ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies gear up for their final two games of the regular season, hosting Northern Kentucky (NKU) for their last home game before traveling to Cleveland State to take on the Vikings in the season finale.
Oakland is playing some of its best basketball of the season at the right time, coming off back-to-back wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and, most recently, Robert Morris in a 71-61 victory fueled by a second-half comeback.
During a stretch regarded as one of the toughest of the season, playing five teams in the top half of the conference standings, the Golden Grizzlies have elevated their level of play and proved they can be a threat in the postseason against any opponent.
Currently locked into the seventh seed in the Horizon League Championship, Oakland is most likely on a path to a postseason matchup with either the Vikings or the Norse, making for an intriguing set of potential playoff matchups this week.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25 vs. NORTHERN KENTUCKY | 6:30 PM | ESPN+
Oakland takes on the Norse in part two of an electric season series. Northern Kentucky (14-15, 11-7 HL) comes into the matchup sitting fourth in the conference.
The Norse have won four of their last five games and are also heading into the postseason hot, most recently beating Wright State 68-62 on Feb. 21.
The Golden Grizzlies and NKU meet for the first time since a thriller on Feb. 3, where Northern Kentucky escaped with a 67-66 win at home behind a game-winning and-one by Anna Hamilton.
This upcoming game also serves as a showdown between the top two freshmen in the conference in Oakland's Makenzie Luehring and NKU's Karina Bystry. In the last matchup, Luehring tallied 26 points, while Bystry scored 19.
Luehring is averaging 14.7 points, 1.4 steals, 3.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting .404 from the field. Bystry sits at 14.6 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting just .362 from the field.
In conference play, NKU has featured a high-scoring yet inefficient offensive attack, ranking third in points per game (69.2) and last in field goal percentage (.379). They do rank first in getting to the line, having made 278 free throws in Horizon League play.
Oakland looks to counter NKU's high-scoring offense with its own, highlighted by the third-best three-point shooting attack in league play, having made 127 threes.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28 at CLEVELAND STATE | 2 PM | ESPN+
In their final regular-season game, the Golden Grizzlies take on third-place Cleveland State (21-8, 11-7 HL).
After a bit of a bumpy start to conference play earlier in the season, the Vikings have returned to their typical top-of-the-league form, riding a four-game winning streak entering the week, most recently beating IU Indy 74-45.
The Vikings are led by one of the best three-player tandems in the conference in Izabella Zingaro (16 ppg, 7.3 rpg), Colbi Maples (15.1 ppg), and Jada Leonard (12.0 ppg, 3.0 apg).
Oakland is looking for its first win at the Wolstein Center since 2016-17. In their only other matchup this season, Cleveland State earned a 72-55 win in Rochester, where Leonard and Zingaro combined for 45 points.
The Golden Grizzlies may have a better counter for Zingaro this time around, as a double-big lineup featuring Sereniti Roberts-Adams and Lianna Baxter has proven effective since the insertion of Roberts-Adams into the starting lineup.
With postseason basketball just over a week away, the first taste of March is here in an exciting slate of games this week.
