The McMaster men’s basketball team gets to see the view from the penthouse, when it hosts the CIS champion Carleton Ravens to open the OUA schedule on Friday, November 11, 2011.

The game is the second half of doubleheader action that starts with the Marauder women taking on Carleton at 6 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m.

The Raven men’s team is the standard-bearer in CIS basketball, having won seven of the last nine national titles and entering conference play as the top-ranked team in the CIS top-ten rankings. Head Coach Dave Smart is recently returned from leading Team Canada at the Pan Am Games in Mexico, where the Canadian side included three of his Carleton players: Tyson Hinz, Cole Hobin, and Phillip Scrubb.

To date, Carleton is undefeated in six games versus CIS competition (6 and 0) and has also played 11 games with NCAA division-one teams, winning five and losing six against U-S competition.

McMaster completed its non-conference schedule with a pair of wins last weekend against NCAA division-three teams, Allegheny College and Penn State-Behrend. McMaster finished non-conference play with an overall record of 7 and 3, including a 2 and 2 mark against CIS competition.

The Marauders will be counting on homecourt advantage and a large partisan crowd to even the odds against the top-ranked Ravens.

Saturday sees another tough opponent, the Ottawa Gee Gees, invade the Burridge Gym as the OUA east-west interlock continues. Ottawa competed in last season’s OUA final-four and are currently riding a seven-game conference win streak versus McMaster. Saturday’s doubleheader tips off with women’s action at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m..