by Adam Kalab
Laurentian vs Windsor: Wednesday, February 19 at 8 pm, Ben Avery Gym
The men’s basketball team will start their quest for the Wilson Cup this week at home. It’s Laurentian’s best chance at their first championship since 2000, as the Voyageurs will avoid the powerhouse Carleton Ravens until at least the semifinals. Additionally, with the Ottawa Gee-Gees hosting the U Sports Championships, there is potentially an extra berth available to qualify for the national championship. But first, the Voyageurs will take on the Windsor Lancers in the preliminary round. Here’s how the teams stack up:
Head to Head
Laurentian: 16-6, 302 Points, 3rd OUA East, 6th in OUA
1813 Points For, 1676 Points Against
Windsor: 11-11, 22 Points, 3rd OUA West, 11th in OUA
1825 Points For, 1850 Points Against
Nov. 1, 2020: Windsor 81 Laurentian 78
Prior to the loss in November, the Voyageurs had won three straight games against the Lancers. These two teams met in the preliminary round of the 2016 playoffs, with the Lancers winning that game 82-73.
How They Got Here
Laurentian: For the fourth straight year, the Voyageurs have earned a home playoff game. They won 16 games for the second time in the last three years, largely in part due to a dominant 9-2 home record. Were they in any other division, they could’ve won the division and earned a bye to the quarterfinals, but the Voyageurs finished third in the super competitive East division, behind Ottawa and Carleton. The Voyageurs dropped their last game of the season against Ryerson, which ended a six-game win streak. The Voyageurs have been a very consistent team, only losing back-to-back games once.
Windsor: The Lancers are back in the playoffs after missing out last year. It’s been a year full of ups and downs for the Windsor squad, as most weekends were a win-loss split. Their longest losing streak was three games, as was their longest winning streak – a streak that was snapped with a loss to Western in the season finale. Home or away doesn’t seem to matter to the Lancers, as they were 5-5 at home and 6-6 on the road. However, the Lancers shouldn’t be taken lightly: they beat the Voyageurs in Sudbury back in November, and two weeks ago they upset the second-seed Lakehead Thunderwolves.
On the Court
In terms of total points per game, the Lancers have a slight edge over the Voyageurs, as they score 83.0 points compared to Laurentian’s 82.4. The Lancers shoot more field goals than the Voyageurs, and they make 44.3% of those shots compared to 42.6% for the Voyageurs. From beyond the arc, the Voyageurs take and make more 3-pointers, shooting 34.7% while the Lancers shoot 31.3%. In the paint, both teams draw a similar number of fouls, but the Voyageurs are extremely deadly with their free-throw shooting, as they rank second with a 76.2% conversion rate. The Lancers are ninth in that category at 71.1%. The Lancers have scored 100 points in a game twice, while the Voyageurs have only done so once.
Defensively, the Voyageurs have a clear edge. They surrender an average of 8 less points per game, and grab almost 30 defensive rebounds. The Voyageurs restrict their opponents to 39.4% field goal shooting, and 28.9% 3-point shooting, ranking them in the top 4 for both categories. The Lancers hold their opponents to 42.2% field goal shooting and 31.4% 3-point shooting, ranking eighth for both. The season-low for points against in one game is 56 for the Voyageurs and 68 for the Lancers.
For ball control, the Voyageurs are relentless at grabbing rebounds, as their 42.5 rebounds per game is third-most of all teams. The Lancers are less efficient, scooping up 37.0 rebounds per game. The Voyageurs have been working on playing a strong team game, and lead the league with 18.4 assists per game. The Lancers average 13.4 assists per game, which ranks them twelfth. The area where the Lancers can cause problems is forcing turnovers, as they rank fourth with 9.3 steals per game, and fifth with 3.9 blocks per game, and the Voyageurs rank seventeenth as they turnover 17.6 balls per game. On the flip side, the Voyageurs rank eighth with 8.0 steals per game, and twelfth with 2.7 blocks, while the Lancers rank fifteenth with 15.3 turnovers per game.
Overall, the stats favour the Voyageurs and they shouldn’t have any problems scoring points. But in order to be successful, they’ll have to play a disciplined game and commit to their strong team defence.
Players to Watch
Laurentian:
#10, Kadre Gray (4th year): back-to-back OUA athlete of the year, and the 2017-18 U Sports athlete of the year, Gray leads the OUA in points per game for the fourth straight year. His 23.8 points this year (523 points total) is a bit of a drop from previous years, but that’s due to the Voyageurs working on playing a more complete team game. Gray grabs 6.5 rebounds and gets 6.5 assists, but turns over 3.9 balls. His shooting percentages are 43.8% for field goals and 32.5% for 3-pointers. He’s deadliest from the free throw line, which he visits often. He ranks first in the league with 190 free throws taken (8.6 per game), and he converts with 91.6% accuracy, also top of the league. He doesn’t get much rest, playing an average of 32.3 minutes every night.
#15, Sam Ivey (4th year): Ivey is the team’s number two scorer with 11.9 points per game. Most of his points are 3-pointers, as he sinks 36.9% of those attempts. His field goal and free throw percentages are 39.6% and 68.6%, respectively. He grabs 5.6 rebounds and makes 3.6 assists on average. Like Gray, he plays a lot of minutes, averaging 30.5 each night.
#55, Joseph Hlady (2nd year): third on the team with 11.4 points per game, Hlady comes off the bench to make an impact. He’s got strong shooting stats, converting 42.7% of his field goals, 36.1% of his 3-point attempts, and 75% of his free throws. He also chips in with 3.7 rebounds per game. He’s only started one game, but averages 19 minutes a night.
Windsor:
#54, Thomas Kennedy (2nd year): a member of last year’s OUA All-Rookie team, the second-year forward leads the Lancers with 18.6 points per game, good for thirteenth in the league. The majority of his points are field goals, which he converts with 49.5% accuracy. He rarely shoots from behind the arc, making just 23 three-point attempts all season and only scoring 4 of them. At the free throw line, he makes 68.3% of his attempts. He leads the league with 11.7 rebounds per game, and he’s second in the league playing 34.4 minutes each night. Expect him to lead the Lancers’ offence.
#15, Telloy Simon (4th year): the veteran scores 16.4 points per game, ranking him nineteenth in the league. He shoots 42.3% for field goals, 36.9% from beyond the arc, and 83.9% from the free throw line. He grabs 6.5 rebounds per game, and averages 32.2 minutes.
#4, Shakael Pryce (1st year): the rookie is third on the team and twenty-fifth in the league with 14.5 points per game. His shooting stats are impressive, at 39.9% for field goals, 35% for 3-pointers, and 72.3% for free throws. He grabs 4.5 rebounds and gets 4.5 assists, and forces 1.9 turnovers on average. Another minute-muncher, he plays an average of 30.2 minutes each night.
Next: The winner of this game will travel to London to take on the #3-seed Western Mustangs Saturday, February 22nd in the quarterfinals.
Not in Sudbury? Wednesday’s game will be streamed on https://oua.yaretv.com/