The Low Down

• This is the 21st consecutive season the Golden Hawks have qualified for the postseason, though it's been three years since the purple and gold played a playoff game on their home court.
• Laurier just missed qualifying for a first-round bye after losing their last regular season game to McMaster on Saturday.
• They've been one of the hottest teams in the conference since the holiday break, winning eight of their last ten games.
• Having finished fourth in the OUA West, they'll face the fifth-place Western Mustangs in the first round of the OUA playoffs, with the winner moving on to face #5 ranked Brock.

Last Playoff Meeting

• The Golden Hawks and Mustangs met in the 2020 OUA semifinal, which ended in heartbreaking fashion, with Laurier losing 104-103 in overtime.
• Wednesday, the Golden Hawks will get the chance to repay the favour, this time with home-court advantage.

Season Series

• Laurier came out on top in both regular season meetings with Western.
• The first was a nailbiter 82-81 comeback on the road, which featured a thrilling fourth quarter back-and-forth between the top two scorers in the OUA – Western's Omar Shiddo and Laurier's Ali Sow – as well a game-winning dunk with four seconds remaining courtesy of Majok Deng.
• The next game, the Golden Hawks returned home and handled the Mustangs, who were missing an injured Shiddo, rather easily. They won 95-80 behind a combined 61 points from Sow and Romello Taylor.

By The Numbers

• The Mustangs and Golden Hawks scored at a similar rate this season, totalling 86.6 and 85 points per game, respectively.
• Laurier was the fourth most efficient team in the province this season, sporting a 44.1% field goal percentage, while Western's 16.1 assists per game is the third-best rate in the OUA.
• Defensively, the Golden Hawks sit seventh in the OUA with 79.4 points allowed per game, while Western's 85.7 places them 14th.

Players To Watch

• Western's Omar Shiddo's 28.2 points per game led all players in U Sports basketball.
• Ali Sow's 25.4 points per game were good for third in Canada. He also finished tied for first place in the OUA with 5.3 assists per game.
• Fifth-year Golden Hawk Romello Taylor's been on a tear recently, averaging 19.1 points and 4.4 assists since the holiday break.
• Laurier's Benhur Gebrekidan finished third in Ontario in three-pointers made with 41, while Ben Stevens's 14.6 rebounds per 40 minutes played were second-best in the OUA.

It will take a complete team effort to beat Western, and the Golden Hawks have shown this season they're more than capable of winning big games.