The first round of the Great Plains Division playoffs are in the books and really they just proved what was already well known:

We truly have no idea what we’re talking about.

Nevertheless, a sleep-deprived Sawatzky and a near-comatose Larkins took their crack at prognostication on the weekend and came through with alarming incompetence. Well, that’s a bit harsh but let’s revisit the picks anyway, and see how things panned out:

GREAT PLAINS DIVISION

#3 Winnipeg at #2 Regina

The most important player in the series will be (And why):
Larkins: Jeff Lukomski.
Sawatzky: Erfan Nasajpour.

The Verdict: Have to call Swatter the winner here … and his guy didn’t even play. Lukomski went a combined 2-for-14 from the field and mustered just nine points all weekend. Things won’t get much easier for him in Brandon this coming weekend where the local fans take a particular pleasure out of razzing him mercilessly. Nasajpour’s absence, however, was the big (and sad) story here. It’s not the way you want to see one of the best players in the country end his career and his not being in the lineup was huge. Winnipeg — with Dan Shynkaryk banged up too — just didn’t have the guns to compete.

Regina will win because:
Larkins: They don’t lose home games in the playoffs. Conspiracy theories or not.
Sawatzky: The games are in Regina, and everyone knows that the refs in Regina — how shall I put this — enjoy it when the Cougars win? Like to favour the home team? Are employed by the university?

The Verdict: Push. The Cougs did in fact manage a sweep and, look at it however you want, the Cougars went to the line for 16 more free throws on Saturday. Sunday FT rate was inconsequential as the Wesmen were out of it by halftime, down 21 and with just 32 points on the board.

Final prediction (in games):
Larkins: Regina in 3.
Sawatzky: Winnipeg shoots 15 free throws all weekend (to Regina’s 94), but emerges with a hard-fought series win. Wesmen in 3.

The Verdict: Larkins. At least picked the right team and didn’t stoop to the same tired joke in the process.

CENTRAL DIVISION

#3 Saskatchewan at #2 Alberta

The most important player in the series will be (And why):
Larkins: Kyle Grant.
Sawatzky: Andrew Spagrud.

The Verdict: You could make the argument that Grant was because in the one game that Saskatchewan did win, Grant went for 17 points and hit five threes. The thought was the Huskies would need someone else to step up and, when they got that, they got a win. Spagrud, however, went for 24.7 points and nine rebounds per game, hardly something to gloss over. So who was the big X-factor? How about Alberta’s Andrew Parker? The ultra-athletic fifth-year senior put up 17 points on Friday and another 16 with nine rebounds in Sunday’s clincher.

Alberta will win because:
Larkins: The Bears are deeper, they’re at home and they’re going in having won four straight including at Vic/at UBC.
Sawatzky: Don Horwood secretly runs the Canada West conference. Also, I hear that Alex Steele is a pretty good basketball player.

The Verdict: The secret underground lair that Swatter believes exists aside, the Bears used home floor and bounced back with a solid effort on Sunday after a tough last-second loss on Saturday. Steele, meanwhile, averaged a not-so-insignificant 15.7 points per game.

Final prediction (in games):
Larkins: Alberta in 2.
Sawatzky: We’re bucking conventional wisdom and predicting the Huskies in 3. Another upset pick: Following their series victory, Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims cracks a smile, his first of the season.

The Verdict: Larkins picks the winner but Swatter gets points for predicting a three-game series. No one, however, believes Jockims did eventually smile. There’s always next year.

PACIFIC DIVISION

#4 Fraser Valley at #1 UBC

The most important player in the series will be (And why):
Larkins: Doug Plumb.
Sawatzky: Chris Dyck.

The Verdict: Once again a player notable in absentia. Plumb played 32 minutes on Friday but managed just five points and six turnovers and then put up six points in 34 minutes on Saturday. Dyck, meanwhile, put up 20 on Friday and had 11 with seven boards on Saturday. We’re giving a nod here to Blaine Labranche who was perfect from the field on Saturday and finished the weekend averaging 14 points per contest off the bench.

UBC will win because:
Larkins: No one particularly likes going to War Memorial during the regular season, never mind with the season on the line. Home court advantage plays big-time here.
Sawatzky: They’re a much better team.

The Verdict: Push. They are a better team and the Birds used their home floor to full advantage. We’re very excited for the Victoria/UBC series that now looms.

Final prediction (in games):
Larkins: UBC in 2.
Sawatzky: UBC in 2.

The Verdict: It wasn’t a difficult prediction really, but beggars can’t be choosers. We’re taking a bow for actually getting one right.

PACIFIC DIVISION

#3 Simon Fraser at #2 Victoria

The most important player in the series will be (And why):
Larkins: A combo act: Six-foot-six Tyler Hass, 6-foot-8 Rob Kinnear and 6-foot-7 Mitch Gudgeon.
Sawatzky: SFU’s Jordan Nostedt, “because he’s from Brandon and his dad is my neighbor.”

The Verdict: Let’s not have Sawatzky making major decisions at 6 a.m. The results could be apocalyptic. Nostedt’s a good kid and if you ever are in Brandon and needing a car, Pops Sheldon Nostedt can hook you up. However, the Vic bigs had a heck of a series, namely Gudgeon and Hass. Gudgeon put up two double-doubles and Hass averaged 16.5 points per game.

Victoria will win because:
Larkins: They can lock down teams like no one else in the conference and are the winners of the Most Likely To Win With 40 Points Award.
Sawatzky: Riding on a ferry is detrimental to a person’s legs. How do I know this? Medical journals.

The Verdict: Let’s be real about this: Sawatzky hasn’t read a book without cartoons in it since his Grade 12 english class was assigned to read Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel. So he wasn’t exactly ripping through the New England Journal of Medicine any time recently. The Vikes allowed SFU to score 69 points on both nights, slightly more than what they allowed on average this season, but a good defensive number to be sure.

Final prediction (in games):
Larkins: Victoria in 3.
Sawatzky: Victoria in two.

The Verdict: For all his goofball antics, Swatter nails this one while Larkins thought too highly of the Clan.

Three divisional finals are now set and they could all end up being epic. We’ll return later in the week with our looks at Regina at Brandon, Alberta at Calgary and Victoria at UBC. Plus, we’ll slap you upside the head with another podcast on Wednesday. Look alive.