COVERAGE
BROADCAST: Big Ten Network |
TALENT: Cory Provus (pxp) and Shon Morris (analyst) |
RADIO: WDFN-AM (1130), iHeart Radio app |
TALENT: Neal Ruhl
ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Oakland men's basketball will take on its second-straight Power-5 opponent by traveling to No. 8 Michigan State Friday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. inside the Breslin Center. The game will be aired live on Big Ten Network and fans can also listen on WDFN-AM (1130) or with the iHeart Radio app.
Last time out, the Golden Grizzlies dropped a hard-fought road contest at Georgia 81-69 on Dec. 18.
INSIDE THE SERIES
NOTES
- As a program, Oakland has a total of 10 wins against teams that hail from Power-5 conferences (most recent: 74-69 at Clemson on March 14, 2017 in the NIT.
- The Golden Grizzlies have faced a ranked opponent in every season except one (2005-06).
- Oakland's two top-25 wins came against No. 23 Oregon (68-62) at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Dec. 22, 2007, and at No. 7 Tennessee (89-82) on Dec. 14, 2010 inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Golden Grizzlies lead the Horizon League in six different categories, all of which rank inside the NCAA's top-10: total assists (second; 226), assist-to-turnover ratio (fifth; 1.69), three-point field goal percentage (seventh; 42 percent), total three-pointers (eighth; 131), three-pointers per game (10th; 10.9) and assists per game (10th; 18.8)
- The Golden Grizzlies also rank 24th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.1; second in the Horizon League).
- The Golden Grizzlies (226) and Spartans (225) rank second and third respectively in the NCAA in assists. Oakland and Michigan State also each rank inside the NCAA's top-10 in assists per game (MSU 4th, 20.5; OAK 10th, 18.8).
- Both teams have proven to be dangerous from beyond the arc this season as they rank in the NCAA top-25 in three-point field goal percentage (OAK 7th, 42 percent; MSU 23rd, 39 percent).
- Michigan State Associate Head Coach Dwayne Stephens was an assistant for two seasons (1997-99) under Greg Kampe.
- Spartans assistant coach Dane Fife was the head coach for six seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne and was a Summit League foe with Oakland for four seasons. During his tenure, Oakland went 8-2 against Fife and the Mastodons.
#WEARtheBEAR
