ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland men's basketball team welcomes Youngstown State to the Athletics Center O'rena for the quarterfinals of the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+ with Neal Ruhl (play-by-play) and Dan Waterstradt (analyst) on call. Live stats and radio will also be provided.
Oakland earned the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Championship, which was selected using a formula considering four factors: League winning percentage, strength of schedule, weighting road wins vs. home wins and number of League games played.
OU secured a first-round bye in the Horizon League Championship due to a top-four placement in the bracket. The semifinals and championship will take place on March 8-9 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. Each round of the championship will re-seed with the highest-remaining seed matching up against the lowest-remaining seed until the championship games.
The Golden Grizzlies swept Youngstown State at home earlier this season. Jalen Moore posted consecutive double-doubles en route to averaging 24.5 points, 13 assists, and 3.5 steals in the series. The pair of performances led to Moore being named #HLMBB Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Daniel Oladapo and Rashad Williams scored in double figures in both games.
The two schools last met in the tournament during the 2018-19 season, where Oakland prevailed 88-84 over YSU to advance to the semifinals. Northern Kentucky cut OU's title run short in the semifinals.
The Penguins garnered the No. 6 seed in the bracket after finishing the regular season with a 14-11 overall record and 9-11 mark in conference play. YSU knocked out No. 11 seed UIC, 74-58, in the opening round of the tournament.
Oakland leads 19-9 in the overall series. Coach Greg Kampe and company have excelled at home with a record of 13-2, which includes a win in six of its last seven matchups versus YSU inside the O'rena.
Senior forward Naz Bohannon has paced YSU by averaging 16.6 points on 52-percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds per game. Two-time All-HL selection Darius Quisenberry has added 14.6 points and 2.9 assists per game in an injury-riddled junior campaign. Three Penguins tabbed All-Horizon League accolades, as Bohannon was selected to the Second Team, Garrett Covington was named to the All-Defensive Team, and Shemar Rathan-Mayes was named to the All-Freshman team.
Oakland has won 10 of their last 18 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), along with three schools top-50 in the current NCAA NET rankings. Eight of Oakland's 27 games have been against teams top-100 in the NET rankings.
The Horizon League Board of Directors announced that the 2021 Horizon League Basketball Championships will be played without fans for all rounds of the tournaments. Team pass lists and complimentary tickets will also be prohibited. The update follows the Board of Directors announcement on January 8 not to allow fans or team pass lists for the remainder of the basketball regular season and championships rounds hosted at the sites of the highest seeds.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Overall: Oakland leads 19-9
• At Home: 13-2
• At YSU: 6-6
• At Neutral: 0-1
• Current Streak: Oakland, 3
• Last Meeting: W, 81-74 (at the O'rena, 1/16/21)
• Series Note: Oakland has won six of its last seven home games vs. YSU
PLAYER NOTES
ALL-LEAGUE NODS
Jalen Moore,
Daniel Oladapo,
Micah Parrish, and
Trey Townsend earned Horizon League honors. The four selections were Oakland's most since the 2014-15 season. Moore (First Team) and Oladapo (Third Team) were selected to the All-League team, while Parrish and Townsend earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. All-League voting was done by the 12 head coaches in the conference.
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EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
Sophomore guard
Blake Lampman was one of six players named to the Horizon League's All-Academic Team voted on by the League's faculty athletics representatives. It marked the second-straight season Lampman received an HL accolade, as he was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2020. Lampman, a Marketing major, has been named to the Dean's List twice in his two-year career with the men's basketball program. Last fall, he earned a team-best 3.70 GPA.
RARE COMPANY
Oladapo exploded for 25 points and 20 rebounds, both career highs, in OU's series opener at Robert Morris (2/12). Oladapo joined rare company in program history, as Keith Benson was the last Golden Grizzly to post 20 or more points and rebounds in a single game (Austin Peay, 11/27/10). The Bladensburg, Md. native became the fifth player in NCAA Division I this season to record a 20-20 game against a D1 opponent and the 12th player in the country to record 20 or more rebounds in a single game. It marked the lone 20-20 performance from a player in the Horizon League, as well as the second 20-plus rebound game in the conference.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE SPECIALTY
Moore (nine) and Oladapo (eight) have combined for 17 out of Oakland's 21 double-doubles this season. Both have recorded double-doubles in the same game on three occasions. Entering Tuesday's matchup, there are only 30 Division I players in the nation with eight or more double-doubles. OU is the lone school with teammates among those 30 players. Furthermore, Moore holds the most double-doubles in the country by a player below 6-foot.
