Vancouver Bandits hope to snap losing skid in road tilt against Saskatchewan Rattlers

The Vancouver Bandits (+102) look to end their four-game losing streak as they visit the Saskatchewan Rattlers (-143) on Wednesday at 7:30 pm local/9:30 pm ET from the SaskTel Centre.

It will be nationally televised live on TSN 4/5 as part of a double-header for TSN’s CEBL game of the week and will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

After facing off twice prior to this matchup, Wednesday night will be the third and final battle between the Western Conference Opponents this regular season. In their first two games, it was a fairly even showing as the two squads split the series at one a piece.

What’s remained constant in this head-to-head has been the leaders for both squads, even if the outcomes have varied. For the Rattlers it was Justin Wright-Foreman doing a majority of the work – as he’s been doing all season - averaging 28 points, 7.5 rebounds, and six assists. 

The league’s points per game leader (29.7 PPG) has been carrying the load offensively for Saskatchewan the entire 2023 campaign, accounting for more than a third of their scoring production every night. So, it goes without saying, if they’re going to win this game, they’ll need Wright-Foreman to keep doing what he’s doing.

In their most-recent contest, the guard did just that, as he led the Rattlers to a narrow 86-84 victory over the Brampton Honey Badgers by way of his franchise-record 39 points. The Queens, New York, native and his squad ran rough shots inside the paint throughout the night as they shot over 50 per cent from inside the arch and outscored their opponents on points in the paint.

Wright-Foreman wasn’t the only one to find success against the defending champions, as Michael Nuga, who started as opposed to his usual role off the bench, added in 15 points and six rebounds. The guard has been on form as of late, scoring in double figures in Saskatchewan’s last three outings, averaging 17.7 points per game during that span. 

The duo has helped the Rattlers to their best stretch this season, as they’ve won three of their last five games. It’s impressive on its own, but even more so, considering they only won four times in their 12 contests before said stretch. 

Fans of the team hope the squad can keep the wins coming as they try and battle out of the bottom of the conference and try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

On the other side, for the Bandits, their leader through the series has been Nick Ward. The forward’s averaged a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds during those two games. He also shot an identically efficient 66 per cent from the field both times against the Rattlers, and although it may be unsurprising considering he’s second in the CEBL for field goal percentage (60.4 per cent), it’s still impressive.

Vancouver will need Ward to keep up his strong play as they hope to get back in the win column. The squad heads into this matchup on the heels of a three-game home stand where they went winless, on route to the aforementioned four-game skid. In their latest loss, the Bandits matched a season-low in points as they took a 79-74 defeat to the Montréal Alliance, shooting just 36 per cent from the field along the way.

It felt clear that the absence of Ward – who missed that game against the Alliance – left a void that the Bandits struggled to fill. The big man is not only top-10 in the league for field goal percentage, but also for points (17 PPG), rebounds (7.6), and blocks (1.1). 

Without his presence holding down the paint, Montréal felt no resistance on the night as they shot over 50 per cent from two-point range. Doing almost all their damage exclusively from the interior, they held a +22 edge on points in the paint, scoring nine more baskets than Vancouver did from inside the arch. 

Malcolm Duvivier and rookie Diego Maffia tallied 11 and 10 points respectively, as the team’s only double-digit scorers on the night.

Despite their recent woes, the team does have some reason for optimism. The Bandits may have found a new contributor in the form of recent addition Kur Jongkuch. In just his fifth game with the team, he had his best outing of the season with nine points, six rebounds, and two blocks in a season-high 17 minutes of action off the bench.

After their game, Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius described the forward as the team’s lone bright spot on the night, suggesting that Jongkuch deserved more minutes after that performance. If the big man can provide a spark for this team off the bench, and Ward can return without missing a beat, it could go a long way for the Bandits as they try to head into the playoffs with some momentum.

In terms of playoff implications, since Vancouver is guaranteed a spot at Championship Weekend as the host city, it all falls onto Saskatchewan. With just one game separating them and the Edmonton Stingers above them, and just three games remaining for both teams, the margin of error is razor thin. A win would be vital for the Rattlers if they want to keep their hopes for post-season basketball alive.  

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Full list of betting props available on BetVictor. Preview written by Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh).

The full western conference standings can be found here. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.