Basketball: OUA Men - They’re good, and they’re ranked

To put it bluntly: the good OUA teams on the men's side of are winning their games, the not-so-strong squads are not.

There are five squads that have at least 22 points: the Carleton Ravens (17–0), the Lakehead Thunderwolves (13–3), Mike Katz’s Toronto Varsity Blues (12–5), and the Laurier Golden Hawks and Windsor Lancers (both standing at 11–5).

It should also be noted that there are four OUA squads in the latest (Jan. 25) CIS Top 10. The January OUA team of the month Ravens are number one, the Lancers continue to hold it down at seventh, the Thunderwolves, on the backs of good offensive skill, are now rated ninth, and the Golden Hawks sneak in at 10.

While individual games show us a much more competitive game-to-game league, these five squads have risen out of the perverbial pack to position themselves for the final weeks of the regular season. For those worried about the lacking parity thus far, worry not. The games are pretty entertaining.

To elaborate, the Thunderwolves have been a squad to worry about in past years. With a 17–5 record last season, after winning only six in the 2008-09 season, this squad is keeping pace with the big teams around them. A 2–0 showing this weekend against the Windsor Lancers (11–5) was key to keeping pace at the top of the OUA West.

On Friday, a 44–35 second half helped the Wolves beat the equally competitive Lancers 73–65. The squad forced 17 turnovers and grabbed 33 rebounds in a winning cause. The talented Jamie Searle led the team with 17 points. The next night, the Wolves feasted, with a 77–66 win. In that game, four Wolves players scored double digit points.

As well, the Blues must have felt awful to be kicked out of the CIS Top 10, especially after losing to the Queen’s Golden Gaels (3–14) not too long ago. They got back on the consistent side this past week, squeaking by the Ryerson Rams (7–10) 82–80 and the Laurentian Voyageurs (6–11) 89–86.

The Blues may not be huge in size, but they continue to put up points. Blues guard Justin Holmes led all scorers with 22 points against the Rams. Andrew Wasik and Drazen Glisic led all Blues scorers against the Vees.
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