Week 7 In The Summit League: Efficiency Update

It's been three weeks since we last looked at the adjusted efficiency differences in The Summit League. While the actual rankings haven't shifted much in that time, several teams have been trending in a different direction than they were in the middle of January. This hasn't just shown up in the advanced statitistics, but also in the actual league standings. IPFW, for example, has been falling out of favor as of late while a surprise squad like UMKC continues to win games at an impressive rate. To aid in a discussion on these trends, below you will find the updated efficiency difference table. The content of the table was described here. All numbers are current through games played on Sunday, February 7, per KenPom.com. A new column, "Trending," was also added to show the direction each team's efficiency difference has headed since the last post.

- Oakland still leads the league in efficiency difference by a wide margin. However, the team's figure has been trending down in recent weeks. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the Golden Grizzlies dropped their first league game this past weekend, giving up 100 points to IUPUI. OU's offensive efficiency has remained impressive throughout conference play, but its defensive efficiency has suffered in recent contests. This has led to the small decrease in the team's efficiency difference.

- The Jackrabbits remain a frustrating team for the simple reason that their record is not indicative of the explosiveness of their offense. While their 114.1 mark in offensive efficiency is beyond impressive, their defensive efficiency has hurt them more often than not. The good news is that South Dakota State's efficiency difference is trending upward, but the team still needs to get its defense in order if a big run is to occur in March.

- IUPUI has made a sizable surge since the last time we checked in on these figures. While their third place position hasn't changed, the Jaguars are certainly gaining ground on South Dakota State thanks to an improved offense. It seems that in recent weeks the Jags have gotten major contributions from Stephen Thomas and Christian Siakam, a fact that has given them more options than just Leroy Nobles and Alex Young. Young has also been playing out of his mind and parlayed his performances into Summit League Player of the Month honors for January. His 31 points and 9 rebounds in a win against Oakland were good enough for him to get props from both ESPN.com and Rivals.com on Monday.

- The men of Oral Roberts are 6-3 in league play since the start of the new year, a tally that includes two wins over South Dakota State. However, the team also dropped two games at IPFW and Oakland. ORU's efficiency difference captures well the dynamic that the Golden Eagles are a solid team but far from elite at this point. Their offensive and defensive differences are nearly identical, a fact that means they are likely to continue to be a step behind the conference's upper echelon.

- With league play nearing an end, I would venture to say that North Dakota State is one of those teams that no one will want to play in the first round of the Summit League Tournament. Because of a logjam in the middle of the pack, NDSU will likely fall in the six or seven seed range. Even though the team has many young contributors, it feels like the Bison have underachieved this season. While they could still pull out a few wins in the stretch run, I'm left thinking that they'll continue on as they have so far, leaving some two or three seed scared come March.

- The efficiency difference measure does not like IPFW much. Even though the Mastodons are in third place in the standings, this figure puts them in sixth and declining. The cause of the collapse: defense. Early in conference play, IPFW was holding opponents to well under 1.00 points per possession, but in recent games that defensive intensity has been missing (for example, the team gave up a season-high 1.304 PPP in the loss to IUPUI last week).

- UMKC has vastly improved its efficiency difference over the last three weeks. The team has jumped up by 4.8 points to come closer to getting out of the negatives. The Roos have experienced a small uptick in offensive efficiency, but a majority of the difference has come on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Matt Brown has done a solid job this season, enough so that no one should be calling for his job at season's end. While there is still work to do, it is great to be talking about UMKC basketball once again in a positive light. It appears that the team finally has some firepower on offense and intensity on defense despite its very short rotation.

- Southern Utah owns the distinction of being the best of the worst. The Thunderbirds are trending upward thanks to a spark in offensive efficiency over the past few weeks, but the team's defense continues to struggle mightily.

- All hope is not lost for Western Illinois. Though its offensive efficiency has continued to plummet, the team is holding its own in defensive efficiency despite a true lack of manpower. That's good news for a defensive-oriented coach like Jim Molinari. The bad news is that the team has seemingly run out of scoring options.

