Final Six lives up to the hype
After losing the CIS Final Eight championship to Ottawa after a 24-year run in Halifax, Atlantic University Sport shifted its focus to its own championship, aiming to make the AUBC Final Six the same kind of event.
Showcasing basketball at all levels – from minor ball up to and including the professional Halifax Rainmen – the Final Six did a great job of living up to the pre-event hype.
The tournament, which attracted more than 17,400 fans over three days at the Metro Centre, was helped by, arguably, the most talented and competitive field in memory, relatively close games throughout and even an upset or two.
Most observers felt there were four teams – Acadia, St. F.X., Saint Mary’s and Cape Breton – with an equal shot. Then, on opening night, fifth-ranked Dalhousie upset Cape Breton, and sixth-seeded UPEI came within two foul shots of doing the same to SMU.
The semifinals were competitive affairs, with Acadia coming back from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Dal and SMU taking care of St. F.X.
Sunday’s final turned out to be a rematch of last year, when Acadia edged SMU in overtime. This time, the Huskies returned the favour, surviving a late Acadia comeback attempt to win 75-72.
While no one would have said it publically, the best scenario for AUS officials was for the Axemen to lose in the final, almost guaranteeing there would be two Atlantic teams in action this weekend. That’s exactly what happened.
If the ultimate goal is to get the Final Eight back to Halifax at the earliest opportunity, having as many AUBC teams as possible in the field at the first “out-of-town” tournament in almost a quarter-century doesn’t hurt.
SMU took the #3 seed (behind top-ranked Carleton, the five-time defending national champs, and Canada West champion UBC, but ahead of Laval), which is fair: both SMU and Laval were essentially upset winners at their conference levels.
Wild card Acadia, based on a stellar 18-2 regular season and 24-6 overall record, goes in as the fifth seed – the highest possible placing for a non-conference champion. At the same time, though, one might argue the Axemen deserve to be there - it wouldn’t have been right to rank them any lower.
If the Axemen get by fourth-ranked Laval in their tournament opener, they would, barring a huge upset in the quarterfinals, be facing a semifinal matchup with Carleton, which hasn’t lost all season.
Most of the Axemen probably still haven’t forgotten their team’s lopsided loss to Carleton in the first round of last year’s nationals – a result that showed Acadia wasn’t quite ready for prime time, but should have taught them a lesson. This year, things are a little different. Though they could have played better at the AUBC tournament, the Axemen proved all season they are for real. Acadia is still probably the second-best team in the nation.
Another thing the Axemen may have going for them is teams like Carleton haven’t seen them play much in person. That’s the only way to truly measure the impact AUBC Most Valuable Player Leo Saintil can have on a game – something teams in this conference knew all too well this entire season.
If Acadia defeats Laval and can upset Carleton, and should SMU defeat Western Ontario and either UBC or Brock, the Axemen and Huskies could end up meeting in the CIS final in what would be the ultimate redemption - and showcase - for Atlantic University Sport.
