Ottawa BlackJacks and Saskatchewan Rattlers search for third straight win in matchup at TD Place

The Saskatchewan Rattlers (+130) and Ottawa BlackJacks (-182) will each look to extend their winning streaks to three games in a meeting at TD Place at 7:30 pm. ET on Thursday.

The game will be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

It’s the first matchup between the two teams this season, with a rematch scheduled for next Wednesday (July 5) at SaskTel Centre.

The BlackJacks enter Thursday’s contest clinging to first place in the Eastern Conference at 6-5, just 1.5 games ahead of fifth place Montréal.

Ottawa is coming off of back-to-back double-digit wins that included a 101-87 defeat of Niagara on Saturday and a 79-60 victory over Brampton on Tuesday. Ottawa was red-hot from beyond the arc against the River Lions, with Tyrrel Tate knocking down six of the team’s 14 threes in the win.

Star point guard Kadre Gray missed the game against Niagara with an injury, but reigning Canadian Player of the Year Caleb Agada made his BlackJacks debut with 17 points. Gray returned but Agada didn’t play in the BlackJacks’ 19-point win over defending champion Brampton on Tuesday.

Deng Adel’s 19 points led the way for Ottawa in the victory, while Thomas Scrubb contributed 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Adel ranks in the CEBL’s top 10 in points per game at 16.9 with Gray just behind him at 16.3. Both of the BlackJacks’ stars contribute in other ways as well. Gray is one of the CEBL’s best facilitators, averaging 6.7 assists per game which ranks second in the league. Meanwhile, Adel contributes 6.3 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game and 1.0 blocks per game in seven starts.

Five players (with at least three games played) average over 10 points per game for Ottawa just past their season’s midpoint. In addition to Adel and Gray, Thomas Scrubb, Jackson Rowe and Michael Flowers all average double figures, while Zena Edosomwan is not far behind at 9.7 points per game.

Ottawa’s offence has been efficient from the field all season. They’re first in the league in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage while ranking top-five in points per game, two-point percentage and assists. Their efficiency shooting the ball and finding teammates is only complicated by their 16.5 turnovers per game – tied with Calgary for worst in the league.

Despite Ottawa’s high-powered offence, it was the defence that led them to victory over the Honey Badgers. They held Brampton to just 60 points on 36 per cent shooting and will look for a repeat performance on Thursday.

However, Justin Wright-Foreman and the Rattlers are a tough assignment for any defence to handle. The Rattlers are entering the game on their first two-game winning streak of the season after defeating Scarborough 79-65 on Sunday and Montréal 88-79 on Wednesday.

Saskatchewan sits fifth in the Western Conference at 4-6 as they look to leapfrog Vancouver in the standings. The Rattlers are three games back of first-place Winnipeg and one game back of third-place Edmonton. In four games against the Eastern Conference this season, the Rattlers are 3-1.

However, Saskatchewan won’t be well rested for their visit to Ottawa after winning in Montréal just last night. Wright-Foreman was crucial in their back-to-back wins with 30 points against Scarborough and 33 against the Alliance. The league-leading scorer at 29.5 points per game has scored over 30 points in three of Saskatchewan’s four wins this season. Wright-Foreman has been ultra-efficient as well, shooting 50.3 per cent from the field, 46.2 per cent from three and 80.6 per cent from the line.

Outside of Wright-Foreman, the Rattlers are still searching for a consistent second option. Michael Nuga ranks second on the team with 13.2 points per game, while Malik Benlevi and Jermel Kennedy have each had games where they stepped up as secondary scorers. New acquisitions Trey Niemi and Quenton De Cosey will both look to contribute to the squad in the second half of the season, with Niemi averaging 10.5 points per game in a pair of appearances.

Whatever the final 10 games of the regular season have in store for the Rattlers, there’s a good chance long-range shooting will determine their success. The Rattlers shoot the three more than any other team in the league with 34.7 attempts per game at a 32.3 per cent rate. Saskatchewan also shoots fewer two-pointers than anyone else in the CEBL at 38 per game, while shooting 51 per cent.

Saskatchewan’s defence has also been a determining factor in their wins. The Rattlers allow 78.2 points per game in their wins and 91.5 points per game in their losses.

The Rattlers will look to shut down an effective Ottawa offence on Thursday night in the nation’s capital.

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.