5 Saskatchewan (80-71), #4 Fraser Valley (88-70) and #2 UBC (84-81). Complete Top 10 listed below.
Lakehead’s first game of the season (Nov 9) will come with payback on the minds of the T-Wolves, as they will take on the Ryerson Rams, who soundly expelled them from the OUA Final Four in the first round last season. The game will be played in the newly refurbished Mattamy Athletic Center, formerly Maple Leaf Gardens.
CIS Men’s Basketball Top 10
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Carleton (0-0) / 526 points (43) / (-)
2. UBC (0-0) / 457 (1) / (-)
3. Acadia (0-0) / 338 / (-)
4. Fraser Valley (0-0) / 320 / (-)
5. Saskatchewan (0-0) / 314 / (-)
6. Lakehead (0-0) / 313 / (-)
7. McGill (0-0) / 309 / (-)
8. Cape Breton (0-0) / 150 / (-)
9. Windsor (0-0) / 131 / (-)
10. Alberta (0-0) / 87 / (-)