Special night for Alberta Basketball as NCAA season begins

The 2019-20 NCAA Division 1 basketball season tipped off on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and it was a special evening for Alberta Basketball.

Four provincial team alumni are on active rosters; Calgary's Brynn Masikewich (freshman, UCLA women's team), and Edmonton products Ben Krikke (freshman, Valparaiso men's team), Sabry Philip (freshman, San Diego men's tean), and Aher Uguak (junior, Loyola Chicago men's team), and all of their teams had games on opening night.

Uguak started for the Greyhounds and scored 8 points on 4/6 shooting from the field to go with 3 rebounds and 1 assist as Loyola cruised to an 82-48 victory in Chicago over UC Davis. Meanwhile, in Valparaiso, Indiana, Krikke made his college basketball debut, playing 9 minutes and registering an assist in the Crusader's thrilling 79-77 home win against Toledo. Philip also played his first game, in San Diego, where his team came up just shot in a 76-73 loss to UC Irvine. The Bruins, who are one of the top-ranked teams in the NCAA women's basketball top 25, beat Weber State 85-45 in Los Angeles.

Good luck to all ABA alumni in the NCAA this season, everyone back home is rooting you on each step of the way.