Wednesday 9 February 2011

Wednesday's Action: Dal at Acadia & 3 OUA West Games

AUS
Acadia at Dalhousie 8:00 PM AST   Freshly into the Top 10, the surging Tigers, winners of 4 in a row including a pair of decisive wins against playoff-bound teams over the weekend, can officially clinch second place in the AUS with a home win over the reeling Axemen, losers of 6 in a row.  Acadia has had 6'6" Justin Boutilier back in the lineup for the past 2 games as he eases his way back into full rotation time.  Boutilier missed 5 consecutive games due to injury and his presence provides depth on the front line for Acadia.  6'6" Owen Klassen (18.3 ppg) is arguably the most versatile offensive player in the AUS - he is a tough matchup inside and outside and has a mature mid-range game.  Axemen allow opponents to shoot 44%.  Dal can run 10 or 11 quality players on the floor which allows their AUS top-rated "d" to remain aggressive consistently.  6'1" Simon Farine had 31 points in what will turn out to be the second-place clinching win over X on Saturday and has made a strong statement for AUS POY.  6'9" Joe Schow is the one matchup that Acadia likely does not have an answer for and Schow is playing his best basketball arguably of his career.  Streaming Sports Network 7 PM ET/8 PM AT

AUS Standings
Cape Breton 16-1, 42 points (5 games remaining; 12 available points: at UNB (4), UNB (4), UPEI (4); magic number is 4 points)
Dalhousie 10-5, 36 points (5 games remaining; 10 available points:  ACA (2) SMU (2 x 2), at Acadia (2 x 2)  magic number to clinch second is 2 points).
St. FX 10-5, 26 points (5 games remaining; 12 available points:  ACA (4), at Mem (2 x 2), UNB (2), UPEI (2)).
UNB 7-8, 18 points (5 games remaining; 14 available points: UPEI (2 x 2), CBU (4), at X (2), at CBU (4)).
Saint Mary's 6-11, 18 points (3 games remaining; 6 available points: at Dal (2), at Aca (2), at Dal (2)).
UPEI 6-10, 16 points (4 games remaining; 10 available points:  at UNB (2 x 2), at CBU (4), at X (2).
Acadia 4-9, 12 points (7 games remaining; 20 available points:  at Dal (2), at X (4), DAL (2 x 2), SMU (2) MUN (2 x 4).
Memorial 3-13, 8 points (4 games remaining; 12 available points:  X (2 x 2), at Aca (2 x 4).

OUA West
Western (9-9) at McMaster (9-9) 8:00 PM EST   Winner of this one takes firm hold of fourth place and home first-round playoff game.  Both teams have battled injuries all season with Mustangs without regular front court guys 6'6" Garrett Olexiuk and 6'7" Adam Jespersen while Mac is without 6'7" Taylor Black and 6'8" Scott Brittain, although he appears to be game-to-game.  Marauders won the first game by 15.  Live Stats

Laurier (12-6) at Guelph (7-11) 8:00 PM EST  Not a must-win for Guelph but home wins late in the year are very important and Gryphs are usually tough at the Mitchell Center.  Hawks come off a lacklustre road loss at Windsor and their backcourt should have their hands full with 5'11" Mike Petrella and 6'2" Dan McCarthy, a pair of previously unheralded guard/wings who have rose to the occasion offensively for Guelph.  In Saturday's loss at Windsor, 6'5" Kale Harrison broke Laurier's single season scoring record that for 34 years was held by former Hawk great Lorne Killion.  Guelph will have to deal with arguably the strongest and most talented front line in the OUA West.  Streaming Sports Network

Waterloo (8-10) at Windsor (12-6) 8:00 PM EST  Warriors, just 3-6 in their past 9 games, face a tough road slate as their season winds down while the Lancers continue to regroup after a four-game losing streak that Isaac Kuon helped end with a superlative offensive effort on Saturday against Laurier.  Windsor won the first game by 12 in Waterloo.  Streaming Sports Network

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Lancers continue to regroup after a four-game winning streak "
Pretty sure you meant to say: "losing streak".

Anonymous said...

Noticed Owen Klassen is averaging a pretty healthy 18.3 per which is actually better than Tyson Hinz PPG average.
Klassen was heavily recruited by Carleton and Smart I have heard really wanted this kid....wow, could you imagine Hinz and Klassen on the same team?
Smart would be laughing now.
Fortunately, even Smart doesn't always get every player he wants.