If you are feeling conflicted about the events that took place in Honolulu for Oakland this week, you are not alone.
Entering the tournament as “the eight seed” per Greg Kampe, expectations were tempered. However, Oakland came to play. The Golden Grizzlies began the week with a win over Loyola Chicago, a game that felt like a rivalry contest with Drew Valentine leading the charge for the Ramblers. The next two games were against Oregon State and a true road game against Hawaii. While there was plenty of promise shown as both games were losses in overtime, the Golden Grizzlies let both games get away from them.
Needless to say, there is a ton to unpack. Let’s dive in.
It started on Sunday, when the tournament opened with the quarterfinals. Oakland drew Loyola Chicago, a matchup made for television with the relationship between the two head coaches.
Oakland got out to a little bit of a lead, and the score went between a one or two possession Golden Grizzly advantage for what seemed like the whole night. That was until a burst brought the lead to 70-60 with 2:30 remaining.
From there, the Ramblers came alive. Oakland turned the ball over, missed free throws, and gave up open three’s foe the next few minutes, and found themselves one point down with one final possession.
That was where a baseline out of bounds was blown up, but Isaiah Jones was there to clean up a desperation shot from Buru Naivalurua. Jones laid in the game winning bucket with .3 seconds left, and Oakland pulled out a massive 72-71 victory. Isaiah Jones was out and/or limited through most of Oakland’s postseason run last year and missed more than a month of this year already. This moment was well deserved for Oakland’s captain.
Allen Mukeba owned the paint before fouling out. He secured or tied the team lead in points (20), rebounds (8), assists (4) and blocks (1). This was all against one of the nation’s premier shot-blockers in Miles Rubin.
Malcolm Christie continued his tear since first donning his new goggles, scoring 20 points on 6-15 from three. DQ Cole and Jaylen Jones both played well but struggled with the pressure provided by the Ramblers.
Unfortunately for Oakland, the late game struggles on Sunday continued to Monday.
After moving into the winner’s bracket, the already daunting looking field looked tougher. A very stout Oregon State team out of the WCC (PAC-12?) awaited the Golden Grizzlies.
The first half was a battle throughout with Oakland looking up to the challenge, and the score reflected the even matchup at half as it was 34-34.
The second half was much of the same, until Oakland used a 12-1 run over a five-minute span to take a 68-56 lead with 4:30 to go. The run was a look into what this team can be, as the Golden Grizzlies pulled away from a very game Beavers bunch,
The Beavers proved their worth however, as Oakland’s lack of ability to close out a game was once again exploited. More turnovers, and more missed free throws led to a furious comeback by Oregon State, and it was 71-71 with Oakland holding possession for one last shot. The effort came up short however, as DQ Cole hoisted a prayer with plenty of time left on the clock.
Cole was sat down for the majority of the overtime session, and Oregon State pulled out then game with an 80-74 score.
Oakland seemed set to throw the ball inside, where the Golden Grizzly duo of Allen and Buru was dominant.
Once again facing a very talented defensive front court, Allen Mukeba went perfect from the floor, 10-10. It was an Oakland school record for most makes without a miss against a D1 opponent. That led to 21 points and seven boards. Buru Naivalurua was almost as good, shooting 6-7. He posted a double double, scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds.
Malcolm Christie was once again a major threat, going 4-6 from three en route to 18 points. Isaiah Jones made 8-10 from the free throw line to score 10.
Oakland’s guard play faltered down the stretch for the second game in a row. Jaylen Jones continues to provide offense throughout the game, leading the team with almost four assists a game. However, the sophomore guard is still clearly learning how to close out games at a high level. He has the tools to put it all together.
As if the first two games weren’t fun enough, the Golden Grizzlies third contest was as intense down the stretch.
In the 3rd-place game, Oakland drew Hawaii. As Hawaii is the host of the event, this was a true road game for Oakland.
The community always shows out for the Hawaii game on Christmas day, which seemed to make an extremely fun atmosphere. The game added to the drama.
Oakland started slow, trailing 32-25 at the half. But as the second half went on, the Golden Grizzlies offense began to come alive.
Oakland flipped the game on its head and almost pushed their lead to double digits. But the Rainbow Warriors would fight back, creating more late game drama.
After allowing Hawaii to make two free throws with four seconds remaining, Oakland had a chance to win the game. However, another late game blunder took away that chance, as Jaylen Jones dropped the inbounds pass and turned it over. Oakland did get the stop to send the game to the extra session.
The overtime period was back and forth, but Malcolm Christie, who was brilliant, missed a game tying three in the closing seconds. Oakland fell 73-70.
Christie scored 27 points, continuing his torrid stretch. In the past five games, he is shooting over 37% from three on 14 attempts per game. He is averaging over 19 points a game in that span. Christie’s arrival makes Oakland a different team as we hit full-go conference play.
Buru Naivalurua was a huge factor down the stretch. With Mukeba fouling out after only scoring four points, Buru made clutch bucket after clutch bucket and ended the night with 13 points and eight rebounds. DQ Cole also fouled out late in regulation, scoring only two points. Oakland was able to hang tough without Mukeba and Cole struggling, and not being on the floor, but these two are still the most important threats on the squad.
Jaylen Jones was once again good before his last turnover, and Jayson Woodrich got a few threes to fall after a long cold stretch.
The Diamond Head classic provided a chance to play three dramatic games against good programs in a national spotlight. To see Oakland battle on that level was more than promising, but the fact they won only one of those games is a tough pill to swallow. Oakland’s largest point differential in regulation was 1 in these three games.
Leaving the island with a win over Loyola Chicago, and a finish in the top half of the eight-team field is a good week, and the learning experiences provided down the stretch are better learned in this tournament setting, and not in March. This will be a fun team to watch grow after this.
Before the Golden Grizzlies reenter conference play, there is one more nonconference learning marker. Oakland will once again be featured on national TV, with this game being featured on ESPN2. The opponent garners that level of attention, as Oakland travels to top 25 ranked Arkansas, for a rematch with John Calipari. Of course, Kampe and Oakland knocked Calipari and Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament last year, thus sending Calipari to Fayetteville.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 8pm Eastern Time.
