This week, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies experienced the extreme opposite ends of the college basketball spectrum.
Wednesday brought a trip to No. 1 Houston, where the Cougars displayed ferocious activity defensively, storming to a massive 78-45 win.
Saturday, it was Oakland’s turn overwhelm an opponent, taking down NAIA Defiance by a score of 113-47.
When looking at the week that was, it needs to begin in Houston, where the Golden Grizzlies played a bit of history.
With Houston taking the floor as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, a week after Oakland took on No. 1 Purdue, it became the first time a program as played back to back games against the top ranked team in America since 1990. It’s possible that it is the first time ever in non conference play as well. This was also coming off the backs of a trip to then No. 7 Michigan in the season opener.
Oakland was able to keep it tight with Purdue, but it was a different story on Wednesday.
“They were impressive,” Greg Kampe said postgame. “Defensively they just swarmed us.”
“They were ready to play. With what we did to Purdue, and then going to number one, they were really ready to play against Oakland,” Kampe said. “I told our team in a way that’s a compliment.”
One guy who was ready to play for Oakland was Isaac Garrett. He posted 20 points and seven rebounds, after scoring 20 points at Michigan as well. He will certainly be one to watch when Oakland gets into Horizon League play as someone who can explode.
Nassim Mashhour made 3-of-4 from three, good for nine points. He averaged double figures in Oakland’s first three games as well.
There wasn’t much else to report, as Oakland managed one bench point, and no one outside of Mashhour made a three.
The loss dropped Oakland to an overall record of, unsurprisingly, 0-3.
That winless blemish didn’t last much longer, as Oakland took the floor in their home opener against NAIA opponent Defiance.
Oakland had their highest point total scored in the Division 1 era on Saturday, en route to the 66 point victory.
A total of eight Golden Grizzlies scored in double figures, with Brett White leading the way at 18 points. He made four threes. White is a proven collegiate scorer, and could be a key for Oakland going forward.
Buru Naivalurua scored 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting and Brody Robinson also totaled 17 points. Nate Deer posted a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall, while there wasn’t much to takeaway from this game, it is worth it to note that Oakland took much longer to create separation from Defiance a year ago. The Golden Grizzlies had a 10 point lead at half, and won 75-52.
The win was the Golden Grizzlies first of the season, and they are now 1-3 on the you g campaign.
It will be a step back up in weight class for Oakland next up, as the Golden Grizzlies go back to the Big 12 to take on UCF on the road. The Black Knights are 3-1 coming off of a win at Texas A&M, and are led by Riley Kugel, who is shooting 13-of-20 from three this year.
Milwaukee transfers Themus Fulks and Jamichael Stillwell both are regular starters for UCF.
The game is scheduled to tip off on Monday at 7pm Eastern Time and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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