The most hyped matchup of the season is just days away, with the Carleton men’s basketball team welcoming the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees to the Ravens’ Nest on Jan. 16. The game was sold out by Jan. 11.
Ottawa will finally get to see which university has the best team in the city and the country.
The number one ranked Ravens will face the number three ranked Gee-Gees for the first time since the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship game, which resulted in a 93-46 blowout for the Ravens. In their historic rivalry, Carleton has the edge in wins, with 57 to U of O’s 19. More recently however, the Gee-Gees have won two out of the last five games. Both teams have remained undefeated in the first half of the season at 7-0.
The Ravens took back the number one ranking in the CIS standings last week, with U of O dropping to third. The departures of the Scrubb brothers and Dave Smart have been storylines all season, but the Ravens have remained undefeated.
Point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane has run the offence successfully in his first year as a Raven, with a league-leading 6.9 assists per game. He is also leading the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game and may be the best in the country at pushing the pace, seemingly getting the rim at will.
Sharpshooters Connor Wood and Gavin Resch have stepped it up to new levels, with both shooting over 40 per cent on three-pointers. Wood is second in scoring on the team with 12.6 points per game, and Resch has averaged 2.9 threes per game so far.
Guillaume Payen-Boucard, Cameron Smythe, and Ryan Ejim have locked down the paint, leading Carleton to their CIS-best rebounding margin of +21.9. Carleton’s biggest weapon, however, is their multitude of scoring threats, with six players averaging over nine points per game.
U of O has been led by athletic forward Caleb Agada, who is averaging 15.7 points and 9.9 rebounds on the season, and point guard Mike L’Africain, who leads the team in scoring and assists. Both shoot over 50 per cent from deep and are the catalysts for one of the best offences in the league.
Both teams also excel on the defensive end, with U of O holding their opponents to a CIS-best 31.6 per cent from the field, with Carleton close behind at 31.7 per cent. Carleton gets the upper hand in margin of victory, at +34.6 compared to U of O’s +29.8.
With plenty of firepower on both sides, this will surely be a matchup to remember. Both teams like to play fast, and the two starting point guards—Kajami-Keane and L’Africain—are the best at what they do. The matchup will come down to who can make the fewest mistakes in a high pressure, fast-paced game.
Both teams have plenty of experience and in this matchup, no one is the favourite to win—the first time for both squads this season. However, Carleton’s edge in rebounding may just be what they need to get the upper hand against U of O.
If you’re going to watch one basketball game this year, watch this one.
The game will be broadcasted on Rogers channel 22, and webcast on OUA.com.
