ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team opens up its 2025-26 season in a big in-state match up Monday Nov. 3 against No. 7 Michigan at the Crisler Center.
The Golden Grizzlies (0-0, 0-0 HL) earned victories in its pair of exhibition games during the preseason slate as it faced off Alma, and Rochester Christian on the Blacktop inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
In the team's first exhibition, Oakland powered through Alma, 111-77 on the blacktop. Redshirt-freshman Warren Marshall IV led the scoring with 20 points, followed by Junior Isaac Garrett with 18, and senior Brody Robinson with 13. The Golden Grizzlies shot an even 50% from the field and totaled 52 boards against the Scots' drive. 11 players saw action on the court, including a hefty 40 bench points led by junior point guard Khoi Thurmon.
The Golden Grizzlies won their second exhibition of the season as they took over the Warriors, 99-90, on Thursday. The Horizon League's Preseason Player of the Year, Tuburu Naivalurua led with 28 points, shooting 11-for-19 from the field with six rebounds and two blocks on the other side of the ball. Robinson followed up with 19 points and converted 9-of-10 free throws, as Thurmon added nine points, four steals, and seven assists from the bench.
In the preseason, Naivalurua was named the Horizon League's Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason All-League First Team after a strong junior campaign. The fifth-year forward returns as the Horizon League's leading scorer at 13.9 points per game. Known for his work on the other side of the ball, the Australia native averaged 7.1 boards per game, totaling 234 rebounds through all 33 games he started. He shot .555 from the field, including 83 made free-throws.
Tip-off in Ann Arbor is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1 with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Steve Smith (analyst) on the call. The Voice of the Golden Grizzlies, Neal Ruhl, will be on the radio call on 97.1HD-3/1270am or the Audacy App online.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Under second-year head coach Dusty May, Michigan begins the 2025-26 campaign ranked No. 7 in the AP Preseason Poll – the program's highest opening position since 2021-22 and its seventh top-10 preseason ranking since 2012. The Wolverines added eight new players to its roster, trying to build off of a 27-10 season last year, which saw their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2018 and a trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in the postseason. Senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. leads as Michigan's top returning scorer (9.8 ppg).
The season opener at UM marks the fifth time the programs have met to start a season. Michigan holds the lead at 3-1 in those matchups: Nov. 19, 1999: W, 82-62 (Ann Arbor), Nov. 17, 2000: L, 97-90 (Rochester), Nov. 16, 2001: W, 81-73 (Ann Arbor) and Nov. 21, 2003: W, 84-58 (Ann Arbor). Oakland looks for its second overall victory over the Wolverines, the last occurring in 2000.
How to Follow Oakland Men's Basketball: For complete information on Oakland Men's Basketball follow the team on X at @OaklandMBB and head coach Greg Kampe at @KampeOU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
