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The University of Regina's men's basketball team will look to start a second-half push on Thursday and Friday as the Cougars host Pacific Division opponents Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Both games will tip off at 8:15 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's games.

The Cougars had last weekend off after placing fourth out of eight teams at the non-conference Wesmen Classic in late December. The U of R started out the event with a win over Dickinson State, but lost to No. 2-ranked Ottawa in the tournament semifinals before being edged by Manitoba in the third-place game.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Burrows, the U of R went 2-8 over a difficult first 10 games of the Canada West schedule. The Cougars played ranked teams in each of their first six games, highlighted by a season-opening 78-72 win over then-No. 8 UBC back on Nov. 1, and then went 1-3 in four consecutive road games to finish off the first half of the conference slate. But the schedule makers were a little more friendly to the Cougars in the second half, as the team will play eight of its final 12 Canada West games at the CKHS beginning this weekend and continuing next weekend at home against division rival Winnipeg.

Rookie guard Brandon Tull continues to lead the Cougars with 14.1 points per game, an average which also leads all Canada West first-year players. Fourth-year point guard Brendan Hebert ranks among the conference's leaders with 45 assists on the season, while post Wesley Jones averages a Canada West-leading 2.1 blocks per game. Rookie guard Ryan Delwo has seen a huge increase in floor time over the course of the season, as he has averaged in excess of 20 minutes per game since the two games against Saskatchewan and exploded for a season-high 21 points at Mount Royal on Nov. 22.

The starting five will likely consist of Hebert, Darius Mole, Tull, team rebounding leader Will Tallman, and Jones, with Delwo, Travis Sylvestre, Matthew Augustine, and Kade Marra getting significant minutes off the bench.

Thompson Rivers WolfPack (6-4)
The WolfPack enter the weekend all alone in second place in the Pacific Division standings, but are in need of a strong showing during their road swing to Regina and Brandon with three teams – Fraser Valley, Mount Royal, Trinity Western – just one game behind them at 5-5.

Thompson Rivers, which comes in riding a two-game winning streak in conference after a pair of home wins over Mount Royal in late November, is led by Monroe Community College transfer Ta'Quan Zimmerman. He's third in Canada West in points per game (19.1), second in the conference behind only teammate Brett Rouault in three-point percentage (.521), and ranks fourth in free throw percentage (.844). Josh Wolfram and Will Ondrik also average in double figures for the WolfPack, while Wolfram and Tallon Milne are tied for the team lead in rebounding.

The Cougars have a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, but Thompson Rivers has won each of the last three meetings in a streak that dates back to Jan. 15, 2011. The U of R is 3-1 against TRU in Regina.

UBC Okanagan Heat (2-8)
It was a tough start to the Canada West schedule for UBC Okanagan, as the Heat lost eight in a row before getting in the win column with two home wins over UNBC in late November. Fifth-year players Yassine Ghomari and Landry Ndayitwayeko are tied for the team lead in scoring with 13.4 points per game, with most of Ndayitwayeko's damage coming from three-point land where he's drilled 44.6% of his attempts. The Heat's starting five will likely consist of another fifth-year player (Ed Dane Medi) and a pair of second-year players in Mitch Goodwin and Greet Gill.

The all-time series between the two teams is tied 1-1. Both of the previous two matchups were played in Kelowna.