The top two teams in the nation are set to descend upon Alumni Hall this weekend with the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens making their way to London this Friday and Saturday.
After a splitting a pair of games against the Windsor Lancers two weeks ago, the Mustangs head into this week with a 3-9 record, tying them for fourth with the Waterloo Warriors in the OUA West.
Following a combined 32-points in the two games against Windsor, Omar Shiddo is avergaging 14 points-per-game and has taken over the top spot on the Mustangs scoring leaderboard. Fellow first-year Eriq Jenkins is up next with 13.1 points, while Jedson Tavernier contributes an average of 9.9 points.
Jenkins also leads in Western's rebounding efforts with 6.1 per game while Nikola Farkic records an average 4.7 rebounds, despite missing two games to injury prior to the games against Windsor.
Western vs. Ottawa - Friday, January 27 at 2 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv
Ottawa currently holds an 11-1 record and are in second place in both the USPORTS Top 10 and in the OUA North Division. Their only loss comes at the hands of the neighbouring Ravens, who defeated them by an 81-40 final score.
The Gee-Gees offence is powered by balanced scoring with four players boasting double-digit averages. Veteran Caleb Agada tops the list with 17.5 points-per-game, Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles averages 14.8, while both Brody Maracle and Adam Presutti round things out with 11.6 points.
Pierre-Charles leads a strong Gee-Gee defence with an average 8.1 rebounds with teammate Agada averaging 6.7 off the glass.
Unsurprisingly, given their standing as the No. 2 team in Canada, the Gee-Gees are strong at both ends of the court, averaging the third-most points-per-game in the OUA along with the second best defence, and outscore their opponents by 17.5 points on average.
Western vs. Carleton - Saturday, January 28 at 8 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv
The USPORTS No. 1 Carleton Ravens are once again the most dominant team in the country this season, holding a 12-0 record coming into this week, outscoring Guelph and Lakehead by a combined 74 points in their two most recent victories.
Veteran Raven Connor Wood leads the offence with 20.1 points per game, topping the scoresheet in multiple games, including a 39-point performance against Laurentian in late November. Guard Kaza Kajami-Keane, this week's OUA and U SPORTS male athlete of the week, averages 17.1 points per game after scoring a game-high 27 points in Carleton's most recent contest against Lakehead.
One of the Ravens greatest strengths is their rebounding, as they lead the OUA with 43.4 rebounds per game, with 14.7 of those coming on offence. Freshman Eddie Ekiyor leads the team with 6.7 rebounds, followed by Connor Wood with 5.4 and Mitch Wood with 5.0. The Mustangs will have to be strong on the glass as they attempt to limit the Ravens second-chance points on Saturday.
Carelton comes into the week as the OUA's second-highest scoring team, netting 91.6 points per game, while also boasting the league's top-ranked defence, allowing only 60.5 points per outing.
