Men’s and women’s basketball teams approach Motor City Madness
Jalen Hayes saved the ball from going out of bounds at last season’s championship game against Wright State at the Joe Louis Arena. The Golden Grizzlies lost 59-55.
With less than a month to go until Motor City Madness, the Oakland men’s and women’s basketball teams are in the heat of their seasons.
The Horizon League standings are starting to foreshadow what the bracket will look like come March 3.
The men
After two big road wins this past weekend, the men’s team sits in third place, with a record of 8-4. It’s behind first-place Valparaiso (9-2) and second-place Green Bay (9-3) and has a decent lead on Northern Kentucky and Wright State, which are tied for fourth at 6-5.
With five games to go in the regular season, Oakland will have to take on each of the top-two teams one more time.
In their first meeting, Oakland snatched a win from Valparaiso 78-66 on the Crusaders’ home court. Valpo’s only other conference loss came from Green Bay on Feb. 4, 86-69.
The second meeting between the Phoenix and the Golden Grizzlies will be the teams’ final game of the season on Feb. 24 in Green Bay. In their first matchup, the Golden Grizzlies fell to the Phoenix 80-72 on the Blacktop.
Green Bay and Valparaiso have already completed their two-game series, which they split.
The next Oakland men’s game will be a rematch with rival University of Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10. The Golden Grizzlies are heading to Calihan Hall fired up for revenge against the Titans, who issued the team its first loss in conference play.
The women
On the women’s side, Oakland currently finds itself in a three-way tie for fourth place at 7-5, with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Cleveland State. Wright State leads the league at 10-1, closely followed by Green Bay at 10-2.
With six games remaining in its season, Oakland has completed its two-game series with many of the top teams in the conference.
Leading up to Motor City Madness, five of Oakland’s remaining six games will be against the bottom-five teams in the conference. The only team the Golden Grizzlies have to face with a better record than their own is University of Detroit Mercy.
The game against UDM will take place at 1 p.m. on Feb. 11 in Calihan Hall. In their first meeting, the Golden Grizzlies suffered a loss to the Titans 80-71.
The Horizon League Motor City Madness tournament for both the men and women’s teams is March 3-7 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
