Bisons believe they can weather early storm

The issues currently plaguing the University of Manitoba Bisons are concerning, but head coach Kirby Schepp called them fixable.

The Bisons men’s basketball team has been oddly slow out of the gates by the program’s standards. They hold a 4-3 record in Canada West despite having yet to face any of the top teams in the conference.

Shooting has been the glaring issue. Manitoba has fired at a 42.9 per cent clip from the field — that ranks eighth out of 17 teams — and 30.3 per cent from beyond the arc (12th), while the club’s dismal 59.3 per cent efficiency from the free throw line (second-worst) — something Schepp called mystifying — has certainly capped the offence.

Overall, the level of play hasn’t matched the aspirations of a team that believes it can compete for a national championship at the end of this season, but it remains too early to panic.

“I’ve been happy with some parts of it, I think, in terms of the approach that we’re bringing,” Schepp said Thursday. “Those are things, obviously, you hope that they turn around, but you certainly expect them to turn around.”

The Bisons dropped their season-opener in Brandon, split a weekend series in Regina, swept their home-opening series against the Saskatchewan and then split a two-game set against Lethbridge last weekend.

“It’s not something that we certainly can’t overcome,” said Schepp. “Those things just kind of come and go, and I think we’re just trying to get some consistency in the way we’re playing right now.”

First, Schepp needs some consistency on who’s available to him. Injuries have already made their mark on the team.

Canada West All-Star guard Mason Kraus missed time in the pre-season with an injury and is currently battling another ailment; fifth-year forward Cieran O’Hara was also banged up in the pre-season and then suffered another injury in last weekend’s series in Alberta; and forward Manyang Tong has also been shelved in the early goings.

Still, the Bisons were 6-1 at this point last season and looked every bit of a U Sports title contender throughout the regular season. That never came to fruition, as they were bounced in the conference bronze medal game by the eventual national champions, Victoria, and never qualified for the tournament.

Everything leading into this season pointed to Manitoba being able to return to that spot and punch its ticket to the final eight in March.

“It’s a lot of discussion on what we need to do to be better,” said fifth-year guard Daren Watts, who is averaging a team-high 19 points per game. “The feeling in the room, I would say, is not like a panic feeling, but it’s definitely accepting that we’re not where we need to be, and accepting that if we continue to perform this way, we’re not going to achieve any of our goals. So definitely something has to change.”

The Bisons also had to overcome some unusual scheduling, as the season started a week earlier than normal, and played the end of the pre-season and five of their first seven regular-season games away from home.

Schepp said he believes the lengthy travel schedule can weigh on student athletes, who are also balancing their studies, but Watts disagreed, saying he doesn’t think being on the road had an impact on the team’s performance.

The greater concern for Watts has been a disconnected feeling on defence. Manitoba is allowing 78 points per game (ranked ninth) — eight points more per game than they allowed a season ago — but the veteran guard believes they can be much better in their own end.

“I feel like we’re moving as five separate guys, as of late, but we’re just working lately in practice, just trying to move as one on the defensive end. And I think that can really help us a lot,” said Watts. “I feel like the games we have won, that’s how we’ve been playing.”

Looming around the gym this season is a sense of finality among the veterans on the team. The Bisons roster has six fifth-year players, and while the future beyond this season remains bright for the program, the current window of championship contention with this group is nearing the end.

“A sense of urgency,” is how Watts described it.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an anxious, ‘We got to get this now or we’re failing.’ I feel like it’s more just understanding that everything has to be more intentional,” he said. “Everyone has to be more focused because of how important the season is. But, at the same time, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself by just having unneeded anxiety and being worried about it (being) the last year.”

Perhaps the Bisons’ usually slow start has actually been very normal for a Canada West conference that has been unpredictable in the early goings.

Thompson Rivers, a program that was expected to be among the bottom-dwellers of the conference, is undefeated through seven games; McEwan, a perennial doormat, split a weekend series with the Winnipeg Wesmen earlier this month; and the reigning champion Vikes have suffered two losses in their last three games.

The Bisons know it won’t come easy, but they believe they have the squad to weather this early storm.

“This is what our league is, and it’s going to be hard to win two every single weekend,” said Schepp. “You got to be able to bring it.”

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