Victoria named top seed for the first time since 2006, Queen's takes final spot

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (U SPORTS) — The Victoria Vikes, who claimed the Canada West conference championship after downing Winnipeg 95-80 on Friday, are the top seed going into this week's U SPORTS Men's Final 8. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2023 national tournament, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. This is the first time the Vikes, who are seeking their ninth national championship, have held down the top spot since 2006, and UVic is the first team from outside Ontario to be the top seed since UBC in 2011.

Championship website: https://usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/m/info

The complete field, in seeding order, is as follows:

1. Victoria Vikes (CW champions: 17-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
2. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 17-5, 3-0)
3. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 18-4, 2-1)
4. STFX X-Men (AUS champions: 17-3, 2-0)
5. Queen's Gaels (at-large berth: 17-5, 2-1)
6. UQAM Citadins (RSEQ champions: 10-6, 2-0)
7. Winnipeg Wesmen (CW finalists: 15-5, 2-1)
8. UPEI Panthers (AUS finalists, host berth: 15-1, 1-1)

The Queen's Gaels were awarded the at-large berth by the tournament seeding committee, which is made up of U SPORTS coaches. Once the eight participating teams are established, the teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be seeded no lower than No. 6, and to avoid intraconference matchups in the first round.

All four quarterfinals will be played on Friday, as follows: (all times Atlantic)

• Noon: No. 6 UQAM vs. No. 3 Carleton
• 2 p.m.: No. 7 Winnipeg vs. No. 2 Ottawa
• 6 p.m.: No. 5 Queen's vs. No. 4 STFX
• 8 p.m.: No. 8 UPEI vs. No. 1 Victoria

Consolation games will take place on Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., with the semifinals set for 6 and 8 p.m. On Sunday, the fifth-place game is set for noon, with the bronze medal game following at 2 p.m. and the championship game at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the event are currently on sale at usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/m/tickets

All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and USPORTS.ca (French), up to and including Sunday's gold medal game. The full webcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.

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