ROCHESTER, Mich. – University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) will be in the Athletics Center O'rena on Saturday, January 29 against Oakland University Men's Basketball in Horizon League play for a 3:00 p.m. start. 

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INSIDE THE SERIES
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Overall: Oakland, 14-4
At Home: 5-2
On the Road: 8-2
Current Streak: Oakland, 1
Last Meeting: W, 81-77 (12/2/21)
Series Note: 

At 7-10 overall, 3-5 in the Horizon League, the Flames are currently riding a three game losing streak as it fell to University of Detroit Mercy at Callahan Hall Thursday by a score of 80-67. Oakland and UIC's previous match on December 2 resulted in a 81-77 finish in favor of the Golden Grizzlies. In that game, Trey Townsend hung 22 points while Jamal Cain recorded a double double with 19 points and ten rebounds. Jalen Moore tallied 10 assists. 

Damaria Franklin is leading the Flames in scoring with 17.5 per game with the team's highest average in rebounds with 7.4. Kevin Johnson has accumulated 85 assists through 17 games played for an average of five assists per game. UIC is 6th in scoring offense in the Horizon League with 70.4 points per game while standing 10th in defense, allowing 72.1 points per game for a margin of -1.8. 

Luke Yaklich has been in charge of the Flames squad since 2020, currently in his second season after going 9-13 in the 2021-21 campaign, falling to No. 6 seed Youngstown State University in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament. 

Cain is now averaging a double double again with 19.9 points and 10.0 rebounds while holding second on the team in steals with 33. Cain is third in the Horizon League in scoring with 359 points total through his 18 games played. 

Moore is still first in the nation in assists per game as the Cloverdale, Indiana native averages 8.3 per contest through his 18 games played with 149 total. Yuri Collins of Saint Louis has closed the gap, also averaging 8.3 assists per game in 157 total dishes. Moore averages 15 points per game as well as 4.3 rebounds per game, currently. 

Trey Townsend is 10th in the nation in minutes per game behind Moore in fourth with a 37 minute average, respectively. Townsend is now second on the squad in scoring with 15.5 points per game as the freshman is second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage with 54% (122-226). 

The team is shooting 41% (535-1212) from the field while going 29.6% (144-487) from deep as the group's free throw percentage at 79.9% (319-399) is now sixth in the entire nation from the charity stripe as the natural best Horizon League team in that category. 

Oakland still has the best scoring margin of any team in the Horizon League, averaging 76.7 points per game while limiting its opponents to 66.7 for a margin of 10.0. That's the best mark in the league by 4.3. Cain still sits third in scoring while the grad transfer retook the top spot in rebounding. 

The Golden Grizzlies are 95th, down from 93rd, in the NCAA NET rankings following Monday's win over University of Michigan-Dearborn. OU is 57th in the NCAA RPI according to CBS Sports.

Oakland was 15th in the January 24th edition of Mid-Major Top 25 Poll as voted on by mid-major tier coaches. The Golden Grizzlies were 12th in the previous poll. SB Nation's Mid-Major Madness ranked OU in a tie for 22nd in its most recent "The Other Top 25" on January 24.  

The Golden Grizzlies are now 102nd in kenpom.com rankings playing the 8th toughest out of conference schedule in the nation.

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NOTES

NATIONAL TALENT
Once again, Jamal Cain sees himself in the mix of national attention with the grad student from Pontiac in more than one category. 

Category - Place (Total/Average)
Double Doubles - Tied-20th (8)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game - 17th (6.94)
Rebounds Per Game - 13th (10.0)
Total Points - 32nd (359)

THE BEST IN THE NATION
Moore still sits first in the nation in assists with 8.3 per game in 18 games. Yuri Collins of Saint Louis also averages 8.3 a game but has one more game played, respectively. 

PRICE IS "MR. PERFECT"
According to Stats by STAT, Osie Price's 7-7 FG, 5-5 3PT, and 8-8 FT stat line from Oakland's game against University of Michigan-Dearborn makes him the only person in the last 20 years in the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Division men's and women's to finish 100% from the field with at least five attempts in each category. 

LAMPMAN FOR THREE
Blake Lampman is the team's leading three-point shooter with 38.3% (44-115) with Price just behind with 42 total attempts, knocking down 18 of those for 42.9%. 

