Bisons, Bobcats ready to rumble in regular-season finale

The Canada West playoffs are still a week away, but the Manitoba Bisons and Brandon Bobcats are expecting a post-season feel when they clash this weekend.

The inter-provincial rivals are each in the thick of the playoff picture entering the final regular-season series of the season. The 11-7 Bisons are still mathematically in contention to host a quarterfinal game, while the 8-10 Bobcats need a win or a Lethbridge loss to officially clinch a playoff berth.

Both programs already have a good idea of what their path to a conference crown will look like, though. Their focus will be on ending the campaign on the right note.

For the Bisons, that will mean limiting fourth-year Bobcats forward Sultan Haider-Bhatti. A national second-team All-Canadian last season, Haider-Bhatti — affectionately known as “The Batman” in the Wheat City — has put himself in contention for even greater personal honours this year.

The 6-4 product of Laval, Que., is second in the conference in points (20.2), rebounds (10.3) and assists (103), and tied for first in steals with 40.

“Sultan is probably one of the best shooters in U Sports,” said Bisons forward Cieran O’Hara. “Not only is he a good shooter, but he’s a lot bigger than most guards, so it makes it difficult putting a guard on him, because he has a good post game — he can back people down — but also a lot of bigs are unable to guard him if he’s outside the three-point line. He’s quite versatile, so it’s quite difficult.”

Haider-Bhatti had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds when the Bobcats hosted the Bisons in the regular-season opener back in October. He’s a defensive priority anytime the two programs clash, but Bisons can’t overcommit to the talented playmaker, as he’s grown into an equally dangerous passer.

“Certainly, offensively, he’s one of the most talented players in our league, and has been for a few years,” said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp. “He can just kind of do a little bit of everything. He was always a good shooter, but now he’s become an even better playmaker. He seems to be making his teammates better, he moves the ball well, he can score in the post a little bit, he can shoot (the) three — he can just kind of do a little bit of everything.”

Schepp was quick to recognize the other weapons that the Bobcats roster, including first-year player Munroop Gill, an undersized guard from Surrey, B.C., who is fourth in Canada West with 18.2 points per game and converting on 42.5 per cent of his shots from beyond the arc.

“He has some of the best first-year numbers that I’ve ever seen in our league. I think, in some ways, he’s kind of the epitome of their team,” Schepp said. “They’re not the best defensive team in the world, they’re a little undersized, they’re not super physical, but they can all shoot, and they’re very, very skilled, and they play with great pace. The combination of those guys together is certainly tough.”

While the odds are extremely favourable for the Bobcats to clinch a playoff berth this week, Haider-Bhatti isn’t using this as an opportunity to relax. The last thing he wants is for the Bobcats to back into the post-season.

Adding to the playoff-like atmosphere will be plenty of emotions for Haider-Bhatti, who, like the Bisons’ senior players, will take the court for the final regular-season contest of his accomplished university career.

“Any basketball player, these are the moments we live for,” Haider-Bhatti said. “The crowd is going to be crazy, and these guys are my friends, so I really want them to have a good night, but at the same time, on the competitive part, I want to ruin their night, because I want to win this game.”

After an underwhelming start to the season, the Bisons are playing closer to the standard they set, but are still looking to put it all together. The message from Schepp has been that he wants to see his team peaking now.

“We can start to feel a sense of urgency now, especially for a lot of our older guys,” said O’Hara.

“There is a bit of an atmosphere, a bit more focus, a bit more intensity in terms of, maybe not how hard we’re going in practice, but mentally, how focused we are and how much people are watching film and going over the small details.”

With the Bisons needing to sweep the Bobcats and receive some help to host a playoff game, Schepp confessed his team is likely to be on the road this post-season, but he also likes his team’s chances against anyone, anywhere.

“It’s certainly a tougher road (on the road). You definitely want to get (a top-four seed),” Schepp said. “The advantage that we had the last couple of years of being able to watch two teams play and then play them the next day, it’s certainly there. But we still feel like we can certainly win two games in a weekend.

“It’s more a focus this time of year of, ‘are you playing the right way at the right time of year?’ ‘Are you playing together?’ ‘Are we executing our stuff?’ And so we’re going to continue to hammer home on that.”

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