By Adam Kalab
Laurentian at Western: Saturday, February 22 at 2 pm, Alumni Hall (London)
The men’s basketball team cruised past Windsor in the preliminary round of the OUA playoffs on Wednesday night, booking their place in the quarterfinals. The Voyageurs haven’t been to the semifinals since their last championship victory in 2000, but this year they’ll have their best chance in a long time as they take on the Western Mustangs.
Head to Head
Laurentian: 16-6, 32 Points, 3rd OUA East, 6th in OUA
1813 Points For, 1676 Points Against
Western: 16-6, 32 Points, 1st OUA West, 3rd in OUA
1929 Points For, 1738 Points Against
Sept. 28, 2019: Western 74 Laurentian 80 (exhibition)
Nov. 8, 2019: Western 70 Laurentian 84
The Voyageurs are 4-1 in their last 5 games against the Mustangs. These two teams haven’t met in the playoffs recently.
How They Got Here
Laurentian: The Voyageurs are off to the quarterfinals for the third time in the last four years after Wednesday’s beatdown of Windsor. The Voyageurs started that game with a 3-point bucket from Sam Ivey 17 seconds in and never looked back, leading 26-9 after the first quarter and 59-24 at halftime. In the second half they gave the starters some extra rest and let the bench play more, ultimately playing to a 94-66 victory. The Voyageurs were led by Kadre Gray and Joseph Hlady with 19 points each, and Sam Ivey and Haroun Mohamed with 11 points each. Every player scored in a complete team effort.
Western: The Mustangs topped their division with a 16-6 record, earning them a bye to the quarterfinals and seeding them third in the OUA. They’ve been dominant on home court, with an 8-2 record. Their whole season has been lengthy winning streaks punctuated by two-game losing streaks, with their longest winning streak being 7 games. They’re entering the playoffs on a 3-game win streak, which includes a 91-80 win over second-seed Lakehead. This is the third straight year the Mustangs have hosted a quarterfinal game, and the last two years they’ve been defeated on home court.
On the Court
Once again, the Voyageurs face a team that scores more than them. The Mustangs rank third in the league with 87.7 points for per game, while the Voyageurs are ninth with 82.4. However, the Voyageurs should be feeling confident after scoring 94 against the Lancers. The Mustangs also rank third in field goal percentage at 45.7%. The Voyageurs on average take more three-point shots, but the Mustangs have a higher conversion rate at 37.4% compared to 34.7%. The Voyageurs have the edge with free throws, as they take more than the Mustangs and have a higher success rate at 76.2% compared to 71.5%. The Mustangs have topped 100 points three times this year.
The Voyageurs have an advantage defensively. In the regular season they gave up an average of 76.2 points per game, while the Mustangs surrendered 79.0 points. The Mustangs struggle with controlling their opponent’s shooting. While the Voyageurs rank fourth allowing 39.4% field goal shooting, the Mustangs rank fifteenth with 44.9% field goal shooting against. Beyond the arc the Mustangs struggle more, as opponents convert 33.6% of their 3-point attempts, ranking the Mustangs sixteenth. The Voyageurs rank third in that category, allowing 28.9% 3-point shooting. Both teams have a season-low of 56 points against.
In terms of ball control, the Voyageurs again have the statistical edge. They scoop up 42.5 rebounds per game, getting 48 against the Lancers. The Mustangs are even less efficient than the Lancers, ranking fourteenth with 35.8 rebounds per game. The Voyageurs lead the league with 18.4 assists per game, getting 29 against Windsor, and the Mustangs are right behind them at 17.9 assists per game. The Voyageurs, who rank worst of all playoff teams with 17.6 turnovers per game, will have to be careful as the Mustangs lead the league with 10.6 steals per game. The Voyageurs had 15 turnovers against the Lancers, but they forced 20 turnovers and had 9 steals. The Mustangs turnover 14.4 balls per game. Neither team blocks many balls, with the Voyageurs blocking 2.7 per game and the Mustangs 1.8.
The Voyageurs have a strong defensive advantage, which they’ll need to exploit to contain the Mustangs’ dangerous offence. If they can force mistakes and control the ball in their end, holes will open up for them to convert offensively. The Mustangs shouldn’t be taken lightly – they won their division and are a good team – but on paper this is the easiest possible quarterfinal matchup.
Players to Watch
Laurentian:
#10, Kadre Gray (4th year): by his standards, he had a quiet night against Windsor, scoring 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 27 minutes of action. He had 66% field goal shooting, 60% three-point shooting, and converted all 4 free throws he took. He turned over 3 balls, but made up for that with 4 steals. With the game decided by halftime he got some extra rest, so expect the OUA’s leading scorer to make a big impact on Saturday.
#55, Joseph Hlady (2nd year): he only played 21 minutes off the bench, but he was tied with Gray for the game lead with 19 points. This was largely in part to his 50% three-point shooting, making 5 of 10 attempts. He also had 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. He’ll be counted on to make some big three-pointers on Saturday.
#23, Haroun Mohamed (3rd year): he played 26 minutes off the bench and scored 11 points, 6 rebounds and a team-leading 11 assists as he helped lead the young second unit. He also made 3 steals and 2 blocks. If he can have a similar performance on Saturday, it’ll take some pressure off of the starters.
Western:
#13, Julian Walker (3rd year): he’s sixteenth in the league with 17.8 points per game, and one of the deadliest shooters in the league. He ranks fifth for field goal percentage at 58.3%, eight for three points at 42.2%, and twelfth for free throws at 80.0%. He leads the team and ranks eighth in the league for rebounds, getting 9.2 each game, with 6 of those being defensive rebounds. He clocks in for an average of 27.2 minutes per game.
#12, Omar Shiddo (4th year): the veteran leads the team and ranks seventh in the OUA with 19.6 points per game. He converts field goals with 41.0% efficiency, three-pointers at 36.0%, and 77.5% of his free throws. He’s mainly an offensive player, with just 2.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He plays 28.4 minutes every night.
#8, Eriq Jenkins (5th year): the veteran scores 12.4 points and gets 5.8 rebounds each game. He shoots around 38% for both field goals and three pointers, and 81.6% for free throws. He gets 3.9 assists per game, and ranks second in the league with 58 steals (2.6 per game). He plays 29.9 minutes each night.
Next: The winner of this game will face the winner of the Lakehead-Laurier game in the semifinals Wednesday the 26th. If Laurentian and Laurier win, then the Voyageurs will host, if Lakehead wins then the winner will travel to Thunder Bay. All games will be streamed on https://oua.yaretv.com/