LONDON, Ont. - Following a sweep of their season series against the Algoma Thunderbirds this past weekend at home, the Western men's basketball team will be back in Alumni Hall for a meeting with the Waterloo Warriors this Friday before hosting the Guelph Gryphons the following evening.

The Mustangs will be entering this weekend atop the OUA West division standings, boasting an impressive 10-4 record on the season. Western maintained control of the division in large part due to a pair of convincing wins over Algoma this past weekend, where the purple and white dominated on both sides of the ball, creating turnovers and sparking the fast break at every opportunity. Omar Shiddo led the way for the Mustangs on the weekend, scoring 19 points on Friday and following it up with a 27-point output the following night to seal the victory. The pair of wins also moved Western into the U Sports' Top 10 Basketball Teams, as they look to continue climbing up the national rankings as the season progresses.

This weekend, Shiddo and the Mustangs will be looking to replicate their performance as they prepare for a Friday night matchup with the 3-12 Warriors, who have struggled so far this season and currently sit at the bottom of the OUA West division.

It's been a challenge on both sides of the ball for the Warriors to this point of the season. Offensively, Waterloo has shot efficiently from beyond the arc on a relatively high volume, knocking down an average of 8.3 threes per game on a more than respectable 33.5 3PT%, but it's their inability to score from essentially every other area of the floor that's limited the Warriors to just three wins this season. Playing at one of the slowest paces in the OUA, Waterloo's 39.4 FG% is simply too inefficient to put consistent points up on the board, especially against a Mustangs team that allows just 73.5 points per game.

However, despite the offensive struggles, the Mustangs will have to home in on the Warriors' star big man, Nedim Hodzic. Hodzic is currently averaging 19.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, but has struggled at times with his own efficiency and tends to clog the paint for Waterloo's offence at times. Nevertheless, his scoring output and ability to secure rebounds could prove to be a problem for a Western team that tends to roll out smaller guard-heavy lineups.

On the other side of the ball, Waterloo sits at the bottom of the OUA in steals per game, contrasting with a Western team that leads the province in steals, averaging 10.2 per contest. The Warriors have been slightly below average in terms of the rest of their defence, but their ability to slow teams down on the perimeter with good disciplined defence will be their best bet against a Mustang team which has struggled to remain efficient on that end of the floor.

But the following night could very well prove to be more of a challenge for the purple and white as they go up against the 6-9 Guelph Gryphons, who currently occupy fifth place in the OUA West division. Western and Guelph have already met once before this season, where the Mustangs earned an 87-77 victory on the road to kick off their season.

However, despite the double-digit loss and the middling record midway through the season, Guelph has proven to be elite in a number of different facets throughout the season. The Gryphons have found their identity as a gritty rebounding team, sitting third in the province in total rebounds and rebound margin per game and leading the OUA in offensive rebounds per game with 15.2. This rebounding ability could prove detrimental against a Western team that's struggled all season long to end possessions and keep opponents off the offensive boards.

However, despite their impressive rebounding and shot blocking numbers, the Gryphons have allowed more points per game than any other team in the OUA and have perhaps struggled even more mightily on the other end of the floor as of late.

Guelph also sits last in the OUA in turnovers, averaging 16.4, last in three-pointers made, and second-last in assists per game. The team has scored relatively well in the paint, but an inability to spread the floor and take care of possessions will pay play right into Western's high-pressure defence.

Senior guard Tommy Yanchus will be leading the way for Guelph this weekend, leading the team with 18.0 points per game. However, Yanchus has made a habit of shooting inefficiently recently, as his high-volume shooting has led to a 43.4 FG% to this point of the season.

Both the Warriors and Gryphons have a number of strengths to utilize against a Mustangs team currently riding a five-game winning streak, but if Western is able to execute the way they have against more competitive teams like the Brock Badgers, the purple and white could very well be leaving this weekend with two more wins on the board.

Western's meeting with Waterloo will take place this Friday, January 18 at 8:00 P.M. EST followed by their matchup with Guelph the following night at the same time. Both games will take place in Alumni Hall and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.