University of British Columbia

Game time/place: 2 p.m. CDT today, UBC’s War Memorial Gym.

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia.

Coach: Kevin Hanson (fifth season).

Nickname: Thunderbirds.

Team tidbits: UBC had a 23-16 record in 2003-04, 12-8 in Canada West Conference play. The T-Birds earned a second consecutive trip to the national-championship tournament in Halifax, where they fell to York. … A transfer from Simon Fraser, guard Chad Clifford, 22, played two years at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. He can practice but not play in games this season. … UBC beat Hampton, 75-66, on Aug. 18. Casey Archibald, a 6-4 guard, led the way with 24 points, while Marc Tasik, a 6-6 forward, had 15 points and four boards. … Archibald is leading returning scorer (18.1 ppg). Other returning starters are 5-3 Karlo Villanueva (9.7), 6-7 Ryder McKoewn (10.6) and 6-3 guard Craig Rollins (9.0) The T-Birds went 0-3 against Division One schools last year, falling to SMU (88-76), Oral Roberts (80-61) and Creighton (83-62). … UBC will meet UNLV at 9 p.m. Sept. 5, and Kansas State on Oct. 10, both at War Memorial Gym.

Langara College

Game time/place: 1 p.m. Sunday, UBC’s War Memorial Gym.

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia.

Coach: Simon Dykstra (fourth season).

Nickname: Falcons.

Team tidbits: The Falcons won national titles in both 1998 and ’99. At the time the Falcons were coached by Kevin Hanson, who now is coach at University of British Columbia. … Squad went 13-19 last year and 7-11 in conference play. …. Coach Simon Dykstra played at Simon Fraser from 1985-90. … One of top players is 6-foot point guard Paul Naka, a former UBC player. Returnees include 6-0 Ken Kuo, who averaged 13.9 ppg last season; 6-7 Mirza Havic (5.6 ppg); 6-4 Jason Alsop (1.6 ppg). Tallest player is Vlad Ruzic at 6-8. … Guard Anthony Lao (6-4) sat out last season, but is back this year … Players generally compete two years at the school. … Langara will meet UNLV at 2 p.m. Sept. 6.

University College of Fraser Valley

Game time/place: 9 p.m. Sunday, Mennonite Educational Institute Gym.

Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Coach: Pat Lee (10th season).

Nickname: Cascades.

Team tidbits: The UCFV men’s basketball team won the national championship last season and also in the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons. … The team will include players from Fraser Valley, plus alums and players from Trinity Western. … Squad went 28-11 last season and 14-4 in league play … The team is leaving the Canada College of Athletics Assn. for the larger Canadian Interuniversity Sport League starting in Sept. 2006. … Cascades will play UNLV at 1 p.m. Sunday, prior to the KU game Sunday night. … The Cascades are bolstering their lineup with recent graduates, including standout 6-6 center Mike McLaverty, a first-team British Columbia College’s Athletic Assn. all-star. Returnees from last year’s title team include 6-5 guard Jamie Vaughan, 6-8 forwards Shane Heuring and Kyle Graves, 6-4 forward Jeff O’Brien, and 5-8 guard Lee Jackson.

Simon Fraser University/Burnaby Mountain All Stars

Game time/place: 12:30 p.m. Monday, West Gym.

Location: Burnaby, British Columbia.

Coach: Scott Clark (11th season).

Nickname: Clan.

Team tidbits: Simon Fraser went 18-18 a year ago, 13-7 in Canada West Conference play … Former Clan and long-time Canadian national team player Peter Guarasci will join current SFU players and play for the Burnaby Mountain All-Stars … SFU loses 41 points a game off its roster in Pasha Bains and Chad Clifford, who have transferred to UBC. “With Pasha, we knew he was going to transfer to pursue a graduate degree program. SFU’s program required a high GPA and it was not an option for him,” SFU coach Scott Clark said. “We had an understanding that he was returning. It was definitely a shock.” … Frosh guard Melvyn Mayott turned down scholarship offers in the U.S. to play for the Clan. … Point guard Kyle Wilson is in his first year with SFU after playing at both UMass and San Jose State. The All-Stars split games against Hampton last month, losing 79-72, Aug. 14, then winning, 68-55, Aug. 19. … Simon Fraser will also play host to Kansas State on Oct. 9 and Pacific on Oct. 8. In addition, the Clan will play UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on November 5.