SHOW US MOORE
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 (17.8), assists per game (8.4), steals per game (1.8), free throw attempts (197), free throws made (154), and minutes per game (37:24). The Cloverdale, Ind. native has started 26-straight games and finds himself atop NCAA Division I rankings in several individual categories such as total assists (227), free throw attempts, free throw makes, and total minutes (1009:50). To add, Moore ranks top-15 nationally in assists per game (8.4 / second), triple-doubles (1 / third), total points (481 / fifth), and total steals (48 / 15th).
LEAVING HIS MARK
Moore is on the cusp of becoming 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. Cam Mack (Prairie View) leads Moore in the assists category by just 0.1 per game. Cameron Thomas (LSU) trails Moore by 11 free throws at 143.
1K CLUB
Rashad Williams is nearing 1,000 points in his collegiate career, as he currently sits at 955 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 15.5 points per game in his two-year career with the Golden Grizzlies spanning 40 games.* Kendrick Nunn arrived at OU with 1,018 career points.
RACKING THE ACCOLADES
The newcomer duo of Townsend and Parrish each won Horizon League Freshman of the Week twice during the regular season. Only three players in the conference managed to win the award two or more times. Northern Kentucky's Marques Warrick led the League by earning the award on eight occasions.
BUSY ON THE BOARDS
Oladapo has totaled 238 total rebounds, which ranks fourth in the country and first in the Horizon. He has been active on the offensive end, averaging 3.70 offensive boards per game, good for 10th nationally and first in the HL. Oladapo has grabbed 18 or more boards four times this season and is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game (second in the HL) through 20 conference matchups.
BREAKOUT YEAR FOR THE BIG MAN
Oladapo has scored in double-figures in 18 games this season, including 14 times in his last 15 games. More importantly, the junior forward has been efficient offensively, ranking first in the League in field goal percentage (61.5%) against conference opponents. His numbers at the free-throw line have also improved, as he is shooting 61.9% (52-of-84) in his previous 15 games compared to 40% (12-of-30) in his first 12 games.
TEAM NOTES
8-FOR-8
OU extended its streak with a First Team selection to eight seasons (2014-21). The streak is the longest among current Horizon League programs and tied for the second-longest in conference history behind Xavier (1986-95). An OU player has earned First Team honors 15-straight seasons dating back to its time in the Summit League.
OVERTIME MADNESS
The Golden Grizzlies reached overtime five times in the regular season, which was their most in a single season since the 2014-15 campaign. OU struggled with a 1-4 record in those overtime games, including two losses in double overtime. Parrish hit a game-winning bucket to seal a 77-75 win over Detroit Mercy (12/26) in Oakland's lone overtime triumph of the season.
TAKING WHAT'S OURS
Oakland ranks first in the Horizon League with 8.4 steals per game (29th nationally) and 227 total steals (second nationally). The Golden Grizzlies have tallied 10-plus steals in nine games and at least five in 25 of their 27 games.
Leaders in total steals:
Moore: 48 steals — 15th in the country — first in the HL
Parrish: 43 steals — 28th in the country — second in the HL
Townsend: 37 steals — 52nd in the country — third in the HL
ROAD SWEEPING
Oakland holds six in-conference road wins on the season, which is the third-most in the Horizon League 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. Oakland garnered its second series sweep on the road at Purdue Fort Wayne and concluded its road slate with series splits at Robert Morris and Milwaukee.
PASSING THE ROCK
Oakland ranks first in the conference with 16.2 assists per game through 20 Horizon League matchups. The Golden Grizzlies have also taken care of the ball, as they rank third among HL teams with a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio. OU has notched 20 or more assists in five games, including a season-high 25-assist output against Youngstown State (1/15).
FREE POINTS
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies rank third nationally in free throw attempts (556) and fourth in free throw makes (397). 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 76.6% (265-of-364) at the charity stripe in its last 17 games. OU has made over 80% of its free throws six times in the 17-game span and went a perfect 14-of-14 at the line versus Wright State (1/2).
