The Trinity Western men’s basketball team officially announced its 2016-17 Canada West regular season schedule Thursday.
The Spartans will open their 20-game conference campaign with three games on the road, travelling to play UBC Okanagan Nov. 4-5 and Fraser Valley Nov. 11, before hosting their home opener at the Langley Events Centre Nov. 12 against the University of the Fraser Valley.
TWU will be back on the road to play UNBC before coming back to Langley for the final four games of the fall semester.
The Spartans will host local rival and defending Canada West bronze medallist UBC in the final weekend of the regular season Feb. 10-11.
This year’s home schedule sees the Spartans hosting their home games one hour earlier than previous years, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. on Fridays and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. The only exception is the Nov. 26 matchup with Regina, which will start at 8 p.m.
The 2016-17 season marks a new format for Canada West basketball, with the existing Pioneer and Explorer Divisions no longer in effect.
The 17 Canada West basketball schools will now play in a single conference, featuring a 20-game regular season schedule. Each team will play four geographical, or historical opponents every year, with games against six of the remaining 12 opponents every other year. Over a four-year rotation in the schedule, each team will play every team in the conference at least twice, and will visit every gym in Canada West at least once.
The playoffs will feature the top 12 teams playing a bracketed post-season structure over a three-week period. The top four teams will receive a bye in the first week of the playoffs, which will feature four best-of-three series.
The following week will consist of four best-of-three quarterfinals, leading to the Final Four hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Playoff seeding will be determined by a rating percentage index (RPI), which will be calculated using a combination of winning percentage, opponents’ winning percentage, and opponents’ opponents’ average winning percentage. The conference RPI will be published on a weekly basis following the conference’s December break.
This is the first year of a four-year scheduling model.
Once again this season, fans can see every men’s basketball game live and on-demand by heading to Canadawest.tv – the official streaming home of Canada West. 2016-17 Canadawest.tv passes will go on sale August 22, with early bird pricing available on both multi-sport and single sport passes until Sept. 9.
Men’s basketball regular season schedule:
Friday, Nov. 4 – TWU at UBC Okanagan – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5 – TWU at UBC Okanagan – 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 11 – TWU at Fraser Valley – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12 – TWU vs. Fraser Valley – 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 18 – TWU at UNBC – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19 – TWU at UNBC – 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 25 – TWU vs. Regina – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 26 – TWU vs. Regina – 8 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 2 – TWU vs. Lethbridge – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 3 – TWU vs. Lethbridge – 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 6 – TWU at Winnipeg – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7 – TWU at Winnipeg – 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 20 – TWU vs. Manitoba – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 21 – TWU vs. Manitoba – 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 27 – TWU at Victoria – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 28 – TWU at Victoria – 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 3 – TWU at Mount Royal – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4 – TWU at Mount Royal – 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 10 – TWU vs. UBC – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11 – TWU vs. UBC – 6 p.m.
Playoffs
Feb. 17-19 – Canada West Play-In Series (Best of 3)
12at5 / 11at6 / 10at7 / 9at8
1-4 – Bye
Feb. 24-26 – Canada West Quarter-Finals (Best of 3)
Series A: Winner of 12/5 at 4
Series B: Winner of 11/6 at 3
Series C: Winner of 10/7 at 2
Series D: Winner of 9/8 at 1
March 3 and 4 –
Canada West Final Four (at highest remaining ranked team)
Winner of Series A vs Winner of Series D
Winner of Series B vs Winner of Series C
Bronze Medal Game
Gold Medal Game
Mar. 9-12 – CIS Final 8 – Halifax