ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland men's basketball team closes out the regular season with a four-game road swing that begins at Robert Morris on Feb. 12-13 for games at 7 p.m. (Friday) and 5 p.m. (Saturday). Fans can listen to Neal Ruhl for both games on 106.7 WLLZ H2-3 and the iHeart Radio App. The weekend series will stream on ESPN3 with Chris Shovlin (play-by-play) and Jim Elias (analyst) on call.
The weekend series will mark the first in-conference meeting between the two programs, as RMU enters its inaugural season in the Horizon League.
The Golden Grizzlies hold a 4-0 advantage in the overall series. The two schools last faced on Dec. 10, 2016, where Oakland won on the road, 74-53. The trio of Jalen Hayes (16 points), Stevie Clark (13 points), and Martez Walker (13 points) scored in double-figures in the victory.
Three of OU's four matchups against the Colonials have been on the road. The Golden Grizzlies have won by an average margin of 21 points in those three games.
Robert Morris opened the season 2-1 in conference play, but an eight-game skid has dropped the Colonials to 12th in the HL standings at 2-9. RMU has played 14 games this season, which is the second-fewest total in the conference. Nine of their games, including four in the HL canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Colonials are under the direction of Andrew Toole, who is in his 11th year with the program. RMU has reached the NCAA Tournament twice (2015, 2020) and six national postseason tournaments in Toole's tenure.
The Golden Grizzlies have won eight of their last 14 games after an 0-9 start to the season. OU's 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 four schools top-50 in the current NCAA NET rankings. Eight of Oakland's 23 games have been against teams top-100 in the NET rankings.
For the second-straight week, Oakland sits third in the #HLMBB Championship Seedings. Cleveland State and Wright State rank first and second while Northern Kentucky is right behind OU in fourth place. Due to the unbalanced nature of schedules across the conference, the championship will be seeded utilizing a formula that considers four factors: League winning percentage, strength of schedule, weighting road wins vs. home wins, and number of League games played.
The HL unveiled its bracket for the 2021 Horizon League Basketball Championships two weeks ago. The first round will feature the teams placing fifth through 12th competing on campus at the highest-available seeds on Thursday, Feb. 25. The top-four teams in the regular season will receive a bye to the quarterfinals to host the winners of the first round. The semifinals and championship will take place on March 8-9 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Overall: Oakland leads 4-0
• At Home: 1-0
• At Robert Morris: 3-0
• At Neutral: 0-0
• Current Streak: Oakland, 4
• Last Meeting: W, 74-53 (at RMU, 12/10/16)
• Series Note: Oakland has won by an average margin of 17.2 points
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 (18.7), assists per game (8.0), steals per game (1.9), free throw attempts (169), free throws made (128), and minutes per game (36:44). The Cloverdale, Ind. native has started 22-straight games and finds himself atop NCAA Division I rankings in several individual categories such as assists per game, total assists (185), free throw attempts, free throw makes, and total minutes (844:59). To add, Moore ranks top-10 nationally in triple-doubles (1 / second), total points (429 / second), and total steals (44 / 10th).
LEAVING HIS MARK
Moore is on pace to become the first NCAA Division I player in the last 36 years to lead the nation in assists per game and free throws made in a single season. Colbey Ross (Pepperdine) and Kendric Davis (SMU) are closest to Moore averaging 7.6 assists per game. Cameron Thomas (LSU) trails Moore by 15 free throws at 113.
1K CLUB
Rashad Williams is nearing 1,000 points in his collegiate career, as he currently sits at 889 points. He would become the fourth transfer player to reach 1,000 points while at Oakland and the first since
Martez Walker in 2017. The junior guard began his career at Cleveland State, where he averaged 10.8 points per game as a freshman. Williams has averaged 15.4 points per game in his two-year career with the Golden Grizzlies spanning 36 games.
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Kendrick Nunn arrived at OU with 1,018 career points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SPECIALTY
Moore (eight) and
Daniel Oladapo (five) have combined for 13 out of Oakland's 16 double-doubles this season. Both have recorded double-doubles in the same game on two occasions. Entering this weekend, there are only 74 Division I players in the nation with five or more double-doubles. Only two schools have teammates among those 74 players - Oakland (Moore and Oladapo) and Georgia (Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler). Moore, who ranks 14th nationally with eight double-doubles, is one of two players (Wheeler) below 6-foot on the list.
FINDING HIS SHOT
Zion Young struggled through the first 15 games of the season, averaging 6.2 points per game while shooting 27% (30-of-112) from the field and 28% (20-of-70) on 3-point attempts. The junior transfer has bounced back with four performances in double-figures in his last eight games, including a season-high 28 points against Detroit Mercy (1/22). Young averaged 16.0 points per game on 38% shooting from the 3-point line in OU's last series versus CSU.
BREAKOUT YEAR FOR THE BIG MAN
Oladapo has scored in double-figures in 14 games this season, including 10 times in his last 11 games. More importantly, the junior forward has been efficient offensively, ranking second in the League in field goal percentage (59.5%) against conference opponents. His numbers at the free-throw line have also improved, as he is shooting 66% (37-of-56) in his previous 11 games compared to 40% (12-of-30) in his first 12 games.
MR. CONSISTENCY
Micah Parrish has transformed into one of Oakland's most consistent performers with the final stretch of the season in sight. The freshman forward has shot above 50% in 11 of his last 13 games and has scored in double-figures in four-straight games. He recently notched his first double-double as a Golden Grizzly with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Cleveland State (2/5). On the defensive end, Parrish ranks second on the team in steals per game (1.7) and has recorded three-plus steals in four of his last five games.
TEAM NOTES
TAKING WHAT'S OURS
Oakland ranks first in the Horizon League with 8.6 steals per game (26th nationally) and 197 total steals (second nationally). The Golden Grizzlies have tallied 10-plus steals in eight games and at least five in 21 of their 23 games.
Leaders in total steals:
Moore: 44 steals — 10th in the country — first in the HL
Parrish: 37 steals — 20th in the country — second in the HL
Townsend: 32 steals — 53rd in the country — third in the HL
PASSING THE ROCK
Oakland has averaged a league-best 16.31 assists per game through 16 Horizon League matchups. The Golden Grizzlies have also taken care of the ball, as they rank first among HL teams with a 1.31 assist-to-turnover ratio. OU has notched 20 or more assists in three games, including a season-high 25-assist output against Youngstown State (1/15).
FREE POINTS
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank seventh nationally in free throw attempts (454) and free throw makes (321). However, the Golden Grizzlies shot 63% (132-of-210) at the free-throw line in their first ten games, including just two games above 70%. Oakland has turned it around by shooting 78% (151-of-192) at the charity stripe in its last 11 games. OU has made over 80% of its free throws six times in the 11-game span and went a perfect 14-of-14 at the line versus Wright State (1/2).
FEBRUARY SUCCESS
The Golden Grizzlies have been successful in February over the last 10 seasons (2009-present) with an overall record of 68-25 (.731). Oakland twice went undefeated in February (2010, 2017) over the 10-year stretch while concluding the month with a losing record only once (2014).
ROAD SWEEPING
Oakland has swept two schools on the road this season, which is the third-most in the conference behind Cleveland State and Wright State. OU closed 2020 with two wire-to-wire victories against Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall, where Williams and Parrish each scored game-winning buckets on the weekend. Oakland coasted to consecutive wins in its last road series at Purdue Fort Wayne.
