Greg Kampe’s scheduling philosophy has always been to go play the best of best wherever, and whenever. Not only does that net a nice payday for the program, but he believes it prepares his team every year for conference play, because if you can do it against the best, you can do it in your league.
Well, it doesn’t get better than No. 1.
Oakland ended a brutal three game road trip at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, with the number one team in the country across from them. Many teams at the mid major level in this situation would have let the score balloon, but Oakland kept it respectable and lost by a final of 78-57.
The early stages saw Oakland hanging tough, but as the first half grew longer, the Jayhawks pulled away and took a 46-24 halftime lead. There were plenty of positives to take away from the second half however, as Oakland outscored the Jayhawks 33-32 after halftime.
One bright spot that showed up was Allen Mukeba. While being guarded by 7-2 All-American Hunter Dickinson, for five-star freshman Flory Bidunga, Mukeba went to work. He showed no fear, attacking the Jayhawk interior, and scored 19 points on 9-15 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds. With the next four games against mid majors, it will be very interesting to see how Mukeba is featured.
Allen wasn’t alone in doing work inside, as Buru Naivalurua posted an impressive stat line as well. He shot 6-9 from the floor, a very efficient path to 12 points, while also coming one rebound shy of a double double. His athleticism plays anywhere, and his consistent 8-13 points have been badly needed through these first four games. Oakland looks like they have a formidable front court.
The Golden Grizzlies also believe that they are in good hands hooting wise. While track records show that this is the case, the shooters on the roster had struggled entering game number four. The numbers were a little better in this one. Malcolm Christie got it going a bit, making three of his seven shots from three, totaling nine points. DQ Cole got into foul trouble and only played 23 minutes, but he went 2-5 on his three-point attempts, which raised his season percentage a good amount. Jayson Woodrich played with what looked like a shoulder brace after his injury scare against Illinois, which was good. However, his cold start to the year continued by going 1-6 from beyond the arc. The next game on the schedule being at home has to be a great feeling for this trio.
Oakland’s performance from three brought them out of dead last in Division 1 in three-point percentage, but they still remain in the bottom few. That breakout game is coming, and hopefully soon.
The shooting woes spread to the charity stripe in Kansas. The Golden Grizzlies went 3-12 from the free throw line, good for 25%. While those points left on the board are obviously a negative, the fact that Oakland was able to stay within 21 points of Kansas with that shooting performance is impressive. Oakland ranks 360th out of 364 D1 teams in free throw percentage. These numbers will not last, but it is wild to see them written out.
One contributor, who did make his free throws, continues to show signs he has a big place on this team. That’s not only for this year as well as Jaylen Jones is only a sophomore. His six assists were a game high, and he also racked up six points and three rebounds. While he finds himself in tough spots a little bit, he has minimized his turnovers in most games this year, with only one in this game. Kampe said in the past he wanted to keep Jones on the bench because his plan was to have him on the bench when Isaiah Jones returns, but Jaylen is playing at a high level and could be forcing his way into the first five. Something to watch for Thursday’s game.
That game will be Oakland’s first home game against a Division 1 opponent, and against an in-state rival at that as Eastern Michigan comes to town. It is also Oakland’s first game against a fellow mid major. EMU comes in at 2-2 on the young year, while Oakland is 1-3. The game will tip off at 7pm on ESPN+.
