NCAA vs CIS Basketball
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By mid-September, 22 NCAA teams would have crossed the border to compete with CIS programs, as Canadian Universities tend to use this tough competition as a measuring stick as well as a preparation tool for the upcoming season.
As it stands, The overall record for CIS programs against NCAA competition thus far is a discouraging 2-20, with a victory from the 2011 CIS champions, Carleton over Illinois State (91-80) and Windsor over Oakland (86-82)
Despite the winning and losing columns, taking on NCAA programs only serve as a positive for Canadian universities, as coaches continue to learn different tactics and strategies to pass along to their players.
“Playing these games regardless of winning have always provided us with a context for future teaching as we still refer to how Virginia Tech hedged on ballscreens four years ago or how Kentucky used the floater to score around the rim to help with teaching our current players,” explained Windsor Head Coach, Chris Oliver.
Windsor’s victory over Oakland was the first NCAA win in the program’s history, which certainly goes a long way.
“We recruit many players who have D1 interest so a win adds some legitimacy to what we tell recruits all the time, and that is that they don’t sacrifice a high level competition or a development experience by coming to Windsor,” continued Oliver.
With roughly another month of CIS/NCAA games on tap, it will be interesting to see if the Canadian programs will manage to secure a winning pattern moving forward, or if the 2-20 record will continue to swell.
NCAA Programs in Canada
- Akron
- Baylor
- Duquesne
- Oakland
- Middle Tennessee State
- Virginia Tech
- Lamar
- North Dakota
- Albany
- Texas-Arlington
- Saint Louis
- New Hampshire
- Niagara
- Bowling Green
- Santa Clara
- UC Santa Barbara
- Murray State
- North Florida
- La Salle
- Illinois State
- Central Florida
- Ball State
COURTESY: MARTIN TIMMERMAN, CISHOOPS.CA
