Friday, Feb. 1: Cascades (11-7, T-6th in Canada West) vs. Trinity Western Spartans (0-18, 17th in Canada West), 8 p.m., Envision Financial Athletic Centre
Saturday, Feb. 2: Cascades at Spartans, 7 p.m., Langley Events Centre
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv

The Cascades men's basketball team has been near the top of the Canada West standings for much of the season, but they've still got work to do in order to lock up home-court advantage for the first round of the conference playoffs.

The UFV squad clinched a playoff berth two weeks ago, but it remains to be seen where they'll be seeded once the regular season concludes. Seeding is decided via RPI, a strength of schedule metric, and the Cascades can seal a home playoff date with a sweep of the Spartans. Anything less, however, will likely see the Cascades slip out of the top eight in RPI and send them on the road for the first round.

"Home court is very important," UFV head coach Adam Friesen noted. "We know what we have to play for, and we'll be trying to earn that this weekend."

The Spartans currently sit last in Canada West, but they'll surely be motivated to end their season on a winning note, and to take a bite out of the rival Cascades.

"We have to understand that in rivalry games like this, you can kind of throw records aside," Friesen said. "Each team is going to be motivated and prepared to play their best basketball of the year."

Players to watch: Friday will be Senior Night for Cascades fifth-year players Mark Johnson, Navjot Bains  and Andrew Morris, and they will be honoured in a post-game ceremony on Friday. All three are fixtures in the Cascades' starting lineup, and all have made significant contributions to the program over their years on campus. The Spartans have four fifth-year players of their own, including local product Josiah Allison out of Abbotsford's MEI Secondary. Allison is sixth in team scoring at 7.5 points per game, and hits 38.0 per cent from beyond the arc.