The holidays are over and that means university classes are back in session.
So too is varsity basketball as the second half of the season resumes this weekend.
The UNBC Timberwolves - the men's and women's teams - are in Edmonton Friday and Saturday to take on the MacEwan University Griffins.
The men's squad goes into the Alberta capital with a 3-5 record in the Explorer Division of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West Conference.
The T-wolves wrapped up the first half of the season Nov. 28-29 with a pair of home victories against UBC Okanagan.
As for this weekend, UNBC head coach Todd Jordan spent the last couple of days watching some Griffins game film. It's the first time the squads have ever played each other since it's MacEwan's first season competing in the CIS.
"I'm not too familiar with them, I do know they're guard-oriented and they're small," said Jordan. "We will be bigger than them. They've had some pretty significant wins against Mount Royal, TRU and UBCO. Anybody can beat anyone."
The Griffins, like the Timberwolves, have a 3-5 record.
After battling MacEwan, the Timberwolves will have played everyone twice in the Explorer Division. They'll repeat the cycle again between Jan. 16 to Feb. 14 as teams try to grab one of three playoff spots available in the division. UNBC is tied with MacEwan for fifth place. The top three teams cross over to compete against the top-seven teams in the 11-team Canada West Pioneer Division.
"This weekend will be huge for us," said Jordan. "Two wins puts us right back into the race. Hopefully we can come back with two wins... 5-5 is still respectable. We'll take it one game at a time though."
The Timberwolves spent part of their Christmas break at the Arizona Christian University New Year's Classic in Phoenix, Dec. 29-31.
They lost 78-57 to Indiana's Huntington University and 100-95 to Arizona Christian, but rebounded with a 96-91 victory over Master's College from Santa Clarita, Calif.
"The trip to Phoenix was a good experience, we had three very high quality games," said Jordan. "The first game [against Huntington] after the break we were very rusty. They're a pretty solid team. We came back for the next game against Arizona Christian and played much better. We didn't have Franco [top forward Kouagnia], so it was a good chance for everybody else to play."
UNBC's women's squad is 1-7 so far this season. After a seven-game losing streak, the Timberwolves earned their first victory - 76-70 against UBCO on Nov. 29 at the Northern Sport Centre. MacEwan's women's squad is 6-2 and sits second in the Explorer Division.
Both the UNBC men's and women's teams return home on Jan. 16 for clashes against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
