RSEQ Men’s Basketball Championships: All You Need To Know

A Look Into This Week’s Marquee Matchups

SportsJohn Ngala — Published February 26, 2020

Here’s what you need to know:

Make or Break

Winners of four straight, McGill seems to be peaking at the right time. On paper, David DeAveiro’s troops at 12-4, look like heavy favorites against fourth place UQAM, who’s dropped its last two games of the season, finishing with an 8-8 record.

However, during the season, Les Citadins snagged two wins against McGill, splitting the series at two games apiece.

UQAM will not only need a complete team effort but a big performance from their forward, Alix Lochard, and a strong shooting performance from Karim Sabban to stun the home side.

McGill, who seems to be on a roll, will try to punch their ticket to the finals with their quick ball movement, tight hand-offs and sharp-shooting by guard Jamal Mayali.

While McGill does have home court advantage, ultimately in the playoffs, it’s anybody’s game.

Home Sweet Home

If there’s anything we need to know heading into the Stingers vs Bishop’s game is that there’s no place like home.

Concordia won the first two meetings at home, then Bishop’s showed they were up to the task, beating the Stingers the next two games, in Sherbrooke.

With a 6-2 record at home, there are a lot of weapons Concordia can exploit. With Adrian Armstrong on the floor, the three point line will be an important difference maker. Armstrong drilled seven in their last meeting on Feb. 20. Forward Olivier Simon will also be key.

His positioning inside should set up easy baskets while freeing the outside, where guard Sami Jahan and forward Sami Ghandour can knock down shots.

For Bishop’s, guard Nervens Demosthene has been a one-man wrecking crew. Scoring 39 points in their 102-93 win against the Stingers, his penetration will give his teammates opportunities to get good looks and finish plays.

Forward Abdul Kamane and Jordan Thornhill should get the purple and silver going as well, if they want to rewrite history.

For now, time will tell.