Despite the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies being underdogs to a loaded University of Kentucky (UK) Wildcats team, Trey Townsend and Blake Lampman remain more ready than ever to compete.
“Obviously, being a 14-seed against a 3-seed like Kentucky, you’re always going to be considered the underdog, but I think everyone loves a good underdog story,” Townsend said. “I think we’re very capable of beating a team like this, and I think that just draws to the underdog story.”
“They’re a very talented team — a lot of talented players,” Townsend said of the Wildcats. “I think for us personally, with this matchup zone that we play, I think it’s hard for any team to kind of prepare for us and get ready for what we’re about to throw at them.”
The Grizzlies’ zone has been a mainstay for the team all season. Considering how unique it is, OU has had multiple games over the course of its conference schedule in which its opponents shot a miserable percentage from deep.
“Greg is a great coach, not a good coach, a great coach,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. “And then they play funky defense. They play a defense that’s not normal.”
In OU’s previous two matchups between the Cleveland State Vikings and the Milwaukee Panthers in the Horizon League playoffs, both teams shot below their average percentage as a team from three.
The Vikings converted on just three of their 16 attempts, and the Panthers made four of their 19 attempts.
Notably, the Wildcats have been lethal from deep this season. The team leads all NCAA schools in 3-point percentage with a 41.2 percent clip. Additionally, UK scores the second most points in the nation, with 89.4 points per game.
“It’s not something you see every day. So I think we give every team a good matchup,” Townsend said. “I like the size we have. We can compete at every position we have, but like I said, our defensive style is not something you see every day, so it makes it difficult for any team that we play.”
Still, despite the bright lights of the Big Dance, which the Grizzlies haven’t seen since 2011, and the previously mentioned loaded Wildcats team, which features Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Antonio Reeves and Justin Edwards, who are all likely to be taken in the NBA draft, Townsend and Lampman remain confident in their team.
“I just think that’s where we’ve succeeded so much as a team is not trying to let those bright lights get too bright for us, just knowing that if we play our game, we’re able to compete with anyone regardless of the status they may have,” Townsend said. “We’re just going to go out and outwork everyone we play, and that’s what’s gotten us this far.”
Notably, this isn’t the first time this season the Grizzlies have stepped foot in an arena larger than theirs and played against Power Six competition.
Throughout the season, OU faced the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Xavier Musketeers and the Michigan State Spartans. The Grizzlies played all of those games on the road.
Interestingly, the Grizzlies beat the Muskeeters and came up just short of the Buckeyes, losing by only six points.
“So it’s not really about who we’re playing,” Lampman said. “We’re focused on us, and I truly think we can compete with anybody in the country, and we’re going to have a great test on Thursday. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Lastly, Lampman acknowledges how close the Grizzlies have grown as a team throughout the season.
“This has been the tightest group I’ve been with since probably my entire life, but definitely since I got to Oakland,” Lampman said. “And we’ve got guys that have stayed at Oakland. Me, Trey [Townsend], Chris [Conway], Osei [Price]. Guys that are older that have been through the system with Kampe and we’ve built a relationship off the court.
“I have a relationship with everybody on the team, and when we say we love each other, it’s true. It’s real.”
Although Townsend and Lampman’s confidence points to good things to come for OU, according to ESPN Analytics, the team has an 11 percent chance of upsetting the Wildcats.
“You know, nobody wants to be part of a Cinderella story,” Kentucky forward Tre Mitchell said. “And I think that our guys understand that.”
To find out if OU will become the next Cinderella story, tune into CBS at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, to see the Grizzlies take on the Wildcats from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, Neal Ruhl will be on the call on the Audacy app, 97.1 HD, and The Bet 1270 AM (WXTY-AM).
