ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University Men's Basketball will face its first road test of the young 2022-23 season on Wednesday, November 16 against Toledo in Savage Arena at 7:00 pm on ESPN+ and on the Audacy App.

The Golden Grizzlies were defeated by Oklahoma State in the seventh-ever power five opponent to enter the Athletics Center O'rena 92-61 as transfers Keaton Hervey and Lorne Bowman had career days on The Blacktop with Hervey registering his first-ever double-double in a collegiate uniform while Bowman topped a best 14 points. 

Trey Townsend leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game while also leading the Horizon League in field goal percentage at 71.4% (20-28) while the Oxford native is also good for six rounds per game, second-best on the team to Hervey who comes in at 9.3. Jalen Moore has facilitated 6.5 assists per game with a season-high 18 points in the loss to Bowling Green on Friday.

In recent alum news, Jamal Cain scored his first professional bucket on November 12 against the Charlotte Hornets in one minute of action but knocked down a three-pointer off a steal for his first three points.

In the most latest edition of College Insider's Mid Major Top 25 poll, Toledo appeared fifth while future 2022-23 scheduled opponent and #HLMBB team Purdue Fort Wayne comes in at No. 24 on November 14. In Mid-Major Madness' poll, Toledo, Boise State, and Eastern Michigan were No.'s 8, 11, and receiving votes while a possible opponent (pending the outcome of the first round of the Nassau Championship) North Texas in at No. 13.

Moore was the lone Golden Grizzly named to the Preseason #HLMBB All-League Team honor with OU predicted fourth with two first-place votes in the preseason poll as Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky tied for the top honor. The Horizon League and ESPN released the annual wildcard selections for national telecasts with Oakland on four of the five potential selected dates, denoted on the team's schedule page and the game notes. 

Head Coach Greg Kampe enters his 39th season at the helm for Oakland University as the second-longest tenured coach in NCAA Division I basketball behind Jim Boeheim from Syracuse, who is in his 42nd season. Kampe has posted a 664-506 (56.8%) career record.

With the release of the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll, Oakland will not play a ranked opponent in non-conference play but will do battle with the No. 31 (Michigan State), No. 54 (Syracuse), No. 86 (Toledo), and No. 87 (Boise State) teams in the preseason KenPom rankings, respectively. 

The early signing period has come for OU as Aundre Polk will join the team on The Blacktop in the fall of 2023. Polk is a former MAC All-Freshman Team member at Central Michigan.

SCOUTING REPORT

TOLEDO
Coming off the Rockets' 93-85 win over UAB in the Bar Stool Sports Invitational in Philadelphia, RayJ Dennis earned Mid-American Conference Player of the Week with a career-high 23 points while averaging six assists per game and two steals per game as Toledo also defended home court against Valparaiso in a 85-70 win. 

Toledo shot 53.1% (34-64) from the field in the win in Philadelphia to edge the Blazers in that category alone, getting out-rebounded along with holding steady with UAB in all other categories for a *mostly* even game. This makes Dennis the team's leading scorer at 23.0 points per game while Setric Millner Jr. leads the blue and gold in rebounds per game at 7.5 while also putting up 18 points a contest through the first two games played.

The Rockets will travel to Estero, Florida for a holiday multi-team event from November 21-23 starting off with the Roos of Kansas City in the Gulf Coast Showcase. If this sounds familiar, Oakland won the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase tournament with wins over Vermont, Rice, and Delaware in the Championship. 

With its name appearing in the receiving votes category in both the most recent Associated Press and Coaches Top 25 Polls, Toledo will be the first opponent Oakland will play this year with a ranking accolade to its name.

 

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DA-DA-DA  DA-DA-DA
Moore and Hervey connected from a steal for the off-the-glass slam by the grad transfer from Missouri State for the team's first #SCTop10 of the 2022-23 season, coming in at No. 10 in the daily ESPN show on October 20.

NEW FACES
The Golden Grizzlies welcome in four transfers, two from the power five-level, Rocket Watts (Mississippi State), Lorne Bowman (Wisconsin), Keaton Hervey (Missouri State), and Chuol Deng (Hill College). Three freshmen join the new class Cooper Craggs, Dominic Capriotti, and Evan Solomon.

NEW HEAT IN MIAMI
Oakland's own Jamal Cain has earned a contract with the Miami Heat for the upcoming season wearing No. 8. Cain is just the latest active Golden Grizzly in the NBA with Kendrick Nunn, a regular part of the Los Angeles Lakers rotation.

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 2022-23 basketball season. 

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 and the Greg Kampe Radio Show.

BACK FOR ANOTHER RUN
Kampe enters his 39th season at the helm of the Oakland men's basketball program. He is the second-longest tenured active coach in Division I, only behind Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 45 seasons). Kampe's 664 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.