Pregame glance: Oakland

After their drubbing of UNC-Asheville last night, the Buckeyes have just a short break before returning to the hardwood on Thursday for a matchup with Oakland University.  For anyone following college basketball this season, Oakland is no stranger, and the Ohio State team will need to be on its game to avoid dropping a pre-conference game like all the other Big Ten teams have done.

As alluded to above, Oakland has come onto the college basketball scene this year with strong play against some of the toughest opponents in the country.  The Grizzlies have only managed to prevail in one of their key matchups, but that alone, coupled with the scare they gave some other high-profile teams, should be more than enough to put the Buckeyes on notice.  Lucky for Ohio State, Oakland won’t be sneaking up on them.

The Grizzlies started the season with a loss to West Virginia and then dropped games against Purdue, Illinois and Michigan State before pulling the upset over Tennessee.  Their next game was against Michigan and also ended in defeat, and Oakland’s record currently stands at only 7-7, but this is a team clearly worthy of respect.

Oakland is led by 6’11 senior center Keith Benson, who is putting up over 18 points and 11 rebounds per game, not to mention his 3.5 blocks per game.  Reggie Hamilton and Will Hudson also routinely contribute double-figures in points.  Coach Greg Kampe is one of the longer-tenured coaches in NCAA basketball, having been at Oakland since 1984,  and 2005 marked the team’s first trip to the NCAA tournament.  The Grizzlies made a return appearance last season after finishing the regular season 26-8, and they played Pittsburgh tough in the first round before being eliminated by the Panthers.

The team does have good size on the roster, with two 7’0 freshmen and one 6’10 freshman to go along with the 6’11 Benson, but the freshmen big men do not see much action on a nightly basis.  Benson is the major focus of the team, and he responded with a big outing in the win against Tennessee, notching 26 points and 10 rebounds.  The Buckeyes will need to neutralize Benson as much as possible with good denial of entry passes and help defense down low.  Other team members for Oakland are certainly capable of lighting it up as well, as Larry Wright and Reggie Hamilton had 24 and 26 points respectively in the Grizzlies last outing against Valparaiso.

Our game against UNC-Asheville showed how potent our team can be offensively, as any player could step up on a given night.  Last night it was David Lighty’s turn.  If the Buckeyes let the game come to them, being patient and working the ball around to the open man, then they should be in fine shape.  No doubt Oakland will come out with intensity, as this game represents their last chance to achieve a significant victory before starting regular conference play.  Ohio State must match that intensity and continue to do the little things they’ve been doing all season long to win games: hitting free throws, grabbing loose balls, and playing tough defense.

The game against Oakland will be played at 8:00pm and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.