Canada's version of March Madness is here

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By pretty much any measure — number of teams, popularity, broadcast-rights money and gambling activity, to name a few — the Canadian university basketball championships are dwarfed by their NCAA counterparts in the United States. Still, these are quality tournaments, featuring the same single-elimination bracket format that generates so much excitement south of the border.

Here are a few more things to know as the U Sports women's Final 8 tips off Thursday in Sydney, N.S., followed by the men's Friday in Halifax:

Women's

Queen's ruled the regular season, going 21-1 with a veteran-laden lineup that produced one of the most efficient offences in the country while also playing strong defence. Fifth-year forward Julia Chadwick averaged a team-high 16.4 points and ranked near the top of the country in rebounding with 12 per game.

But the Gaels met their match in Carleton, an elite defensive team that regrouped from a 71-65 road loss to Queen's in November to smother the Gaels 64-32 back home in Ottawa in January. The Ravens won the rubber match 70-57 in last weekend's Ontario playoff final at Queen's to earn the No. 1 seed for the national-championship tournament.

Queen's fell to No. 3, behind West champion Alberta. Atlantic champ St. Mary's got the No. 4 seed, followed by West finalist Calgary and the University of Quebec at Montreal, which won its provincial title. Acadia landed the tournament's at-large entry on the strength of its 16-3 regular-season record. The high-scoring Axewomen are led by guard Haley McDonald, whose 22.5 points per game tied her for second in the