Capital Hoops, the annual basketball matchup between the Carleton Ravens and uOttawa Gee-Gees, won’t be the same this year without fans in the stands. But the game will still be the first major test of the Carleton men’s basketball team, which has yet to prove its mettle this season.
But Mark, you might say. The Ravens are undeniably the best team in the nation. What test have they not passed yet?
The Ravens are the best team in the nation. They’ve won 15 of the last 18 national championships, a stretch of dominance nearly unmatched in Canadian sports history. They’ve lost only two regular season games since the 2016-17 season and eight regular season games in the last decade.
They are as close to unbeatable as teams come.
The same is true this season. Despite the cancellation of the 2020-21 season and a 77-day shutdown between games this year, the Ravens are undefeated at 8-0. They are second in the nation in points per game to the Brock Badgers and first in fewest points allowed per game.
Here’s a list of other categories they lead all 48 U Sports teams in: field goal percentage, opponents’ field goal percentage, free throws made per game, defensive rebounds per game, rebound margin per game, assists per game and opponents’ three-pointer percentage.
The Ravens are, undeniably, the best of the best. So why is Capital Hoops a major test for the team?
That’s because Carleton has yet to face any serious competition this season, as a product of their schedule. Despite being undefeated, the Ravens have played all their games against teams in the bottom five of the nine-team Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division.
They have yet to face a team with a record above .500.
That will change at Capital Hoops. While uOttawa is worse on paper than Carleton, it is still one of only three teams in the OUA, along with the Ravens and Badgers, with an undefeated 8-0 record. The Gee-Gees have faced some of the same teams the Ravens have, but they’ve also won two games against the third-place Queen’s Gaels, including a 72-70 overtime nail-biter.
There’s another reason for the Ravens to worry: 2020 Capital Hoops is the only game they’ve lost in the last three years.
The reasons Carleton lost that game are plentiful. As head coach Taffe Charles told me last week, the Ravens were dealing with two key injuries at the time. Centre Biniam Ghebrekidan was hurt and then-rookie forward Lloyd Pandi was injured at the start of the game.
The Ravens also had their chances to win. Down by one point with seven seconds left, Carleton made four shots, missing all of them. The Gee-Gees won 68-67.
Charles said that loss taught the team a lesson and they wouldn’t have won the national championship without it. He also said there’s “no pressure at all” as a coach to win this game because it could be a learning opportunity.
Still, the point remains: This season, the Ravens have yet to face a challenge quite like uOttawa. At Capital Hoops, we’ll finally get a clear picture of just how dominant this team is.
Featured image from file.
