The Carleton Ravens men's basketball team will open the U SPORTS Final 8 against the RSEQ champion Laval Rouge et Or on Friday at 2:00 PM MST / 4:00 PM EST.
The Ravens enter the tournament as the sixth seed, making their 26th tournament appearance and first since 2023. At the 2023 tournament in Halifax, the Ravens, as the at-large bid, overcame a low seed, defeating UQAM in the opening round.
The Ravens own a pair of wins over Laval at the U SPORTS championships, most recently in the 2002-03 semifinals. Carleton would win the contest 57-54 and go on to win the program's first championship.
Should the Ravens conquer the Rouge et Or, they would face the winner of TMU and the Canada West finalists, UBC. The last meeting between the two teams came in the 2021-22 preseason, with Carleton winning 72-53 in Quebec City. Ravens Nelson Cilien and MJ Okado were both on the roster that year, but only Cilien played in the game.
A relatively young roster with only two fourth-year players, Laval has no one on their roster who saw action in 2021.
Tickets for the U SPORTS Final 8 are on sale now. Can't make it to Calgary, catch all the action on the CBC Sports network.
