Basketball: OUA West Wednesday Preview

A quick look at the games in the OUA West for Wednesday, February 17th.

Women

Brock (12-8) vs Laurier (8-12)


Laurier is locked into the 6th and final playoff position, and Brock can still finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th, so this is a potential playoff matchup next week. The Badgers beat the Golden Hawks by 31 points the first time they met this season, so it’s tough to pick against Brock in this one, as tough as Laurier is on their home floor. With so much to play for, I can’t see the Badgers letting this opportunity slip by, as much as Paul Falco’s team will be looking to end their home schedule on a high note.

Remaining (Brock): vs. Guelph
Remaining (Laurier): @ Waterloo


Windsor (19-1) vs Guelph (2-18)

Windsor has locked up the OUA West regular season title, and the Gryphons are still locked in the basement, as they have been all season. Some may say that Chantal Vallee’s Lancers have nothing to play for in this game, but with Windsor’s goal all season being nothing less than the CIS National Championship Tournament, they definitely want to keep winning to maintain their #3 national ranking, which will help them in the seeding process. The Gryphons’ season is mercifully close to the end, and in their final home game tonight, they will honour their only senior, Team Captain Alex Russell. The 4th year forward from Paradise Valley, Arizona is the team’s leading scorer this season. The Lancers win this one, while working to fine tune their lineup for the playoffs.

Remaining (Win): vs. McMaster
Remaining (UG): @ Brock


Waterloo (4-16) vs. McMaster (12-8)

As with the Brock-Laurier game, this matchup features one team with a lot on the line, and the other with nothing on the line. The Warriors are out of the playoffs and are looking to play the spoilers to the Marauders, who are currently tied with the Brock Badgers and Lakehead Thunderwolves for 3rd. The final 2 games on the schedule are going to decide who gets the home playoff dates, and who ends up going out on the road. With McMaster’s final game on the road at Windsor (19-1), this is a must-win game.

Keeping in mind that Waterloo beat Mac 57-54 at the PAC back in January, the Marauders will obviously be looking for revenge, but when you add in the emotional element of Taylor Smith being honoured on Senior Night, I can’t see anything other than a Mac win in this one. Western’s Amanda Anderson scored 35 points in her Senior Night game last week…can Taylor Smith trump that performance?

Remaining (UW): vs. Laurier
Remaining (Mac): @ Windsor


Men

Brock (8-12) vs Laurier (8-12)


This is the key matchup of the night as these teams are currently tied for the 6th and final playoff spot in the West, only 2 point behind the Waterloo Warriors. To sum it up succinctly…one of those 3 teams will miss the playoffs. Laurier won their previous matchup by 17 points, so Brock will definitely want to even the season series with a win at The Hawk’s Nest.

The Lakehead Thunderwolves did a good job last weekend holding rookie sensation Clinton Springer-Williams in check, so the question tonight will be whether or not the Hawks can keep him down, or if he will rebound tonight with a big game. While Springer-Williams has pretty much locked up the Rookie of the Year Award in the OUA West, this game does feature who I believe to be the top two rookies in the division, in Springer-Williams and Laurier’s Max Allin. Prior to the game tonight, WLU Seniors Jesse MacDonald and Andrew Pennycook will be recognized as graduating players.

I think the Hawks come out on top of this one, and if they do, that will eliminate Brock from playoff contention. Even if Waterloo loses at McMaster tonight, that would put WLU and UW tied with 18 points and Brock with 16 points heading into the final weekend. With Waterloo and Laurier playing each other, one team will move to 20 points, and one will stay at 18. A Brock win vs Guelph on Saturday would tie them with the losers of the WLU-UW game, but they would lose the head to head tie-breakers to either Waterloo or Laurier. If Brock loses tonight, they are out.

Remaining (Brock): vs. Guelph
Remaining (Laurier): @ Waterloo


Windsor (15-5) vs Guelph (5-15)

Windsor still has a shot to catch the Lakehead Thunderwolves for first place, so they will definitely be looking for a win tonight in Guelph. It’s tough to pick against a team that is 15-5, even with the 5-15 Gryphons honouring their lone senior, 5th year Captain Jay Mott. As I detailed last week, the Gryphons have had a tough season, and Mott has been in the centre of it all, from missing games due to a concussion suffered in practice, to scoring 33 points in a heartbreaking loss to Western last week. Should be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to Nigel Johnson-Tyghter, knowing that he had originally committed to Guelph, but then end up at Windsor. (check out this story from 2008 and this one from 2009)

As much as I’d like to pick the Gryphons in this one, I think Jay Mott goes out on a high note with a big game offensively, but it just won’t be enough.

Remaining (Win): vs. McMaster
Remaining (UG): @ Brock



Waterloo (9-11) vs. McMaster (13-7)

The Warriors halted a 6-game losing streak on Saturday with a dominating win over the Western Mustangs. Jesse Tipping led the team with 20 points, but it was an all-around team effort, the same type of game we saw Waterloo play earlier in the season. This is a team that is capable of beating any team on any night in the OUA West. With the playoffs on the line, the Warriors can clinch a playoff spot with a win, but that’s easier said than done as Warriors head coach Tom Kieswetter has never won at the Burridge Gym. That’s right, 18 years of regular season and playoff games…zero wins. Does the streak end tonight?

The big question mark in this game will be whether or not Keenan Jeppesen will be playing. After injuring his ankle in the Western game last week, Jeppesen missed McMaster’s game on Saturday, a 22-point win against the Guelph Gryphons. Mac had big contributions from rookie Victor Raso (19 points) and Tyrell Vernon (13 points, 8 rebounds) in Jeppesen’s absence, but will he be able to play on a night that McMaster honours him as a graduating senior? If Jeppesen plays, the #10 ranked Marauders win, but if he’s still out of the lineup, I think the Warriors end their streak.

Remaining (UW): vs. Laurier
Remaining (Mac): @ Windsor
Next PostNewer Post Previous PostOlder Post Home

6 comments:

  1. Clinton Springer-williams didn't even play the first game against Lakehead.
    Apparently, he was feeling quite ill Friday.
    And though he did play Saturday, his ineffectual performance...2/11 shooting
    and 2 rebounds might be attributed to the fact he was still far from 100% healthy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will Springer and Allin guard each other tonight for the Brock Laurier game? If so I give the edge to Laurier! Go Hawks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. don't forget there are a couple of (mens) east games tonight as well

    as well as east womens playoffs

    ReplyDelete
  4. It was as though Guelph was trying to not lose with a 3 point lead with 40 seconds left, as opposed to trying to win. They gave up an uncontested layup with 35 seconds left, then hosted a step back 3 with double digits left on the shot clock. Then had poor rotation on a high ball screen with nigel/kuon which gave nigel another a nearly uncontested layup for the lancers. Hats off to Mott who had a tremendous game on his senior night. I believe there was a list of 10 loses of less then 5 pts for Guelph this yr. Add one more, in what a huge "coulda" been season for Guelph. And Windsor really knows what to do in the final minutes of a close game.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just in case anyone failed to notice on the women's Laurier-Brock match up, Laurier seriously outplayed Brock. Laurier has the potential to be the spoiler.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Laurier seriously outplayed Brock, sure...in the first half.
    I don't know if you noticed but Brock outscored Laurier by ten in the second half, 40-30.
    I don't expect Brock will go through a half where they score 15 points, especially at home.
    Speaking of home, Brock beat Laurier back in January in St. Catherines by 31, 88-57.
    Pulling off an upset at home is fine...let's see
    Laurier do that again on the road when it matters.

    ReplyDelete