In dramatic fashion, the Warriors were able to knock off the Windsor Lancers by one point in their final regular season game. With this win, the Warriors improved to 9-13 and earned the 11th seed in the OUA playoffs and the opportunity to compete for the Wilson Cup.
How is the OUA playoffs set up?
- For men’s basketball, the OUA is divided into three divisions: East, West, and Central. The Warriors compete in the West.
- Twelve teams will advance to the playoffs, with the winner of each division guaranteed a first-round bye. The remaining nine teams with the highest winning percentage are seeded accordingly. The fourth team with the highest winning percentage is also allotted a first-round bye.
- When in the playoffs, divisions do not matter. Each team is ranked 1-12 based on winning percentages.
- The playoffs are set up in a bracket style with no re-seeding. Games are single-elimination, with the higher-seeded team in the matchup hosting.
Warriors playoff positioning
- It was quite the dramatic finish to the regular season as the Warriors earned their playoff berth in an unusual tiebreaker scenario.
- Upon completion of the regular season, four teams finished 9-13 with only two playoff spots remaining. According to the OUA rule book, since there was an uneven number of head-to-head games (first tie-breaking scenario), the next tie-breaking scenario is common opponents. The Warriors were top-ranked 3-3 against common opponents and as a result, earned the 11th seed.
- The Warriors travelled to Ottawa to take on the sixth-seeded Carleton Ravens on Wednesday, Feb. 19, where they fell 87-54.
Players to watch
- Kiran Chadwick-Rupp: #10 fifth year forward
- Leads team in points per game: 20.0
- Leads team in rebounds per game: 8
- Leads team in free throw percentage: .800
- Rafael Llorin: #2 fourth-year guard
- Team high of 23 points against Carleton in regular season matchup
- 48 assists in the regular season, second on the team
- Emotional leader
Although the Warriors did not receive a favourable seeding and just squeaked into the playoffs, the Warriors are no strangers to being the underdog and pulling the upset. Earlier this season, the Warriors faced off against the number 1 seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees and handed them one of their only two losses this regular season. Go Warriors!
