Moments after what had to be a pretty frustrating loss, Calgary Dinos assistant coach Matt Skinn came out of the dressing room at the Brandon University Gymnasium and acknowledged what hundreds in attendance had seen for themselves.

“That’s why CIS basketball is great.”

The Dinos lost 81-77 to Brandon — in a battle of top-five teams — but the two squads waged one of the best contests that old gym has held in the past eight years, good enough that even in defeat a coach ackowledged its quality.
Are either of them winning the national championship? Who knows, but we got a look at a match-up that people on both sides are hoping comes along again with a little bit more on the line.

On to the Totem:

1. (2) Brandon Bobcats (14-2) — The Bobcats truly do rise to their opponents and Saturday’s win over Calgary was a good example of that. They get the top spot for knocking off Calgary but in reality this spot could be 1 and 1a. And, lo and behold, for all the talk about how they’re not as good or deep as last season, here the Bobcats are back on pace for matching — or getting darn close —to last season’s win total.

2. (1) Calgary Dinos (13-3) — The Dinos know they put themselves in a hole with an ugly first quarter on Saturday (and paid for it with a loss) but their 20-2 run in the third showed some serious spine when they could have just rolled over. You don’t need us tellling you: They’re legit.

3. (4) UBC Thunderbirds (13-4) — Two things for which the Birds are thankful: 1) Getting Chris Dyck back on Friday night and 2) the fact that Tuesday night games can easily be forgotten three days later (see: home loss to SFU/road win at UVic).

4. (2) Victoria Vikes (12-5) — They take a dip after a “not-ready-for-primetime” performance on home floor against UBC. We’re not suggesting the Vikes aren’t at UBC’s level — far from it — but it leaves a few questions about their elite-ness when they didn’t seize a big opportunity. Again, the Nos. 3 and 4 teams are probably interchangeable on any given week.

5. (5) Alberta Golden Bears (11-5) — Alex Steele might be the biggest X-factor in Canada West (with a very big tip of the hat to Brandon’s Dany Charlery). Case in point was his 20 first-half points to carry the Bears through some lean minutes against Simon Fraser. He’s a big reason why no one is anxious to play U of A in a one-game setting with a nationals berth on the line.

6. (6) Simon Fraser Clan (9-9) — Willing to give the Clan a break here because of the tough scheduling of the past week. However, upon hearing that they agreed to it in the first place, they’re getting off with a warning: Don’t do it again, OK?

7. (7) Winnipeg Wesmen (8-8) — Think the Wesmen are kicking themselves over blowing a late nine-point lead that came complete with a desperation shot to force overtime by UCFV’s Kyle Graves? If it comes back to haunt them in a few weeks and the Wesmen end up having to go to Regina for playoffs, they’ll be kicking themselves even more.

8. (10) Saskatchewan Huskies (9-7) — A temporary demotion in the rankings is followed up by two convincing home wins but the concerns over depth and ability on the road, where they are 4-8 overall, aren’t going away.

9. (8) Regina Cougars (8-8) — A hair separates the Cougars from the Wesmen, so the only thing that is placing them lower than U of W is the slightly more significant stat that Winnipeg has actually won a game away from home (although not many).

10. (9) Fraser Valley Cascades (8-10) — The Cascades have quietly won three of their last four and can see the final playoff spot in the Pacific on the horizon. Two winnable games (at Lethbridge, at TRU) and three toughies (at Calgary, vs UVic, vs UBC) remain so UCFV might not be content to just settle for No. 4 with the third spot just two points away.

11. (11) Trinity Western Spartans (6-12) — The Spartans head our list of teams whose seasons will end in three weeks. See you in September.

12. (12) Manitoba Bisons (4-12) — If the Bisons weren’t under the impression that the CIS played a winter/spring schedule, then we might be talking about them in more significant terms. They’re closing well (Ws in three of their last four), but someone please tell them that the Canada West is actually counting all those other games in November, too.

13. (13) Thompson Rivers WolfPack (2-16) — They’ve had one more year of conference experience over their fellow college newbies UCFV yet have produced nine less wins. And there’s very little sign that things are going to take a dramatic turn any time soon.

14. (14) Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-16) — Two things can motivate Lethbridge this weekend: Living up to The Scrum’s lofty prediction of last week and winning that game against TRU this weekend. And remembering that the Saskatchewan Huskies will be a lot worse off than them in the off-season.