The game between Oakland and IU Indy on Wednesday night went about as expected. Both teams traded buckets at a high clip for most of the first half, before some separation going into halftime.
The margin was 10 points at halftime 54-44, and it stayed around 10 points for a long stretch of the second half before eventually ballooning to a 20 point lead.
The largest the difference of the night was 26. It was cruise control for the rest of the game, and IU Indy came away with a 103-85 win.
Wait, what?
“Nothing was good,” head coach Greg Kampe said postgame. “We didn’t play with energy, we didn’t play with intelligence. We gave them no resistance defensively. There were probably 15, 50-50 balls in that game and they got close to every single one of them.”
It was arguably one of the worst losses that Oakland has suffered at home in recent memory. IU Indy is currently ranked 317th in the country on Kenpom. Oakland has only lost one home game to a team ranked 317th or worse since 1999. That game took place during the 2019-20 season against then IUPUI. Considering Oakland was playing for first place and not near the bottom of the league at the time of the game in 2020, this result will most likely be remembered as far worse.
Defensively, Oakland was broken down. Following two road games where Oakland allowed its two season lows in points, IU Indy got good shot after good shot. The Jags scored 1.45 points per possession. For context, Illinois leads the country at 1.24 points per possession for the season.
In response to the loss, Brody Robinson said the team fell into what the Jaguars wanted.
“That translates defensively too. We didn’t get to the right spots, we didn’t do what we’ve done for months. It comes down to basic things and we didn’t do them,” Robinson said.
Robinson posted a double-double, 13 points and 11 assists, but struggled from the floor. He shot 3-of-11 from the field, and only 1-of-6 from two.
“You can’t settle down after wins. Someone is coming for you every night,” Robinson said, when asked whether there is a lesson to take from the night. “We’ve got to come out and play harder.”
Isaac Garrett led Oakland with 18 points, shooting an efficient 7-of-9 from the floor. Garrett was one Golden Grizzly who has seen massive improvement defensively as the season has gone on, but was a part of the Oakland defensive woes.
“Somehow we were caught off guard by what they were doing and weren’t able to figure it out fast enough,” Garrett said of Oakland’s defense. “Credit to them. They had a really good night as a team.”
Michael Houge struggled defensively as well but did add 13 points. Brett White II also scored 13.
“We went man the last ten minutes of the game,” Kampe said. “We don’t do that. That’s how bad they were kicking our rear end.”
The loss dropped Oakland to 7-3 in Horizon League play. Through exactly half of the league season, the Golden Grizzlies find themselves a half game behind 7-2 Wright State and tied with Purdue Fort Wayne.
Oakland will need to get over this one quickly, as the team meets its rival on the road on Saturday. Detroit Mercy is 5-5 in league play after a home loss to Purdue Fort Wayne. TJ Nadeau and Orlando Lovejoy are the two leading scorers for the Titans; both are returners and Michigan natives.
Tip-off on Saturday will be at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN+.
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