By Jared Purcell

Sports Editor

COLUMN

Coming off of its first 20-win season in the school’s Division I history, the Oakland University men’s basketball team is heading into the Summit League Tournament as the No. 3 seed. OU will face No. 6 IPFW on Sunday. Oakland is 2-0 against IPFW this season.

In a season that started with a nine-game road trip and saw the loss of OU players, OU played through the many ups and downs.

The disappointing 58-55 loss to Cleveland State in the season opener was followed by an 82-79 overtime victory against Pac-10 Oregon. The win marked the second win in two seasons against Oregon.

Yet, Oakland went on to lose four of the next six games and OU was teetering on the brink of a disastrously disappointing season.

However, OU put together a season where they were undefeated in the O’Rena and will head into the tournament on a seven-game winning streak.

OU’s marquee win this year was against archrival Oral Roberts in the O’Rena on Feb. 5. After OU lost to ORU earlier in the season, OU’s 81-69 victory helped the team keep pace with the top of the pack in the Summit League. It also sparked the current seven-game win streak.

With all five of the previous season’s starters returning and one of the most highly praised recruiting classes in OU’s history, things were looking up for the Golden Grizzlies from day one.

Junior Johnathon Jones and Derick Nelson were named to the Pre-Season All-Summit League First Team and Erik Kangas was named to the Pre-Season All-Summit League Second Team. Jones was also named to the Preseason Mid-Major Men’s Basketball All-America Team.

Although Nelson broke his foot just before the start of the season and eventually was redshirted, Jones and Kangas both continued to contribute. The pair hit the 1,000 career point mark. Kangas become the eighth player in the Division I era for OU to hit the mark and Jones followed as the ninth.

Because of Nelson’s absence from the team, the highly touted in-state recruits Drew Maynard and Blake Cushingberry saw more playing time than expected. The freshmen pair have combined for 437 points on the season with Maynard ranked fourth on the team in points per game (7.6) and Cushingberry fifth (6.5).

Another big recruit that Oakland had landed was Ilija Milutinovic. The 7-foot, 255-pound center from Serbia was expected to be a solid backup to sophomore Keith Benson this season. Yet, Milutinovic wound up missing a bulk of time with a broken foot.

Kangas’ hot streak in the final stretch of the season included three consecutive games where he scored 39, 33 and 27 points. He also climbed to No. 3 in the nation in 3-pointers made. Kangas also now holds the Summit League record for 3-pointers made in a season with 119.

Oakland can potentially play Oral Roberts in the second round of the tournament if both teams win in the first round.