The Dinos’ first time hosting the USports Men’s Final 8 tournament in 46 years won’t end with a title, but was far from a total loss for UCalgary.
The University of Calgary Dinos’ 86 points were not enough against the top-seeded University of Victoria Vikes, who beat the scarlet and gold 100-86 in their first game of the tournament Friday night. Longtime Dinos Head Coach, Dan Vanhooren, said the team’s loss ultimately came down to half a game of poor play.
“We just didn’t guard anybody. Honestly, for the first two quarters, I thought we were pretty bad defensively and that really hurts us,” he said postgame.
“We’re not a massive scoring team, and for us to put 86 points on a team that’s number one in the country? Well, if we just defended, we might’ve had a shot at it.”
After losing to the Vikes in the 2025 USports Final, revenge would’ve been sweet, Vanhooren said.
UVic’s Shadynn Smid, who had 16 points in the Vikes’ win against Calgary, said the team’s championship pedigree played a role in their win.
“Obviously, we’ve been here before; we knew how to prepare. We got in the gym, got shots up, and I think that’s very important,” he said, adding that a late-game surge from the Dinos was not a true scare on the bench.
Through the first day of the 2026 USports Men’s Final 8 Tournament, Toronto Metropolitan University, Carleton University, Bishop’s University and UVic all won their matchup and advanced. In the consolation round on Saturday, the University of British Columbia faced Laval University, while the Dinos hosted Acadia University.
In their second and final game of the tournament, the Dinos had a better showing against the Axeman, entering the second half with an 11-point lead. Despite their midgame disadvantage, Acadia axed the Dinos 88-77.
Expect more Dinos-hosted events
Vanhooren said that even with their 0-2 finish, the experience, not only hosting the tournament but playing in front of a sold-out Jack Simpson Gym, was invaluable for the team. He said he hopes the trend will continue.
“It’s nice to see people here and to see the quality of what’s actually in USport. I think our student body would be really great for them to get together and wear some colors and come out and have a good time,” he said.
“It would really help a lot of our athletics teams if they’re really supported by our student body. We’ve got a little work to do, I think, in connecting the two things on campus so that the students feel like they want to support us and we do the same back. I’m thrilled with the crowd and the support, and hosting the tournament’s been great, our staff’s been fabulous.”
To Vanhooren’s point, UCalgary Athletics Director Ben Matchett said the overall basketball community showed up, not just for Dinos games, but for the Semi-finals and finals as well.
“We showed this weekend that this is a basketball town and that our campus can put on incredible events even though our team unfortunately did not progress as far as we would have liked,” he told LWC.
“It was an electric atmosphere. To basically sell out the gym for a national championship game between a team from Ottawa and a team from Quebec shows the passion that there is for the sport in Calgary.”
On Sunday, Carleton University eked out a tight win over Bishop’s University, with a final score of 78-75, to end the tournament. Matchett said that final numbers aren’t yet available, but several hundred UCalgary students purchased tickets to Sunday’s final, the pinnacle of what he called the school’s most successful men’s basketball USports hosting.
“There’s an appetite for students to see high-level competition, and for sure, the basketball itself really helped us. This weekend, we had some compelling drama on the floor; the two semifinal games and the final game were decided by a combined 10 points,” he said.
Moving forward, the Dinos hope to host at least one national championship event every season across various sports, something that 2026’s USports tournament solidified.
“We’re an institution and a city that needs to be on the front foot of hosting these types of events, and we want to get into that rotation,” Matchett said.
“This is a place that is an attractive place for people to come; it’s easy to get to Calgary and we put on a good show when people do get here.”
