The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team and the Victoria Vikes men’s basketball team are the respective top seeds for this weekend’s U SPORTS Final 8’s.

The Ravens claimed the Critelli Cup on Saturday with a 70-57 win over the Queen’s Gaels on Friday night, helping them earn the top seed ahead of this week's Protocase U SPORTS Women’s Final 8, presented by Bell. This is the Ravens’ second time as the No. 1 seed, with the last time coming in 2018, when they went on to win their only previous national championship.

The seeding for the tournament, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at the Sullivan Fieldhouse on the campus of Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S., is as followed:

1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 19-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
2. Alberta Pandas (CW champions: 15-5, 3-0)
3. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists: 21-1, 2-1)
4. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions: 15-5, 2-0)
5. Calgary Dinos (CW finalists: 13-7, 2-1)
6. UQAM Citadins (RSEQ champions: 9-7, 2-0)
7. Acadia Axewomen (at large berth: 16-3, 1-1)
8. Cape Breton Capers (hosts: 9-11, 0-1)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">🚨🏀 2023 U SPORTS Women’s Basketball Final 8: Carleton takes the top seed for the second time in program history<br><br>🚨🏀Carleton hérite de la première tête de série pour la deuxième fois de l’histoire du programme. <br><br>EN: <a href="https://t.co/SSxpBvV0JR">https://t.co/SSxpBvV0JR</a><br>FR: <a href="https://t.co/QNvF19D1Dx">https://t.co/QNvF19D1Dx</a><a href="https://t.co/Tftqid4Tv0">pic.twitter.com/Tftqid4Tv0</a></p>&mdash; U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) <a href="https://twitter.com/USPORTSca/status/1632482818608578562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

All four quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, as follows (all times Atlantic):

• 11:30 a.m.: No. 6 UQAM vs. No. 3 Queen’s
• 2 p.m.: No. 7 Acadia vs. No. 2 Alberta
• 5:30 p.m.: No. 5 Calgary vs. No. 4 Saint Mary’s
• 8 p.m.: No. 1 Carleton at No. 8 Cape Breton
  

Consolation games will take place on Friday at 6 and 8 p.m., with the semifinals set for 3 and 6 p.m. Saturday. The championship concludes on Sunday with the fifth-place game at noon, with the bronze medal game following at 3 p.m. and the championship at 6 p.m.

All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and USPORTS.ca (French), up to and including Sunday’s gold medal game. The full webcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfnJ4gO0qn/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfnJ4gO0qn/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div><div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfnJ4gO0qn/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Canada Basketball (@canadabasketball)</a></p></div></blockquote><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the Vikes claimed the Canada West conference championship after downing the Winnipeg Wesson 95-80 on Friday, helping them earn the No. 1 seed. This is the first time the Vikes, who are seeking their ninth national championship, have held down the top spot since 2006, and UVic is the first team from outside Ontario to be the top seed since UBC in 2011.

The seeding for the tournament, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, is as followed:

1. Victoria Vikes (CW champions: 17-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)
2. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 17-5, 3-0)
3. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 18-4, 2-1)
4. STFX X-Men (AUS champions: 17-3, 2-0)
5. Queen’s Gaels (at-large berth: 17-5, 2-1)
6. UQAM Citadins (RSEQ champions: 10-6, 2-0)
7. Winnipeg Wesmen (CW finalists: 15-5, 2-1)
8. UPEI Panthers (AUS finalists: 15-1, 1-1)
   

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">🚨🏀2023 U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8: Victoria named top seed for the first time since 2006 <br><br>🚨🏀Le 8 Ultime de basketball masculin de U SPORTS 2023: Victoria sera première tête de série<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChaseTheGlory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChaseTheGlory</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ViserHaut?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ViserHaut</a><br><br>EN: <a href="https://t.co/7qVtW2okKn">https://t.co/7qVtW2okKn</a><br>FR: <a href="https://t.co/UQ1nrGr4rE">https://t.co/UQ1nrGr4rE</a><a href="https://t.co/HCCXTmXTBT">pic.twitter.com/HCCXTmXTBT</a></p>&mdash; U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) <a href="https://twitter.com/USPORTSca/status/1632492558503886849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

All four quarterfinals will be played on Friday, as follows (all times Atlantic):

• Noon: No. 6 UQAM vs. No. 3 Carleton
• 2 p.m.: No. 7 Winnipeg vs. No. 2 Ottawa
• 6 p.m.: No. 5 Queen’s vs. No. 4 STFX
• 8 p.m.: No. 8 UPEI vs. No. 1 Victoria
  

Consolation games will take place on Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., with the semifinals set for 6 and 8 p.m. On Sunday, the fifth-place game is set for noon, with the bronze medal game following at 2 p.m. and the championship game at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the event are currently on sale at usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/m/tickets.

All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms (English) and USPORTS.ca (French), up to and including Sunday’s gold medal game. The full webcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.