Carleton hopes to join Baltimore in the Ravens winner circle.

March madness is upon us. Not in the commercial sense of the NCAA tournament, but as a fever pitch in Canada's sporting capital. Halifax is home to the Final 8 tournament, the CIS Men's basketball final. It pits the best teams in the country in a single elimination tournament, winner take all. Teams from across Canada will be participating: Carleton (1), UBC (2), Alberta (3), Laval (4), McMaster (5), St. Mary's (6), Guelph (7), UPEI (8). The No.1 ranked Carleton Ravens are the clear favourite, however they will be in tough against the likes of the upstart Panthers of Prince Edward Island, the hometown favourite St. Mary's Huskies, and the defending champions Alberta. The tournament's home is the Halifax Metro Centre, a place well-known for its raucous fans and die-hard supporters. Combine this with its old-barn sentiment, and you have a place that foes fear and fans adore.

	Who will be this year's star?

In recent years, the East Coast bastion of basketball has housed some of the greatest finals ever. While not a commercial or popular success as its American counter-part, the CIS men's basketball tournament has had many riveting moments. Who could forget St. FX's last championship in 2001? Dennie Oliver at the foul line for St.FX, no time left on the clock, tie ball-game. Oliver went on to miss both free throws, sending the game into overtime. St.FX eventually prevailed over the University of Brandon 83-76 (OT), but most people remember the two missed free throws by Oliver, not his player-of-the-game award, or his 25 points and 12 rebounds. Another memorable moment was in last year's final where the University of Alberta' Stephen Parker threw down a thunderous dunk to seal the victory for the Golden Bears over the University of Western Mustangs, 76-71.

Individual performances often come to fore in the Final 8 as well. Steve Maga's four straight CIS/CIAU tournament all-star team births. Randy Nohr's two straight tournament MVP awards. Going a little further back, Mike Moser's 44 point performance for Waterloo against SGW (Sir George Williams, now part of Concordia). Who will step it up this year? Carleton's Paul Larmand? UBC's Kyle Russell? Guelph's top man Michael Ayanbadejo or local favorite Gabe Goree from St. Mary's? Stay tuned to TSN for all of this weekend's action.

Friday, March 14
1:00 pm - #2 UBC vs. Guelph #7
3:00 pm - #4 Laval vs. McMaster #5
7:00 pm - #3 Alberta vs. Saint Mary's #6
9:00 pm - #1 Carleton vs. UPEI #8

Saturday, March 15
11:30 pm - Consolation Semi-Final #1
1:30 pm - Consolation Semi-Final #2
4:30 pm - Semi-Final #1
8:00 pm - Semi-Final #2

Sunday, March 16
12:00 pm - Consolation Final
3:30 pm - Gold Medal Game

For more information: www.final8.ca