LONDON, Ont. - After splitting a pair of games against the Laurier Golden Hawks and the McMaster Marauders this past week, the Western men's basketball team will be looking to regain their position in the OUA West division standings as the playoff race begins to heat up.

This past Wednesday saw the purple and white fall to the OUA-West-leading Golden Hawks at home in a scrappy defensive affair before bouncing back to steal a competitive 88-85 victory over the Marauders on the road the following Saturday.

The two-game split left the Mustangs currently holding third place in the OUA West division standings with a 13-7 record on the season. 

However, after going 1-3 in their past four games, Western will have to get back to playing disciplined basketball if they hope to come out of this week with a pair of wins, as the team prepares to take on the Windsor Lancers this Wednesday in Alumni Hall before travelling to Brock for a meeting with the Badgers.

Although the Lancers may appear to be struggling this season with a 6-14 record, a number of impressive victories have made Windsor an intimidating prospect for nearly any OUA team. In their most recent victory, Windsor upset Brock in a shocking 98-93 victory to turn heads throughout the province. However, since that win, the Lancers have dropped four-straight, highlighting Windsor's biggest struggle this season: consistency. This inconsistency is perhaps best summarized by their shooting percentages. While the Lancers have proven to be able to knock down threes at a high volume, the team currently sits dead last in the province in 3PT% and FG%. Although Windsor has been respectable on the defensive end of the floor all season long, scoring an abysmal 69.4 points per game is why the Lancers have had trouble stringing together wins this season and, in large part, why they fell to Western 76-57 in their first meeting this season.

But despite a solid track record against Windsor this season, Western will undoubtedly have a far tougher test the following weekend in a rematch against the Brock Badgers. The Badgers currently sit just above the purple and white in the OUA West division standings with a 14-6 record, but a win this weekend could propel the Mustangs into second place heading towards the postseason.

Western got the best of Brock in their first meeting this season, earning an 80-75 victory in what proved to be a back and forth affair. However, the purple and white were fortunate that Brock's senior forward, Cassidy Ryan, was caught in early foul trouble in the first meeting between the two teams. As the Badgers' defensive anchor, Ryan's absence was sorely missed throughout the matchup, but averaging just 2.6 personal fouls per game, the Mustangs won't be able to count on Ryan's foul-trouble shifting momentum this time around.

To this point in the season, the Badgers' offence has proven to be nothing short of a well-oiled machine, as they sit first in the province in total points and 3PT%, second in points per game and assists per game, and third in FG%. Defensively, Brock has been nearly just as good as they remain one of the best rebounding teams in the country and average an impressive 8.8 steals per game. With an 8-2 record at home this season and a current four-game winning streak, traveling to take on the Badgers will be the ultimate test for a Mustangs team looking to regain that early-season momentum heading towards the postseason.

Western's first matchup against the Lancers will take place in Alumni Hall on Wednesday evening, followed by a road trip to St. Catharine's to take on Brock. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 8:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.