This week's LSSU basketball slate includes two top-10 opponents and two All-Americans

SAULT STE. MARIE - Taking care of business at home is a priority for the Lake Superior State men's and women's basketball teams, who both hope to avenge early season road losses to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division opponents Findlay and Hillsdale. 

The LSSU women's team plays host to Findlay at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium, while the men's matchup with the undefeated and No. 1-ranked Oilers follows at 7:30 p.m. The Laker women and men take on Hillsdale at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, Saturday.

All four games will be broadcast live on WSOO 1230 AM. A pay-per-view video feed is available on the B2 Network.

The LSSU men's team (12-5 overall, 9-3 GLIAC) has won five straight and owns the GLIAC North Division's best record heading into this week. The Lakers face the South Division's best team, Findlay (16-0 overall, 12-0 GLIAC), which has owned the nation's No. 1 ranking throughout most of the year.

U-F, which beat LSSU 73-55 in early December, leads the GLIAC in scoring margin (+21.5) and average steals per game (10.5). It will be an interesting test for the Lakers, who are tied for third in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (11.5), but coughed up a season-high 19 turnovers in their loss to the Oilers. Findlay, by the way, is eighth nationally in that category at 12.0 tpg, fourth in scoring margin and ninth in field-goal percentage (.507).

LSSU, which is 1-13 all-time against the Oilers, leads the GLIAC in three-point field-goal percentage at .413, while U-F is second at .411. The teams are also neck-and-neck in average three-point field goals per game and three-point field-goal percentage defense, so the deciding factors may come down to stopping DII Bulletin Pre-Season Player of the Year and All-America senior forward Josh Bostic of Findlay and protecting the basketball.

The Oilers, coached by Ron Niekamp, own the nation's best Division II win percentage of .826 during the new millennium.

The LSSU men also hope to make up for an 85-67 loss at Hillsdale on Dec. 4. The Lakers trailed by only five points at halftime in the game, but allowed the Chargers to shoot 59.4 percent (19-of-32) in the second half. They have held opponents to 36 percent from the field in the second half during their five-game win streak.

The Hillsdale men (8-8 overall, 6-6 GLIAC) have won three straight since snapping a six-game losing streak.

The LSSU women (12-8 overall, 5-7 GLIAC) lost 60-57 at Findlay on Dec. 6 and 71-61 at Hillsdale on Dec. 4. The No. 7-ranked Chargers (15-2 overall, 10-2 GLIAC) are one of the league's top-scoring teams, averaging 75.9 points per game, while shooting 47 percent from the field. They also lead the league in rebound margin at +9.2 thanks to All-America senior Katie Cezat, who averages a GLIAC-leading 26.5 points and 16.3 rebounds per game.

In addition to featuring two nationally-ranked opponents and two All-Americans, this week's basketball slate in Cooper Gym includes the top three scorers in GLIAC women's basketball. LSSU senior Jaclyn Armstrong averages 17.2 points per game and is ranked second in scoring behind Cezat, while Findlay junior Audra Mihalic is third at 16.5 ppg. U-F's one-two punch also includes junior Jessica Vorst, who averages 13.7 ppg and 7.4 rebounds per game.