Victoria takes the top seed for the third time in four years, Bishop’s named wildcard
March 1, 2026

Victoria takes the top seed for the third time in four years, Bishop’s named wildcard

The Victoria Vikes, who won the Canada West conference on Friday, will be the top seed going into this week’s 2026 U SPORTS Men’s Final 8, presented by Student Housing Calgary. U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2026 national men’s basketball championship, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the Jack Simpson Gym on the campus of the University of Calgary. This is third time in the past four years that UVic has been named the tournament’s top seed, as they seek their ninth W.P. McGee Trophy.

Championship website

Bishop’s was awarded the at-large berth by the tournament seeding committee, which is made up of U SPORTS men’s basketball coaches. The Gaiters went 23-4 against U SPORTS opposition this year (13-3 in RSEQ play) and were ranked in the top three nationally throughout the season but were upset by Laval in yesterday’s RSEQ final.  

Once the eight participating teams are established, teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be no lower than No. 6, and that conference finalists not face each other in the first round.

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

  1. Victoria Vikes (CW champions: 17-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
  2. Toronto Metropolitan Bold (OUA champions: 17-5, 3-0)
  3. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions: 13-3, 2-0)
  4. Acadia Axemen (AUS champions : 12-8, 3-0)
  5. Bishop’s Gaiters (at-large berth : 13-3, 1-1)
  6. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 17-5, 2-1)
  7. UBC Thunderbirds (CW finalists: 15-5, 2-1)
  8. Calgary Dinos (hosts: 12-8, 1-1)

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

  • noon: No. 7 UBC vs. No. 2 Toronto Metropolitan
  • 2 p.m.: No. 6 Carleton vs. No. 3 Laval
  • 6 p.m.: No. 1 Victoria at No. 8 Calgary
  • 8 p.m.: No. 5 Bishop’s vs. No. 4 Acadia

Consolation games will take place on Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., with championship semifinals following at 5 and 7 p.m. On Sunday, the fifth-place game is set for 11 a.m., with the bronze medal game following at 1 p.m. and the championship at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the event are currently on sale at usportstickets.ca 

All 11 games of the championship will be streamed on CBC digital platforms in English and Radio-Canada digital platforms in French.