- Centenary: bad offensive efficiency, bad defensive efficiency. That makes for an efficiency difference so low that we probably won't see anything similar until reclassification claims another Division I team.

On The Road: Indy

It's not often that one gets to have an intimate viewing experience inside of an NBA arena. Professional games are typically good draws, and even when they're not, there is always an usher in the way of moving closer. There are some colleges that play their basketball games in NBA arenas or those of similar size, but these venues are often far too wide (and pricey) to qualify as intimate. And NCAA Tournament games are the worst, particularly when played in football domes. Those hardly even feel like basketball games, even when the product on the court is exciting.

In The Summit League, there are plenty of intimate venues. As an Oakland fan, I feel lucky enough to be able to attend games at the O'rena where I have yet to find a seat with a disappointing sightline. That said, I have anticipated the opportunity to catch a game at IUPUI's The Jungle. It's about as mid-major a place as they come with nothing but bleachers and a capacity just over 1,200. As far as intimate basketball venues go, I always imagined The Jungle ranking at the top. So when the 2010-11 schedule came out, I was bummed to see that this year's Oakland-IUPUI game would be held at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. After all, there was no way Conseco would offer the intimacy of a place like The Jungle.

That assumption proved wrong. On Saturday, I witnessed a live basketball game in a cavernous NBA arena that I would describe as an intimate experience. For starters, the school charged a flat rate at the door, $15.00, that would put a spectator in courtside seats that probably go for 50 times that rate when the Pacers are playing. For one night only, there were no ushers enforcing phony seating policies because, well, you could practically sit wherever you desired on this evening. I took advantage of this and watched the game from a few different places, just to take it all in.

I started out just a few rows back from the courtside seats. In the first half, you could hear the players calling out plays and offering help to their teammates on the court. The always animated duo of IUPUI coach Ron Hunter and Oakland coach Greg Kampe were at it with the officials and their players throughout. And at some points early on, even the bricked shots echoed throughout the arena. The only thing I couldn't hear particularly well was the voice of the public address announcer. His subdued style was a welcomed departure from the over-the-top guys that seem to populate arenas nowadays, but the facility needed to turn his mic up just a bit!

The quiet lull gave way to a more energetic second half, due mostly to the fact that IUPUI was out to a lead. Even though the Oakland players hit a number of three-pointers that riled up the section of Golden Grizzlies fans, it was not enough to overcome the aggressive attack of the Jaguars. IUPUI's student section, the Red Zone, was led by a group of 20 or so students who stood, chanted, and yelled throughout the duration of the game. But it's safe to say the team's run in the second half inspired them, and the rest of their counterparts, to new levels of noise. While they've got a bit of work to do become a mass like the Grizz Gang, I thought the Red Zone did a fine job with their unique mix of personalities and catcalls. They were also aided by a large cheer team that included several males who used oversized megaphones to begin chants. This combination of a student section and a formal cheer squad helped drown out the noise on the court in that second half, but it also helped to preserve that intimate feel by reminding folks this was indeed college basketball.

As the seconds ticked down and the loss become a reality, I dreaded the drive home. The worst aspect of attending road games is that there is not a mass of folks to sulk with in the event of a loss. When I was a student, those walks with friends back to the residence halls after a loss were therapeutic. We could hypothesize about what went wrong on the court, and as soon as we were back to our floor, there was something else to do so we did not have to dwell on the game. But at away games, particularly if one is driving a long distance, there is just the road. This was the first time I experienced that feeling after a conference loss, which makes it all the more devastating. Driving home from Purdue and Ohio State after a loss was somewhat expected, but against a budding rival like IUPUI, it just hurt. Even though a rational thinker might point out that Oakland would still be in fine shape for the conference tournament and all things after, a sports fan is often irrational. And it's hard to reconcile that fact after such a loss given the level of emotional investment involved.

