'The atmosphere is going to be wild': Mustangs host Brock tonight for trip to Basketball Nationals
Aryan Sharma expects Alumni Hall to be rocking for Wednesday’s OUA Semi final against Brock.
A win, and Western’s men’s basketball team will earn a berth in the U Sports National Championship tournament.
“Honestly, the atmosphere is going to be wild,” said Sharma, playing in his final season with the Mustangs. “I think students are back for reading week and there is a lot of buzz about this game. So it's definitely going to be an electric atmosphere. We're looking forward to packing the stands.”
Having been to Nationals in 2020 with the Mustangs, Sharma knows that’s how he wants to finish his OUA career.
“Personally, for me, I think it would be a fairy-tale ending to my career here at Western,” said Sharma, who has averaged 18.1 points per game this year. “It would also just reinforce the fact that we're one of the premier programs in Canada.”
Western went 16-6 in the regular season, earning the OUA West title. The team has a great mix of veterans and young talent.
“We put some recruiting classes back-to-back to back and I think we're starting to see some of the fruits of that recruiting,” said Brad Campbell, the Mustangs head coach since 2006.
“We have a bunch of high character guys who are focused and want to win, and that’s been a formula for success this season.”
The Western Mustangs practice ahead of their OUA Semi-final matchup with Brock Wednesday. The winner earns a berth the U Sports National Tournament in Quebec City in March (Dwayne Oud/CTV News London)Western will face a Brock team which they already beat 81-61 earlier this month. However the Mustangs believe you can throw that result out the window for tonight.
“They are definitely playing better,” said Tyson Dunn, the Mustangs point guard who led the OUA in assists. “They are very strong as they just won two playoff games against Carleton and Ottawa in Ottawa. They are athletic and crash the glass well but we match up well with them at both ends of the floor.”
A win Wednesday night would earn Western a berth in the university Sports National Tournament for just the second time in 15 years. It will be played in Quebec City March 8-10.
The team would also play to hoist their its Wilson Cup Trophy since 2002.
“Just to be in this position to host the game to qualify for the national championships is amazing,” said Campbell.
“Hopefully we'll have a big supportive crowd to help. To be able to potentially to get to another Wilson cup and play for a championship is why we do this. It's why I do it, it’s why all our players do it and they're just really excited. This is what we put in all the work for,” he said.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall on Lambton Drive.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Shooting at Michigan splash pad leaves 'nine, maybe 10 victims': authorities
Gunfire erupted at a splash pad in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, leaving as many as 10 people wounded, authorities said.
As it happened: How the Oilers crushed the Panthers to force Game 5
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
'They're not human beings, they're animals': Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
Video shows northern Ont. storm hammer shoreline, breaking dock
The owner of a northern Ont. camp is continuing to clean up after an intense storm that prompted a tornado warning Thursday ripped through the area breaking his dock and downing trees.
'All hands on deck situation': City of Calgary declares state of local emergency over water main break
The City of Calgary declared a local state of emergency Saturday morning in response to the latest developments in a major water main break that is impacting the city.
BREAKING A 'brazen daylight shooting': 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in Scarborough during fight, say police
Toronto police are appealing for witnesses and information as they deploy a “significant amount of resources” into the investigation of the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Scarborough on Saturday afternoon.
Trudeau calls into question findings of stunning watchdog foreign interference report
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has concerns with how conclusions were gathered in a spy watchdog report.
U.K. royals unite on palace balcony as Princess of Wales returns to public view after cancer diagnosis
London put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales ' first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis early this year.