Brian Swane, Special to Canada West

EDMONTON – The Canada West men's basketball playoffs continue this weekend, as No. 1 Calgary, No. 2 Alberta, No. 3 UBC and No. 4 Saskatchewan are each hosting quarter-final series.

Last week saw the post-season tip off with four do-or-die play-in games, which saw Lethbridge, Regina, UFV and Winnipeg prevail and advance to this best-of-three round.

The quarter-final winners move on to the semifinals and further along the road to the 2019 Canada West Championship and the U SPORTS Final 8.      

No. 8. Winnipeg (13-7 reg. season, 1-0 playoffs) -AT- No. 1 Calgary (20-0, 0-0)

• Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary
• Game 1 – Friday Feb. 15, 8 p.m. MST
• Game 2 – Saturday Feb. 16, 8 p.m. MST
• Game 3* - Sunday Feb. 17, 8 p.m. MST*

The defending Canada West and U SPORTS champion Dinos begin their title defence against the Wesmen, who got past Manitoba 92-77 in the play-in round. This is the teams' first meetings of 2018-19, which saw Calgary complete the first undefeated regular season in program history, while Winnipeg had its highest win percentage in 25 years. The Dinos allowed just 66.0 points and held opponents to 36.9 per cent field goal accuracy, both best in the conference, and will look to clamp down on Winnipeg's Narcisse Ambanza, who averaged 18.8 points and was Canada West's No.1 playmaker (6.2 assists per game) during the regular season. The Toronto product erupted for 36 points last week versus Manitoba.

No. 6 UFV (13-7, 1-0) -AT- No. 3 UBC (17-3, 0-0)

• War Memorial Gym in Vancouver
• Game 1 – Thursday Feb. 14, 7 p.m. PST
• Game 2 – Friday Feb. 15 7 p.m. PST
• Game 3* - Saturday Feb. 16, 7 p.m. PST*

The element of surprise may be a factor in this battle of two teams who haven't seen each other since the beginning of the 2017-18 regular season. UBC and UFV are among the stingiest teams in Canada West, allowing opponents to just 74.8 and 75.8 points, respectively. While both are stout defensively, the T-Birds score at a rate of 93.5 points per game, while the Cascades are much less explosive, averaging 79.4 on offence. UBC has had a couple weeks to reflect after finishing the regular season at Alberta with their only back-to-back losses of the season, while UFV is riding the momentum of a furious second-half comeback to defeat UNBC 67-59 in last week's play-in game at Abbotsford.

 No. 5 Regina (14-6, 1-0) -AT- No. 4 Saskatchewan (11-9, 0-0)

• Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon
• Game 1 – Thursday Feb. 14, 8 p.m. CST
• Game 2 – Friday Feb. 15, 8 p.m. CST
• Game 3* - Saturday Feb. 16, 8 p.m. CST*

The provincial rivals meet in the Canada West post-season for the first time since 2011, when the Huskies swept the Cougars 2-0 in a quarter-final series. These teams split a pair of games in Regina to conclude the regular season at the beginning of February, prior to the Cougars defeating Mount Royal 106-83 in last weekend's play-in game. Saskatchewan guard Lawrence Moore, who ranked second in the conference with a 19.8 scoring average, poured in a total 56 points over the two games against Regina. Guard Greishe Clerjuste (13.9 points per game) leads a balanced Cougars offence that features six players who averaged at least nine points per game.

No. 7 Lethbridge (12-8, 0-1) -AT- No. 2 Alberta (15-5, 0-0)

• Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton
• Game 1 – Thursday Feb. 14, 8 p.m. MST
• Game 2 – Friday Feb. 15, 8 p.m. MST
• Game 3* - Saturday Feb. 15, 7 p.m. MST*

For the third straight year these teams meet for a best-of-three playoff series in Edmonton, with Lethbridge looking to reverse the trend that saw the Pronghorns defeated in the semifinals 2-0 last winter after a 2-1 quarter-final loss in 2017. The Bears defeated Lethbridge twice at home in November, though the Pronghorns have been hot in the second half, going 8-2 after the break and then trampling Victoria, 98-65, in the play-in round. All-Canadian Brody Clarke, who led Canada West with 10.8 rebounds per game and tied for second in scoring averaging 19.8 points, powers the Bears, while Lethbridge is paced by high-scoring guard Zac Overwater (19.1 points per game).