MINISTER OF DEFENSE
Micah Parrish has 27 takeaways with four blocks total on the year from the Detroit native with an average of 6.2 rebounds and 10.1 point per game, respectively. 

LEADERS OFF THE BENCH
Price and Lampman lead the team in scoring while coming off the bench averaging 4.8 and 7.3 points per game, respectively. As previously mentioned for both of these individuals, Price is coming off a 100% shooting game against UM-Dearborn while Lampman leads the team in three-point shooting.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS
Oakland was slated 15th in the January 24th edition of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll as voted on by mid-major tier coaches. The Golden Grizzlies were 12th in the last poll on January 17. 

MITTEN TOSS GAME
Oakland University Athletics is hosting the OU-UIC game as its "Mitten Toss Game" rescheduled from earlier this season. Fans are asked to bring mittens to throw onto the court during halftime. All donations will be given to Grace Centers of Hope. 

UIC TO THE VALLEY
Saturday's opponent, UIC, announced on January 26 that it intends to join the Missouri Valley Conference effective July 1, 2022. 

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LAST FOUR

(vs) UM-Dearborn, January 24, W, 104-61 
Price shot 100% from the field in a historic fashion against the Wolverines of Michigan-Dearborn, finishing with a career high 27 points while Will Shepherd received the most minutes of his career to score 17. 

(at) Green Bay, January 22, W, 68-61
The team bounced back on their Wisconsin trip for a 68-61 win against the Phoenix at the Kress Center with Cain scoring the first 20-20 game since February of last season with 26 points and 21 rebounds for his eighth double double of the year. Townsend finished with his fifth 20-plus point performance with 23 along with Moore who had seven assists. 

(at) Milwaukee, January 20, L 88-78
The Golden Grizzlies dropped its first Horizon League game against the Panthers in UWM Panther Arena as Cain and Townsend led the team in scoring with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Moore sent out nine assists in the loss as the team shot 29-36 (80.6%) from the line.

(at) Purdue Fort Wayne, January 15, W 76-68
Oakland was forced to gut out a come-from-behind win against the Mastodons on Saturday, January 15 down 36-30 at the half before Moore sparked a second half takeover with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block to remain undefeated in Horizon League play as Cain recorded 18 points in 18 minutes of action.

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A SPECIAL FRIDAY NIGHT
Chris Conway's previous career high in points was two points ahead of OU's game with Ohio Christian. The Naperville, Illinois native earned his first career double double with 22 points and ten rebounds as Trey Townsend got his second double double of the year with 26 points (a career high) and 10 rebounds as well. Emmanuel Newsome made his first start of the season Friday as well tallying eight points, five rebounds, and a steal.

BATTLE IN LITTLE CAESARS ARENA
Moore tallied a double-double in the team's 90-78 loss to Michigan State University with 25 points and 11 assists to his name as Cain notched his second straight contest with 20 or more points, his sixth overall of the season. The squad shot 43.9% (25-57) from the field as the team faces its first, and albeit short, losing streak of the season at two games. 

FUN IN THE SUN
Oakland secured the Gulf Coast Showcase title with wins over Vermont, Rice, and Delaware. All three of OU's victories were decided by eight points or less. The tournament took place at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. and featured eight mid-major teams. The winner of the MTE has advanced to postseason play in six of its eight years of existence.

UPSET IN STILLWATER
The Golden Grizzlies earned a 56-55 victory at Oklahoma State in their second game of the season. Moore scored the final seven points for OU in the win. The upset was Oakland's 12th career win over a Power 5 program.

GOOD TO BE HOME
Oakland rolled past Toledo, 80-59, in its home opener at the Athletics Center O'rena. OU outscored Toledo 49-27 in the second half, which snapped a four-game losing skid to the Rockets. Cain exploded for 29 points, 17 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, while sophomore guard Blake Lampman had a career night, scoring 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from outside the arc. Moore had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. 

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.

NEW HOME FOR OAKLAND BASKETBALL
Oakland recently announced a partnership with Audacy that made 97.1 The Ticket HD3 and The Bet 1270AM (WXYT-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.

BACK FOR ANOTHER RUN
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 650 career wins rank 12th among active Division I coaches.

PUTTING OAKLAND ON THE MAP
Kampe joined Oakland in 1984 after six seasons as an assistant coach at Toledo (1978-1984). Formerly known as the Pioneers, OU had only six winning seasons in 16 years of competition before his arrival.