Edmonton Stingers look to gain ground in the West against Alberta rival Calgary Surge

The Edmonton Stingers (-129) host the Calgary Surge (-105) in an Alberta rivalry game on Wednesday night with action set to tip-off at 7:30 pm local/9:30 pm ET from the Expo Centre.

It will be nationally televised live on TSN 3/4 as 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.

This will be the third of four total matchups between the Stingers (6-7) and the Surge (7-6) this season, as the Western Conference opponents jockey for positioning down the stretch of the season.

Calgary swept the first two games of the series, although the matchups were tightly contested, as both contests were decided by less than five points. Tonight, will also be their first head-to-head matchup between the two teams since the Surge pulled off a historic 16-point Target Score Time comeback against the Stingers on May 28.

What was looking like Edmonton’s first win of the season, eventually turned into the largest Target Time comeback in CEBL history. A loss the Stingers will likely hope to avenge as they try to get their first win against the Surge this campaign.

In both games neither team scored particularly well as Edmonton shot just 34.5 per cent from the field and 20.5 per cent from distance, while Calgary went for 42.5 and 17.5 per cent. It was the defensive side of the ball that dominated the matchup as two of the best defensive teams in the league lived up to their reputations.

Calgary is top-two in the league for blocks per game at 4.9, while Edmonton is the second-best team at grabbing steals, averaging 8.6, add that up and it equals a combined average of 43.5 turnovers through the first two games of this series.

What fans should keep an eye on in this matchup is which team will capitalize on those takeaways and get themselves easy baskets in the process. Through the two games – despite committing 31 turnovers in the second contest – the Surge managed to still score more points from turnovers, using the +8 advantage to help them squeak out those two narrow victories.

Fast forward and Edmonton enter this game on the heels of a 92-78 win over the Vancouver Bandits that not only started their four-game homestand with a victory, but also snapped a three-game losing skid. In that contest it was Aher Uguak that led the way scoring wise as he put up 19 points, knocking down a season-high 10 free throws along the way. Stingers’ fans should keep an eye on the forward as a new contributor in the rivalry as he was not with the team in the first matchup and while being there for the second game, did not play.

Another contributing factor for Edmonton in that victory was the strong play of their bench. They put up 39 points and if you look back at their series with Calgary, the team’s second unit has been a strength for them all season. Despite losing, the Stinger’s bench significantly outperformed the Surge’s as they scored 33 points on average and held a +50 advantage on scoring from their second unit through the series.

Adika Peter-McNeilly remains Edmonton’s leader off the pine, and a player that’s found success against Calgary. The sixth man is currently averaging 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists but against the Surge he’s scored in double figures both times, even putting up a team-high 14 points in their head-to-head.

This contest starts a three-game road trip for Calgary and is their first game in the month of July. After starting the season 3-0 the squad hasn’t been able to string together a streak of victories more than once and come into this game off a 79-65 loss against the Scarborough Shooting Stars.

A total of 65 points was low even for the CEBL’s lowest scoring team that averages just 81.6 points per game. In fact, it was the Surge’s lowest output of the season, and that was largely due their struggles shooting. The team shot 37 per cent from the field and a dismal 16 per cent from beyond the arch, knocking down just 2 triples out of 12 attempts.

Despite the loss there were a few bright spots for the team. Most notably, it was the play of Simi Shittu, who ended the night with a 21-point, 12-rebound, double-double. The league’s best rebounder – averaging 10.7 a game – has found similar success in his squad’s games against Edmonton this season. Surge fans will hope for that same production out of the big man, as he’s averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds on 50 per cent shooting through those two games.

Whichever team wins this game, they’ll gain some ground at the top of the Western Conference Standings. A Calgary victory would bring them to within half a game of the top-seeded Winnipeg Sea Bears, whereas if Edmonton wins they’ll gain an equally valuable half game on the Surge and get back to an even record.

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, 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).

Click here for the current 2023 CEBL standings

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.