ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland men's basketball team welcomes Eastern Michigan to the Athletics Center O'rena on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. for a charity exhibition game. All tickets are $10, and the proceeds will go to Covenant Academy, a COVID-relief organization. The matchup will air on ESPN+ with Neal Ruhl (play-by-play) and Rex Walters (analyst) on call. Live stats will also be provided. 

Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

SERIES HISTORY

---

• Overall: EMU leads 10-7
• At Home: 4-3
• At EMU: 3-7
• At Neutral: 0-0
• Current Streak: Oakland, 1
• Last Meeting: W, 86-81 (at the O'rena, 12/22/17)
• Series Note: The programs have faced off 10 times in regular-season play since 2006 

EMU leads the overall series, 10-7. However, OU has won two of the last three matchups. Both wins came in front of a home crowd at the O'rena. The teams met twice during the 2017-18 season in a home-and-home series. EMU won the opener 95-89, but Oakland returned with an 86-81 victory at home. Jalen Hayes posted a career-high 37 points on 14-of-21 shooting in the win. Current Los Angeles Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn scored 20 points and added six assists. 

History was made against Eastern Michigan during the 2009-10 season when Keith Benson, a junior at the time, tied his own single-game school record with eight blocks. The record stands to this date, as he also registered eight blocks at South Dakota State in the same year. 

PLAYING FOR A PURPOSE

---

All ticket proceeds from Thursday's exhibition will go to Covenant Academy, a Health Care Education training school that assists in filling the critical health care professional shortage in Michigan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read more about the charity. 

The Golden Grizzlies last played in a Charity Game during the 2017-18 preseason against another in-state foe in Central Michigan. Oakland rolled past the Chippewas, 108-88, led by Nunn with 40 points and 10 rebounds. Ticket proceeds went to the American Red Cross to aid recent hurricane victims.

NOTES

---

PRESEASON POLL
Oakland was projected to finish sixth in the 2021-22 Horizon League Preseason Poll, which was voted by the league's 12 head coaches, media members, and men's basketball media contacts throughout the conference. 

FIRST TEAM HONORS
Junior point guard Jalen Moore earned preseason accolades, as he was named to the all-league first team. Last season, the Cloverdale, Ind., native averaged 17.9 points, 8.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals en route to NABC All-District First Team honors and a spot on the Horizon League First Team. Moore led NCAA Division I in assists per game and total assists (252) while also tallying a team-leading 10 double-doubles, the most in the country by a player below 6-foot.

KEY RETURNEES
The Golden Grizzlies return 62-percent of their scoring from a year ago, including three starters in Moore, Trey Townsend, and Micah Parrish. OU also brings back sixth Zion Young, former HL All-Freshman Team recipient Blake Lampman, Chris Conway, and Emmanuel Newsome.

I'M COMING HOME
Jamal Cain transferred to Oakland after four years with the Marquette basketball program. The nearby Pontiac, Mich., native played in 119 career games, including 29 starts with the Golden Eagles. Last season, Cain averaged 9.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 25 starts. He posted a career-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Marquette's 64-60 victory at Georgetown (1/2/21) and added double-doubles against Oklahoma State (12/1/20) and Butler (2/17/21). 

BACK FOR ANOTHER RUN
Head coach Greg Kampe enters his 38th season at the helm of the Oakland men's basketball program. He is the third-longest tenured active coach in Division I, only behind Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 45 seasons) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke, 41 seasons). Kampe's 644 career wins rank 12th among active Division I coaches. 

EARLY TESTS
Oakland's non-conference schedule features four NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago and a multi-team exempt event (MTE). The Golden Grizzlies open the regular season at West Virginia on Nov. 9.

LCA AWAITS
The Golden Grizzlies and Michigan State Spartans will meet on Dec. 21 at Little Caesars Arena. The two programs faced off at Little Caesars Arena in 2017 and 2019. Over 18,000 spectators have been in attendance for both games. In 2017, the matchup drew the largest crowd in the history of Little Caesars Arena at the time, with 20,695 in attendance.

HL SLATE
Each HL team will play a 22-game double round-robin schedule. Oakland's conference schedule gets underway on Dec. 2 at UIC. The Golden Grizzlies conclude their conference slate with a five-game home stand.

NEW RADIO FOR OAKLAND BASKETBALL
Oakland recently announced a partnership with Audacy that made 97.1 The Ticket HD3 and The Bet 1270AM (WXTY-AM) the official radio providers for the department. With this new partnership, 97.1 The Ticket HD3 and The Bet 1270AM (WXTY-AM) will provide coverage for all Oakland men's basketball games as well as the Greg Kampe Radio Show. 

GET YOUR TICKETS
Season tickets can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling (248) 370-4000 or emailing outickets@oakland.edu. Single-game tickets and mini-plans are also available for the 2021-22 basketball season. Click here for more information.