At this juncture, I have yet to see Oakland win a road game in person this season. I'm far from superstitious and realize that's probably because I exhausted most of my budget for this stuff on going to non-conference games where the odds of winning are slim. But after this last one, I'm starting to think I will avoid such games for at least the rest of this season. For future years, though, I would encourage OU fans in Michigan or other Midwest locations to consider taking the trip to Indianapolis for the IUPUI game. Even when the game is held at Conseco Fieldhouse, it offers fans the unique opportunity to watch good college basketball up close and personal in an NBA arena. Those chances don't come around very often.

A view of the court during pre-game warmups. This was also about how many people were in attendance for the women's game that preceded the men's game.

At the tip of the men's game.

The Gameplan's Weekly Recap: Western Illinois/IUPUI

The Big Picture

After picking up a strong win over Western Illinois on Thursday, Oakland suffered its first setback in conference play with a 100-88 loss at IUPUI. Indianapolis has not been good to the Golden Grizzlies in recent seasons as its the only place they have lost in the last two years of conference play. The Jaguars had an aggressive plan that was predicated on attacking the basket early and often, particularly with Keith Benson out of the game due to foul trouble. While the loss ends any hopes of an 18-0 conference season, one can only hope that it's a sting to be remembered when February rolls into March. After all, IUPUI gave Oakland a knockout punch last February, but it was ultimately OU that cut down the nets in Sioux Falls.

What To Make Of A Loss

Losing isn't something we've had to discuss much since December, which seems so long ago at this point in the season. Yet, a lost was suffered on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse to IUPUI, and now we're left wondering what to make of it. Well, to begin with, the Jaguars are a solid team and have proven as much in recent weeks. And while that team had a solid plan for attacking Oakland, we must also look at some other aspects of the game which may have dictated its outcome. In the interest of balance, we'll take a look at a few different factors, but we start with the issue of foul calling.

Fouls

Just perusing the box score, the first thing that should pop out to anyone is the free throw disparity. Oakland had seven attempts while IUPUI had 34. In raw fouls committed, OU had 26 and IUPUI had 15. That's a big gap, and the heavy foul calling on Oakland definitely affected the game. Late in the game, Coach Kampe was ejected after receiving two technical calls for, presumably, calling out the officials for the uneven foul distribution. So that added four extra free throws to the IUPUI total. Still, the disparity is large enough that it's worth looking into some season-long statistics to determine what could have gone wrong. With the help of StatSheet.com, let's first look at free throw rates for Oakland and IUPUI in conference games only. This is a measure of how often each team gets to the free throw line.

The "FTR" column gives each team's average free throw rate in conference games, but I split the games to show the impact of the February 5th match. Overall, one should be able to glean from this data that IUPUI and Oakland are polar opposites when it comes to getting to the free throw line. Oakland, prior to this game, had one of the highest rates in the conference while IUPUI hadconsistently been the worst. After the two teams met at Conseco, however, IUPUI made enough trips to the line to improve by a full percentage point while Oakland's lack of trips dropped it by over three points. That latter fact also moved Oakland into fifth in the conference in free throw rate.

Stemming from this split, I next wondered if this game represented an odd reality where Oakland wasn't as aggressive as usual, or if IUPUI was particularly adept at not fouling Oakland's shooters. To compare, let's look at opponent's free throw rate, a measure of how often each team sends the other team to the charity stripe.

After checking out the table, it's clear that this was a match-up of the conference's two best teams in terms of foul avoidance. This has been a strength of IUPUI throughout the season and one of the reasons (in addition to limiting turnovers) why that team has been successful thus far. However, Oakland is no slouch in this category either. The Golden Grizzlies have trailed IUPUI, sure, but they've been good about not committing fouls. Even after a game where they sent the opponent to the line for 34 attempts, the Grizzlies still rank second in the conference in opponent's free throw rate.

