Basketball: OUA West Wednesday Preview

This week's quick glance at the mid-week matchups in the OUA West for February 3rd:

Women

Western (12-4) at Brock (10-6)

The Mustangs had a challenge on the weekend from a scrappy Laurier team, but gutted out a victory at the end, mostly due to a big game from Katelyn Leddy. More impressive is that the Mustangs did it without starting point guard Kelly Moulden in the lineup. Moulden should be back on the court Saturday, and as much as the Brock Badgers will be looking to avenge a 1-point loss in London a couple of weeks ago, I think the Mustangs keep on rolling upward.

Laurier (7-9) at McMaster (10-6)

McMaster just suffered a shocking loss at the hands of the Waterloo Warriors on the weekend, and the Golden Hawks nearly upset the Western Mustangs, so you may think I'm going to pick the underdog here, but I'm not. Mac is very difficult to beat at home, and despite strong play from Christa Mancino and Alena Luciani lately, I don't think the Hawks will be able to pull this one out.

Guelph (2-14) at Windsor (15-1)

With all due respect to the Gryphons, this is the mismatch of the season. Expect to see a lot of the Lancers bench players on the floor in the second half of a Windsor blowout win.

Men

Western (9-7) at Brock (7-9)

Western is still playing to the caliber of their opponents, so you can expect a close game, as usual, but Ryan Barbeau has shown of late that he is a clutch player who can heat up in the fourth quarter of a close game, even if his shooting has been off for the better part of the game. Plus, there's a reason he's 2nd in the CIS in assists. The Badgers need a win to try and distance themselves from the 7th and 8th place teams in the West and solidify a playoff spot.

Laurier (7-9) at McMaster (10-6)

Jesse MacDonald had a woeful game on the weekend, starting off 1-11 shooting, but Kale Harrison picked it up for the Hawks, scoring 19 in a close loss to Western. They'll both need to be on their game if they want to compete with the surging Marauders, coming off of an OT win at Guelph, and a 30-point drubbing of the Waterloo Warriors...on the road. Keenan Jeppesen and Tyrell Vernon look as good as they've been all season. This is going to be a tough team to beat down the stretch.

(Note: in the 'maybe-you'll-find-this-interesting-and-maybe-you-won't' category, both of these teams have identical records to their female counterparts.)

Guelph (5-11) at Windsor (11-5)

The Jekyll-and-Hyde Gryphons make a long road trip to play the Lancers in Windsor, and as close as the Gryphons have been in their games, I don't expect this one to be close. Adam Bering and John Brutto will have a busy night trying to contain Nigel Johnson-Tyghter.