ROCHESTER, Mich. – The regular season finale of Oakland University Men's Basketball comes to the Athletics Center O'rena on Saturday, February 26 with Horizon League top seed Cleveland State at 3:00 p.m.
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INSIDE THE SERIES
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Overall: Oakland, 12-11
At Home: 6-5
On the Road: 6-4
Current Streak: Oakland, 1
Last Meeting: W, 70-65 (1/13/2022)
Series Note: OU looks for season sweep over CSU
After clinching at least a share of the Horizon League crown, the Vikings stumbled in Calihan Hall against Detroit Mercy on Thursday night 74-67. The last time Oakland and CSU met on the hardwood, the Golden Grizzlies edged out the green and white in Cleveland as Trey Townsend tallied 20 points.
D'Moi Hodge leads the Vikings in scoring with 15.7 points per contest as Deante Johnson acts as a complement with 6.6 boards per game. The Cleveland State offense has taken over as the top offense in the Horizon League at 76.3 points per game with a conference-best maring of 6.6.
Jamal Cain had his 14th double double on Thursday night with 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead the team with an average of 20.1 and 10.1 points and rebounds, respectively. Cain's 14 double doubles are good enough for 13th in the NCAA.
Cain will be honored Saturday for senior day with pregame and post game ceremonies.
Through February 24th's games, Jalen Moore is second in the nation in assists per game at 8.1 coming off a six assist performance in Thursday's loss. Moore is also second on the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game.
Cain is second in the Horizon League in points per game but still leads in rebounding. Townsend is second in the league in field goal percentage at 53.% (157-296) with Moore leading in assists by a large margin.
Blake Lampman was named Horizon League All-Acadmic for the second-straight year on Thursday.
As of February 25, Oakland is 162nd in the latest NCAA NET Rankings with a 1-3 quad one mark, 10-5 in quad four. The Golden Grizzlies stay steady in the NCAA RPI Rankings according to CBS Sports at 130th.
Oakland is now receiving votes in College Insider's Mid Major Top 25, falling out of the rankings from 18th last week.
The Golden Grizzlies are now 173rd in kenpom.com rankings playing the 14th 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) // NCAA Last Updated Feb 25
Double Doubles - 13th (14)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game - 19th (7.04)
Rebounds Per Game - 13th (10.1)
ONE THE BEST IN THE NATION
Moore is second in the NCAA in assists per game at 8.1 with a total of 219. Moore is just shy of Yuri Collins of Saint Louis in first. Moore was the 2020-21 national leader in assists per game.
HORIZON LEAGUE RACE HEATS UP
The Golden Grizzlies are sixth in the conference race at the moment with OU projected to face Green Bay at home in the first round of the Keep Horizon League Basketball Championships at the O'rena. First round action would be Tuesday, March 1 as Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne are the only teams to safely secure a first round bye.
WEAR THE COLORS
Oakland is 7-3 when wearing white during the season with the most recent win coming against Detroit Mercy as the two losses in that uniform set came in neutral site action against Michigan State at Little Caesars Arena, Wright State, and Purdue Fort Wayne. When wearing gold, the team is 5-2 with both of the uniforms' losses coming to Northern Kentucky.
PRICE + LAMPMAN FROM DEEP
Osei Price is shooting 40.7% (24-59) while Lampman shoots 36.0% (58-161) with the most attempts. These two are the team's scoring leaders off the bench with 4.3 and 7.2 points per game, respectively. Oakland has one of the longest three-point scoring streaks in the NCAA at 1,062 games.
MINISTER OF DEFENSE
Micah Parrish has 45 takeaways with seven blocks total on the year from the Detroit native with an average of 5.9 rebounds and 11.6 point per game, respectively. Parrish did finish Thursday night with his second-straight 18 point game.
MID-MAJOR SUCCESS
Oakland dropped out of College Insider's Mid Major Top 25 to be in the receiving votes.
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LAST FOUR
(vs) Purdue Fort Wayne, February 24, L, 81-70
For the third-straight game, Oakland fell to Purdue Fort Wayne inside the Athletics Center O'rena as Moore finished with 19 points as Parrish was just behind with 18. Cain grabs his 14th double double of the year with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
(vs) Northern Kentucky, February 20, L, 77-61
Oakland lost 71-66 to the Nores as NKU completed the season sweep, jumping up to third in the Horizon League while the Golden Grizzlies dropped to fifth with two games to go. Cain finished 37 minutes with 22 points to his name with eight boards.
(vs) Wright State, February 18, L, 78-74
On ESPN2 in Horizon League after dark action, Oakland dropped its second game of the season to Wright State at home in front of the largest crowd in the O'rena in the 2021-22 campaign as OU Men's Basketball Alum, Kendrick Nunn, had his banner hung in the rafters.
(vs) Detroit Mercy, February 13, W, 75-59
A career-high 32 points by Cain led the way for Oakland as the team rallied from a 15 point deficit in the first half of the Metro Series to win by 16 in the final box score. Cain also collected his 13th double double of the season as Moore tallied 11 assists.
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NUNN BETTER
On February 18, Oakland University Alum and current Los Angeles Laker, Kendrick Nunn, had his jersey with the No. 1 hung in the rafters of the Athletics Center O'rena. Nunn was NBA Rookie of the Year runner up to Ja Morant while with the Miami Heat before joining the Lakers in August.
MID-MAJOR BASKETBALL'S SEXIEST COACH?
Yes, really. According to SB Nation's Mid Major Madness, Oakland Head Men's Basketball Coach, Greg Kampe, earned 35% of the staff's and fan's vote on the website published on February 14. Kampe is ahead of the only other Horizon League coach named on the list, Will Ryan of Green Bay, by eight spots.
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 I, II, and III to finish 100% from the field with at least five attempts in each category.
1000 POINT CLUB
Cain tallied his 1,000th point in his collegiate career with his 26 scored in the win over UIC on Saturday, January 29. Cain's thousand points carry over from his time at Marquette University as the grad transfer finishes his collegiate playing career at Oakland,.
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 faced 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.
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.