In sum, we shouldn't be so surprised that Oakland only had seven free throw attempts on Saturday night - IUPUI doesn't foul. However, we should be surprised that the Jaguars went to the line so much for two reasons. First, they are one of the weakest teams in the league at consistently drawing fouls. Second, Oakland is one of the best teams in the league at foul avoidance. Two other statistics back up this notion. First, Oakland's 9.5% free throw rate against IUPUI was its lowest of the season by a mile. The only other time the team was below 20% was when it was 19.7% at Ohio State (a notoriously "foul-phobic" team). Second, IUPUI's free throw rate of 54.8% was the highest Oakland had "allowed" all season long. The second worst was 52.6 in a loss to Valparaiso.

So was Oakland jobbed? One could certainly make that argument using the statistics, but it should be noted that IUPUI's plan all along was to attack the basket. They put themselves in a position where the officials had to make some tough calls. On the season, the number of fouls called in this game, 41, matches up well with each official's average for the year:

- Jerry Sauder: 38.7 fouls per game

- Eric Curry: 35.7 fpg

- Rob Kruger: 40.5 fpg

The major takeaway, though, was that those 41 foul calls were split 63/37 in favor of IUPUI. Whether or not that was "fair" is beyond the point now, but I know Grizzlies fans will be hoping that such a split does not occur again in Sioux Falls.

Interior Defense

Oakland has defended the paint extremely well all season long on the backs of Keith Benson and Will Hudson. The team has led the league in defensive field goal percentage throughout league play and currently holds opponents to a league-best 47.5% on two-point shots. However, in the game on Saturday, Oakland allowed IUPUI to make a whopping 62% of its two-pointers. One could argue that the reason for such a high percentage was due to the foul trouble of Benson and Hudson discussed above. However, credit should be given to the Jags for taking the ball to the basket instead of relying on jump shots or three-pointers. To put this figure into perspective over the course of the conference season, let's take a look at Oakland's two-point field goal defense.

Oakland started conference play by holding opponents to two-point shooting in the high 30s and low 40s, but lately these numbers have been gravitating toward the high 40s and low 50s. Oakland has still been winning these games with its own inside ability, but the IUPUI game surely marks a large departure from the norm. As a fan, the frustrating aspect of this statistic is that the Jaguars have a small frontline, which essentially means that a large portion of their buckets came from the lane penetration of guys like Alex Young (11-of-19 on twos), Leroy Nobles (4-of-6), and Stephen Thomas (6-of-10). The team's lone big man, Christian Siakam, also had a solid game (8-of-12). Siakam has been a big reason why IUPUI has been so solid as of late since he gives the team a much-needed presence in the paint. All told, IUPUI won the points in the paint battle 58 to 34. Maybe some of those points would have never happened if Benson wasn't on the bench for the last part of the second half due to foul trouble, but that's still a large total and serves as a reminder that this loss wasn't all about the foul disparity.

Turnovers

Coach Kampe has noted time and again that turnovers have been his team's biggest weakness this season. However, more often than not, Oakland's offense has just been too dominant for the turnover margin to make much of a difference on the outcome of the game. So after Oakland lost to IUPUI, I wanted to blame it on the turnovers, but the statistics don't back up that assumption. For one, each team had 14 turnovers, and the points scored from turnovers was 16-15 in favor of Oakland. It seems that in a game where a couple of things were going wrong, turnovers still didn't signal defeat for Oakland. Also of note is that OU had 21 assists against both IUPUI and Western Illinois. That's some impressive ball movement that bodes well for the future.

Ryan Bass Watch

Ryan Bass continues to be my favorite bench player to monitor as he has shown some glimpses of greatness in limited minutes this season. We all know that he can leap and pass, but his offensive game has largely remained a mystery. That picture started to come into focus a bit more over the weekend as the freshman logged a very important 21 minutes in OU's loss to IUPUI. While Bass did not get a dunk, he was able to drive to the basket and knocked down a killer three-pointer that kept Oakland within reach of IUPUI in the final minutes. Most impressively, he continued to showcase his passing ability as he had five assists, a season high (he also had four against Western Illinois in 13 minutes).

