Every year, Oakland schedules a high number of games against power conference teams. With the program being lucky enough to have some success in these over the years, it is a fun game to play to pick out potential upset wins when the schedule is released.
When Oakland released this opening stretch from hell over the summer, No. 18 Alabama was probably not one of those potential wins, and the Crimson Tide showed exactly why.
The Golden Grizzlies lost 109-68 in Tuscaloosa, dropping to 0-4 on the young season.
“They passed the ball as well as you can pass the ball,” Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said in his postgame press conference. “There is no weakness (on that team).”
The Crimson Tide tied a program record with 30 assists. That stat was helped by a 24-of-46 display from three point range and a 63% shooting night from the floor.
Oakland only managed to go 3-of-18 from three, shooting 35% from the field as Alabama’s athletes swarmed the Golden Grizzlies all night. Alabama ended the night with 10 blocks while altering countless other shots.
There were positives to take from the night, however. Oakland used 21 offensive rebounds to outpace the Crimson Tide on the glass 37-31. Oakland also outrebounded Michigan on opening night.
That rebounding effort was led by Chris Fields Jr., who continued his impressive young season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He even showcased an ability to bring the ball up the floor and lead the break multiple times, with at least three trips ending in a basket or free throws. Through four games he is averaging a double-double at over 17 points per game and 10 rebounds per game.
The leading scorer on this night was Nassim Mashhour, who found his way to 18 points and five rebounds. Mashhour is scoring over 15 points per game so far and is still shooting less than 30% from three. He certainly looks to have blossomed into a quality Horizon League lead guard.
Oakland’s search for consistent scoring outside of those two continued on this night. We will need to see the Golden Grizzlies play some like competition to start to really judge how deep this offense is.
While he may not be the answer to the question of who will be the third leading scorer, Camden Thompson looks like a player, present and future. He scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in only 21 minutes. The Western Michigan football transfer battled all night, jumping and matching physicality with Alabama’s superior athletes. His development this year is intriguing.
Oakland now turns its attention to flying back out west, the third two-plus timezone flight in the last five days for the Golden Grizzlies. This time, 2-0 Boise State out of the PAC-12 awaits. The Broncos are coming off a 100-81 win over Butler, after scoring 132 on a non-Division 1 in the opening game. Tipoff is slated for Wednesday night at 9pm Eastern Time. The game will be broadcast on Youtube.
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
