On March 17, Oakland University Athletics hosted a Selection Sunday Watch Party in the OU Credit Union O’rena after the men’s basketball team won the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday, March 12, and earned a spot in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Doors opened at 5 p.m. and patrons were offered free food and drinks and could take photos with the Horizon League Championship trophy, net and ticket-punched sign. Patrons were also able to obtain free championship posters and have players sign them.
Kevin Beers, the public address announcer for the Golden Grizzlies, also hosted a Q&A session with some of the team’s players before the Selection Sunday airing. He addressed topics such as the players’ favorite teammate to play alongside and the players’ favorite hobbies outside of basketball.
At 6 p.m., the entirety of the O’rena watched the south-end broadcast board in anticipation as the NCAA brackets were revealed live on CBS. In early predictions, the Golden Grizzlies were expected to be a 14-seed, which is why it didn’t come as a surprise when it was revealed that they are a 14-seed and will play against No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
After the Golden Grizzlies seed and opponent were revealed, head coach Greg Kampe spoke to the audience about the team’s road ahead.
“In our time in Division I we have 13 wins against Power Conferences, and we’re going to do everything we can to get our 14th,” Kampe said. “We don’t want this to be over.”
Kampe also talked about the head coach of OU’s soon-to-be opponent Kentucky, John Calipari.
“Coach Calipari is a very close friend of mine,” Kampe said. “I doubt we’ll be talking much this week.”
After the watch party concluded, Calipari discussed Kampe and how his friendship with OU’s head coach would be put to the test on Thursday in a press conference.
“Greg Kampe and I are really good friends, we go way back,” Calipari said. “He’s not a good coach, he’s a great coach… It’s funny, I watched their [OU’s] championship game because it was Greg Kampe. And I watched the second half, and they won, and I was cheering. And I told him, he and I have already gone back and forth, and I go, ‘Look, I’m happy I watched half that game.’ And I said, ‘But I’m not gonna cheer the way I cheered that day.'”
As the game will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania only a few hours away from OU, Kampe expects the community to show up and support the men’s basketball team the way they have all season.
“There’s no reason we all shouldn’t be there,” Kampe said. “I expect to see everybody.”
If the OU community can’t make the trek to Pittsburgh, watch parties of OU’s bout in the NCAA Tournament will occur on or around campus. For more information regarding travel arrangements and how OU will celebrate the men’s basketball team, visit the Oakland University News website.
The Golden Grizzlies’ game versus the Kentucky Wildcats, taking place on Thursday, March 21 at 7:10 p.m., will also air on CBS.
