They say that you can’t win championships in the early part of seasons. Rings aren’t handed out, and banners aren’t hung with wins in early January.
However, you can lose it.
That is what is facing Oakland this upcoming week. After dropping a home game in which they were favored, the Golden Grizzlies are 2-3 in the league and hitting the road to potentially the hardest road trip the league has to offer.
It starts Thursday with a rematch with Wright State. These teams opened up league play against each other in Rochester and played a great game. Oakland got a stop on the final possession of the game to squeak out a two-point win. Wright State shot 16-31 from the three, but was held to 64 points, and that was what keyed the Oakland win.
That defensive effort was praised largely because of how Oakland slowed down one of the best players in the conference in Brandon Noel. Noel is almost a 20 point per game scorer, but Oakland held him to six points, 2-11 from the floor. He will no doubt be a huge part of the gameplan again.
Wright State had three different players make four threes, including Alex Huibregste. Slowing down that attack is a tough ask, but Oakland plays a defense designed to prevent threes, so it is important that they come out flying around on the perimeter.
Wright State could be without leading assist man Keaton Norris, who has missed the last few games. Norris is the brother of former Oakland point guard Braden Norris.
The Raiders are also a very talented 2-3 team in the conference, meaning both squads are going all in to avoid a bigger hole in the standings than they have already dug themselves.
After that game, 7pm Eastern Time on Thursday, Oakland will travel to Northern Kentucky.
The Norse are 9-7 overall, and 4-1 in the league. They get a crack at 5-1 Youngstown State before the matchup with Oakland, meaning they could be in first place when the Golden Grizzlies see them.
Trey Robinson, in his fifth year at NKU, leads the way. He is scoring over 16 points a game while also leading the team in rebounds with six. He and Sam Vinson, in his fourth and final year at Northern Kentucky, form a veteran duo that will be dangerous all year long.
The supporting cast includes transfer shooter Josh Dilling, and returners Randall Pettus II, LJ Wells and Keeyan Itejere. The two programs are the last two to represent the Horizon League in the NCAA Tournament and have done a lot of winning in the conference. It promises to be a good matchup, like it is most seasons.
One interesting note when Oakland and Northern Kentucky face off, the two teams play exclusively zone. Expect to see the two different versions of zone defense all night on Saturday.
The game will tip off at 6pm Eastern Time. Both the Wright State and Northern Kentucky games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
