The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team will welcome the No. 9 nationally ranked Ontario Tech Ridgebacks to Goldring Centre on Saturday (Feb. 24) night for an OUA quarter-final showdown.

U of T enter the quarter-final round after finishing as the top team in the OUA Central division with a 14-8 (W-L) regular season record. The Blues run to a first round playoff bye was achieved by an impressive run to close out the season, winning six of their final seven games, including victories over nationally ranked opponents like Laurier and Ottawa. During the late season run to the top of their division, Toronto's defence has been daunting, holding opponents to under 75 points scored in each of their final six wins. The strong defensive play has allowed for offence in transition, where the Blues have capitalized on points from turnovers, and combined with controlling the offensive glass averaging over 12 offensive rebounds per game, Toronto finished as the third most proficient offence in the province this season.

Meanwhile, Ontario Tech have put together a historic run qualifying for the OUA postseason for the first time in their short program history. Achieving a national ranking for the first time as well, the Ridgebacks finished third in the OUA East division with a 16-6 record overall. From there, they knocked off the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a first round playoff match-up earlier this week to earn their spot in the quarter-final round. Ontario Tech put together their own win streak of six games through late January and into February. The Ridgebacks have been one of the most impressive shooting offences this season, converting over 45 percent of their field goal attempts to rank among the top three in the province in shooting percentage.

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 24 | 8 p.m.
Goldring Centre - Kimel Family Field House
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Live Stats
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2023-24 STAT LEADERS
Toronto
Points per game: Callum Baker | 23.4 ppg
Rebounds per game: Anthony Daudu | 9.0 rpg
Assists per game: Callum Baker | 3.9 apg
Blocks per game: Anthony Daudu | 1.0 bpg
Steals per game: Callum Baker | 1.6 spg

Ontario Tech
Points per game: Keon Baker | 19.0 ppg
Rebounds per game: Keon Baker | 5.3 rpg
Assists per game: Zubair Seyed | 3.0 apg
Blocks per game: Tombe Pitia | 1.3 bpg
Steals per game: Keon Baker | 2.4 spg

HISTORY
Last Five:
Jan. 17, 2024 | Toronto 94, Ontario Tech 68
Dec. 2, 2022 | Toronto 90, Ontario Tech 81
Mar. 6, 2022 | Toronto 79, Ontario Tech 61
Mar. 2, 2022 | Toronto 98, Ontario Tech 74
Nov. 23, 2019 | Toronto 97, Ontario Tech 82