A mid-season clash of the titans will take place in downtown St. Catharines next month.

The Carleton Ravens, ranked first in the country for men’s basketball, and the second-ranked, undefeated Brock Badgers will face each other at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Meridian Centre. It’s part of a basketball doubleheader that will also see the two schools’ women’s teams battle it out starting at 6 p.m.

The games continue what has become a tradition of Brock University taking its exciting varsity sports action downtown, but the men’s game between the Badgers and Ravens could be a preview of the national championships.

Carleton won its seventh-consecutive national title in 2016-17, defeating the Badgers in the Ontario University Athletics semifinals along the way. But with a combination of talented returning veterans and some strong recruits, the Badgers are off to an impressive start this season. On Wednesday night, Brock improved to a perfect 5-0 by handing the Ryerson Rams their first loss at home since 2014. It solidified the Badgers’ No. 2 ranking in the country and sets up the Dec. 2 game against No.1 Carleton.

On the women’s side, the Carleton Ravens are the defending Critelli Cup Ontario champions and have started the season with a 2-0 record. The Badgers women’s team are off to a 2-3 start on the season.

Tickets for the doubleheader at the Meridian Centre went on sale Thursday, Nov. 9 on Ticketmaster online with prices set at $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and youth and $35 for courtside. A limited number of free tickets for Brock students will become available starting Monday, Nov. 27.