2024-25 OUA basketball schedules tip off with October 24th tilts

Burlington, Ont. – Heading back to the hardwood, the 2024-25 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) basketball seasons tip off on October 24th, 2024.

2024-25 OUA Women’s Basketball Schedule
2024-25 OUA Men’s Basketball Schedule

Taking centre stage on opening night are the Brock Badgers and Guelph Gryphons, with the former playing host to the year’s first regular season entries. The days that follow will be filled with plenty more season debuts on the court, with another 15 games headlining opening weekend.

Among those initial efforts are those from the reigning champions, with the two-time defending Critelli Cup victors – the Carleton Ravens – hosting the Western Mustangs on October 25th, and the Wilson Cup winning Queen’s Gaels commencing their title defence on the road against Guelph the following day.

The Gaels will take to their own court – which housed the iconic championship-winning buzzer beater to cap off the 2023-24 OUA campaign – for the first time on November 1st when they welcome Windsor.

The Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees will renew their cross-town rivalry, one that was also featured in the women’s semifinals just a few months ago, to close out the fall slate on December 4th. Their marquee Capital Hoops clash, meanwhile, will headline the festivities on February 7th in the second last week of regular season play.

Before that, however, teams from across the province return to action for the winter semester as part of the Week 7 window. McMaster and York will hit the road to play Guelph and Brock, respectively, on January 8th, with another 14 games to follow throughout the rest of that early January weekend.

Championship rematches to watch out for as part of the 2024-25 slate include the Wilson Cup finalists – Queen’s and Brock – linking up towards the end of the regular season on January 25th in the Limestone City. The Critelli Cup combatants, the Gaels and Ravens, will then hit the hardwood the following week for a rematch of the last two OUA finales, with the former heading to the Raven’s Nest on February 1st.

Last season also saw several sensational quests for the cup matchups along the way to those iconic trophies being hoisted, and those next meetings should be circled on the calendar once again.

Among them on the men’s side are the November 27th game between the Badgers and Western Mustangs, who were separated by just three points in their recent semifinal clash, as well as the Gaels and Toronto Varsity Blues (November 22nd), who went to double overtime to find a winner in their semifinal a year ago. The round prior, the Blues ended the inaugural playoff run for the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in a thrilling quarterfinal, and the next chapter of that budding rivalry will be added the following day on November 23rd.

The Gaels and TMU Bold, who collided in a Critelli Cup semifinal last year, will link up on January 24th of the new year. And the Waterloo Warriors, who quarreled in an exciting quarterfinal clash a season ago with victorious Ottawa, will get an early chance at revenge with a November 2nd meeting at home.

The 12-week regular season wraps up with eight games on February 15th, at which point sights will then be set on the postseason push, which tips off just a few days later.

Opening round games will take place on February 19th, with quarterfinals to follow on February 22nd. A week later, the semifinal squads on each side will battle in the penultimate set of games, before the Critelli Cup and Wilson Cup each get awarded on March 8th, 2025.