After a challenging four-game road swing through the OUA East, the McMaster basketball teams will be happy to tip-off in the friendly confines of the Burridge Gym, for a pair of weekend games with Laurentian and Nipissing, November 17 & 18.

Not having played at home since facing Guelph on October 25, the Marauders will be counting on homecourt advantage to provide an assist as they look to add to their win tally.

The Mac women ( 3 wins & 2 losses) will look to gain some ground on front-running Windsor, which is sitting first in the OUA West division at 5-0.   Laurentian and Nipissing each have 1 and 2 records and sit at the bottom of the OUA East, so defending home court will be crucial for McMaster to make some gains in the standings.  The Maroon will look to senior guard Hilary Hanaka to maintain her scoring pace, as she ranks 10th in the OUA scoring parade at 15.2 points per game.

The early season story for the Marauder men has been a tale of close but no cigar.  Since opening the OUA season with a win over Guelph,  McMaster has taken all four of its opponents into the fourth quarter with the game's outcome on the line, only to come up short.     The task of getting back on the winning track will be challenging as Laurentian comes to Hamilton as the 8th-ranked team in the U SPORTS top-ten and is undefeated in the OUA at 3-0.  The Friday match-up with Laurentian will also feature two of the top scorers in Canada, as Voyageur Kadre Gray is scoring 26.3 PPG (2nd in U SPORTS) and will work to outduel McMaster's Miles Seward who is 4th in the nation, scoring 25.0 PPG.  On Saturday, Nipissing will also pose a difficult test as the Lakers are 2 and 1 in early season play.  

The doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday will tip off with women's action at 6-pm, followed by the men's games at 8-pm.