The Oakland men’s basketball team is currently in a position to win the Horizon League and earn a bye into the league tournament. However, they have been knocked around in nonconference play and have a lot to prove before that happens.
The Golden Grizzlies are a fascinating team that should be evaluated beyond the numbers. They have a negative point differential and are just one game out of fifth place in the conference, meaning they’re still in with a shot at a playoff spot.
The Golden Grizzlies
The Oakland men’s basketball program has a rich history. The Golden Grizzlies competed in the NCAA Division II for the first time in 1967, and they won their first conference championship in 1999. In addition to their college basketball program, they also have a men’s club ice hockey team that competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
The Golden Grizzlies have been a member of the Horizon League since 2013-14, and they are currently 11-15 overall and 9-4 in league play. They have a strong offense led by Jalen Moore, who leads the team in points per game at 17.7, and they are also good on the defensive end, as they give up just 76.5 points per game.
They have two double-digit scorers in Trey Townsend and Keaton Hervey, both of whom are averaging more than 16 points per game. They also have a player who is averaging more than nine assists per game, in Chris Conway.
This team has been careless with the ball, averaging more than eight turnovers in their last three games. However, they’re playing at home, so they should be able to keep this game close, and they should be able to make up for their mistakes with easy-scoring opportunities.
In their last game, they blew out Cleveland State 92-89 in overtime. They were able to do that by scoring 80 points in the second half, and they also got 13 points from Randy Tucker, who tied his career high.
The Panthers
The Panthers are a team in the Horizon League. They are based in Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and play their games at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The team is led by head coach Michael Seifert. He was named head coach in the fall of 2009.
In addition to Seifert, the team also has a number of other coaches. These include John Kasay, Sam Mills, and Michael Bates.
One of the biggest challenges for the team is that they are based in an area that is not known for its sports teams. This has been a challenge for the team, and it has caused them to lose a lot of games.
However, they have had success in recent years. In 2006, they were able to win the NFC South title.
They also defeated the New York Giants in a playoff game. In the process, they defeated a team that was considered to be the best in the NFL.
This was a major accomplishment, and it showed that they were on their way to becoming a very successful team.
The 2006 season started with a 23-0 shutout against the New York Giants. This was a big step in their path to winning the NFC Championship.
It was also the first time that the Panthers defeated a team from a different state, and it was a huge victory for the team. In addition, they won the Super Bowl for the second time in their history.
The Horizon League
The Horizon League has a rich basketball history with 19 championships (nine men’s and 10 women’s). It enjoys NCAA automatic qualification in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and tennis.
The conference was founded as the Midwestern City Conference in 1979 and expanded to include women’s athletics in the 1986-87 academic year. Charter members included Butler, Evansville, Loyola, Oral Roberts and Xavier.
Oakland has climbed the ladder to the top of the Horizon League in the past three seasons, culminating with a share of the regular season title and a one-seed in the conference tournament last year. This year, the Grizzlies are poised for even greater success as they return two of their leading scorers in Martez Walker and Jalen Hayes as well as Kendrick Nunn.
They also have a strong group of spot-up shooters in BJ Freeman, Kentrell Pullian and Justin Thomas. They led the Horizon League in 3-point shooting, and have a top-ten team in turnover margin.
Isaiah Brock has returned for another season as the Golden Grizzlies’ top defender. He pulled in more than six rebounds per game and had 72 blocks last season. He will log major minutes as a defensive anchor, especially given that junior center Brad Brechting will be sidelined for an extended period of time due to injury.
The Schedule
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies have a slew of high-profile conference games to look forward to in 2023 including the Horizon League showdown against UW-Milwaukee on the weekend. It’s also time to get down to business against the competition on home soil in a conference opener against the defending champion and local rival Detroit Mercy.
In terms of wins and losses, the Golden Grizzlies are in the thick of things as of late and will need to do a better job avoiding the traps that have plagued them all season long. Those aforementioned hoop hoggers are the culprits as well as some uncharacteristic foul trouble, not to mention the loss of their top two scorers in Keaton Hervey and Rocket Watts.
The biggest question is will they be able to maintain the winning way through the remainder of the Horizon League regular season and the postseason? The answer can be found in the latest installment of the Metro Series between UDM and Oakland. The aforementioned matchup will be an excellent opportunity for both programs to cement their place in the college basketball pecking order.
