Through the first 20 games of the season, the Oakland University men’s basketball team has lived up to its lofty expectations. And while every member of the team will tell you that it’s the conference tournament in early March that will dictate the ultimate success of the season, the Grizzlies are a confident group at this juncture. 

Riding a seven-game winning streak, Oakland is a perfect 7-0 in the Summit League, making this its best start to conference play in school history.

“We knew that we were playing a tough non-conference schedule and that when we played in conference it would all come together,” junior center Keith Benson said. “But we are trying not to get too happy about this win streak. We are just trying to stay focused for the tournament so we can win the games that matter.”

Junior guard Larry Wright said he thinks his teammates are really coming together and the team’s chemistry is improving as the season wears on.

“I just feel like we are getting to know each other more — what every person can do on the court, where people like to catch the ball, where they feel comfortable, who drives, who kicks. We know what everyone is going to do on this team and it’s helping out a lot,” Wright said.

The Grizzlies have maneuvered the early part of their conference schedule rather easily. OU has won five of its seven Summit League games by eight points or more, only running into difficulty at home against IUPUI and on the road against Oral Roberts.

With each passing game, the team seems to be honing its identity, and figuring out the right balance and style of play that will take them where they want to go this season.

“We had to learn early on in the year how we were going to play,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “We didn’t know who was going to take the shot at the end of the game to win, and we didn’t know who we were going to run our offense through.”

But those questions appear to have been answered. The offensive game plan begins with getting the ball to Benson in the paint. As for the question of who will take the important shots at the end of games, the answer is varied, with several players demonstrating the ability to make the tough shot at critical moments of games.

One of the biggest elements that Oakland has working in its favor this season is its depth. OU boasts a roster full of players just waiting for an opportunity to be inserted into the lineup.

“I have never felt uncomfortable when someone is on the floor unlike in past years when someone gets in foul trouble and you are down to your ninth man and they don’t have experience. I think we have a group of kids that can play,” Kampe said.

The Grizzlies will play their next four games on the road, and if they make it through that stretch unscathed, they have a good chance to become the first Summit League team to go undefeated in its conference season.