ROCHESTER, Mich. — Oakland travels West to face conference foe Green Bay on Jan. 8-9 inside the Kress Center. Both games are set for a 5 p.m. ET tip-off and will air on ESPN+. Neal Ruhl will call the action on 106.7 WLLZ and the iHeart Radio App. The weekend series is presented by Henry Ford Health System.
The Golden Grizzlies last faced Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Horizon League Championship. The Phoenix ended Oakland's season with a 78-63 victory. Current Grizzlies Rashad Williams (15 points), Kevin Kangu (11 points), Daniel Oladapo (10 points), and Blake Lampman (10 points) scored in double-figures in the loss.
This weekend will mark the 22nd and 23rd career meeting between the two schools. The Phoenix is slightly ahead in the overall series, 12-9. The Golden Grizzlies last knocked off Green Bay on the road during the 2016-17 season, where the storied duo of Jalen Hayes (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Sherron Dorsey-Walker (19 points) led Oakland to a 85-72 win.
Green Bay opened its season 0-9 overall and 0-5 in conference play under first-year head coach Will Ryan. The Phoenix garnered their first victory of the season last Saturday in a 79-69 win over Youngstown State.
Oakland faced similar struggles near the beginning of the season with an 0-9 start. The Golden Grizzlies non-conference schedule featured four-straight Power-5 schools in Michigan (11/29), Purdue (12/1), Oklahoma State (12/5), and Michigan State (12/13) and five schools top-50 in the current NCAA NET rankings. Seven of Oakland's 13 games have been against teams top-100 in the NET rankings.
The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a series split against preseason favorite Wright State, who rode a six-game winning streak into the matchup. Oakland fell big in the series opener but bounced back to take the second game, 81-71.
Oakland has won three of its last four games for its best winning stretch this season. An ability to close out tight games has been showcased, as all three wins have been decided by 10 or fewer points. The squad has also outscored opponents in the second half of each win.
The Golden Grizzlies sit seventh in the HL standings at 3-3. Cleveland and UIC are the only schools undefeated in conference action at 6-0 and 2-0, respectively. Oakland is one of six schools in the League who have played six conference games to date. The remaining half of the conference has logged between two-to-four games due to cancellation or postponement.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Phoenix lead 12-9
• At Home: 6-4
• At Green Bay: 3-8
• At Neutral: 0-0
• Current Streak: Green Bay, 1
• Last Meeting: L, 78-63, HL quarterfinals (at Resch Center, 3/5/20)
• Series Note: Oakland's last road win over GB was on 2/24/17
PLAYER NOTES
SHOW US MOORE
Jalen Moore has put on a show in his first year sporting a Golden Grizzly uniform. The junior transfer leads the team in points per game (16.8), assists per game (6.8), steals per game (2.15), free throw attempts (98), free throws made (68), and minutes per game (35:14). The Cloverdale, Ind. native has started 12-straight games and finds himself atop NCAA Division I rankings in several individual categories such as total assists (88), free throw attempts (98), and total minutes (458:02). Moore is seventh nationally in total steals (28) and ninth nationally in total points (219).
SECOND CHANCES
The trio of Daniel Oladapo, Trey Townsend, and Micah Parrish has shown an ability to attack the glass, especially on the offensive end. Oladapo has led the way averaging 3.9 offensive rebounds per game. The second-year starter has totaled five-plus offensive boards in five games and at least one in 12 games. Townsend has only reached five-plus offensive boards once, but it came at an opportune time in the second half of Oakland's win versus Wright State (1/2). The freshman has used his length to block a team-leading 13 shots as well. Another freshman in Parrish has tabbed five-plus offensive rebounds in three games, including a season-best six at Xavier (11/25). Parrish has recorded 33 defensive rebounds compared to 28 offensive.
DON'T LET RASHAD GET HOT
After playing limited minutes at Purdue and missing the Bradley game due to injury, Rashad Williams scored a game-high 32 points, recording a career-best 10 triples at Oklahoma State (12/5). Williams had 22 field goal attempts on the day, with 20 of them coming from behind the arc. Williams' 20 triple attempts were a school record, surpassing Kendrick Nunn's 19 at Green Bay (12/20/17). The Detroit native's 10 3-pointers put him second in program history. Williams led the Golden Grizzlies with a season-high 36 points at No. 4 Michigan State (12/13). For the second-straight game, Williams was hot from long range, going 8-of-17 from downtown. He scored 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep in Oakland's last game versus Wright State (1/2). On the season, Williams has converted a league-high 38 three-pointers (fourth nationally).
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Golden Grizzlies return one lone senior to this year's squad in Kevin Kangu. Kangu appeared in all 33 games last season, making 18 starts, leading Oakland in assists (114), and averaging 5.1 points per game. He has begun to catch heat this season after a slow start, as the Ontario, Canada native has tallied a steal in five-straight games and a 3-pointer in three-straight games.
TEAM NOTES
EXPERIENCE GROWING
Only four players (Kangu, Lampman, Newsome, Oladapo) on Oakland's 13-man roster have a full season of playing experience with the Golden Grizzlies. The remaining nine players are either freshman or transfers. Second-year transfer Rashad Williams missed the first half of the 2019-20 season before being named eligible in mid-January 2020. The nine Golden Grizzly newcomers have accounted for 81.8% of offense despite their inexperience in coach Kampe's offense.
FINDING A GROOVE
Oakland has started with Moore, Oladapo, Parrish, Townsend, and Williams for eight-straight games. The lineup has produced a record of 3-5. The starting five have accounted for 70% or higher of scoring in five of their six games together. The group combined for a season-high 73 points (90% of offense) in Oakland's last game against WSU(1/2).
SHOOTING FROM DEEP
The Golden Grizzlies have launched 370 3-pointers through 11 games, which is second-most in Division I. Oakland has converted on 29.5% (109-for-370) of its attempts. Williams is pacing the team with an NCAA-high 117 three-point attempts. Zion Young is second on the team in attempts (69) and makes (20).
TAKING WHAT'S OURS
Oakland ranks first in the Horizon League with 9.5 steals per game (17th nationally) and 124 total steals (second nationally). The Grizzlies have tallied 10-plus steals in five games and at least six in all 13 games.
INCREASED SCORING
Oakland has scored 70-plus points in seven of its last eight games with an average of 74.9 per game. The Golden Grizzlies reached the 70-point plateau just once in the first five games, averaging 56.6 per game.
HUG GOES VIRAL
A moment between Kampe and Moore hugging was caught on camera in the final minutes of Oakland's come-from-behind victory over Wright State last Saturday. Since posted on Twitter @OaklandMBB, the clip has garnered over 136,000 views and 1,800 likes. In response to the moment, coach Kampe tweeted, "Can't tell you how proud of my young men and my coaching staff I am. My only regret from yesterday was that the Grizz Gang couldn't be there to enjoy that day. The Grizz Gang knows I enjoy a good HUG now and then."
Watch the video