"Free Ilija" Watch

The seven-footer had a solid showing against Western Illinois after several games of spot duty. In 17 minutes of play, Ilija went 3-of-4 from the floor (including a three!), grabbed three rebounds, and tallied up four assists. That last stat was particularly impressive as we had yet to see much of the big man's passing ability. Ilija played sparingly against IUPUI and had a limited impact while picking up three fouls.

Non-Keith Benson Stud Of The Week: Reggie Hamilton

A weekly shoutout to the best Golden Grizzly not named Keith Benson.

While Reggie Hamilton had a strong scoring week (43 total points on 52% shooting), his best statistic was his assist-to-turnover ratio. After struggling in this department last week, the junior guard tallied 10 assists to 5 turnovers. While there is still room for him to improve, there's no mistaking that's one of his better performances as of late. Moreover, Hamilton, once again, showcased his clutch play in the waning minutes against IUPUI. After sitting for much of the final quarter of the game, he came in and hit a monster three-pointer that cut the Jaguar lead to four points with 1:56 remaining. On Oakland's next possession, Reggie got to the free throw line. After hitting the first (and cutting the IUPUI lead to three), he missed the second but came out of nowhere to grab the ball out of the hands of the rebounder. Reggie made a strong move to the hoop, but IUPUI's Christian Siakam found a way to get set in front of him and drew the offensive charge with 1:17 remaining. It was a heartbreaking call, particularly considering how much heart Hamilton showed in getting the ball back after missing that free throw. That's a dude who hates losing, and that's a trait that should carry this team in Sioux Falls.

Top Play Of The Week

One of my favorite developments during the conference season has been seeing Drew Valentine become a defensive stopper. It seems that he gets one of these plays in every game nowadays where he'll intercept a pass on the perimeter and take it down for a fastbreak dunk. While he didn't get the dunk on WIU, the set-up surely looked familiar:

Valentine also picked the pocket of Alex Young against IUPUI, but Young, being the athlete that he is, was able to chase down Drew to disrupt the shot attempt.

What's Next?

Oakland has just one game this week, but as with every conference game, it's an important match-up. IPFW comes to Rochester for an early tip on Saturday. The Mastodons are no longer in second place but figure to give Oakland their best shot in order to gain some traction in the standings. The game will also be televised on Fox Sports Detroit!

Game Preview: Oakland at IUPUI

Game 25: Oakland (17-8, 12-0) at IUPUI (14-10, 8-3)

Saturday, February 5, 2011 | 7:00pm EST

Watch: IUPUI LIVE! ($) | Radio: WDFN (1130 AM)

Oakland will take on the IUPUI Jaguars on Saturday evening inside Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The team is coming off a win over Western Illinois that left it undefeated in conference play. The Jaguars, meanwhile, have been racking up wins in conference play, and they currently sit alone in second place after beating IPFW on Thursday night. This is a series that has grown into a rivalry over the past few seasons, with Oakland's lone loss in conference play the last two years coming against IUPUI. Ron Hunter's squad has been playing solid of late and will be looking to play spoiler once again.

Key Personnel Match-Up

Drew Valentine vs. Alex Young

Alex Young has been a known commodity to Summit League enthusiasts for some time now, but it's still worth stating that he's having a stellar junior year. In conference games, he's averaging 20.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 49.7% shooting. His three-point shooting (30.6%) is the only weak facet of his game in league play. Most importantly, his contributions have led to wins for his team. While it certainly helps to having Leroy Nobles scoring in bunches, Young has made sure that there was little drop off for his squad from last year to this one. He's scored over 23 points in four of his last five games, and perhaps not so coincidentally, his team is 4-1 in that stretch. IUPUI can still lose a game even when Young scores in loads, but one would think no one wants to be on the end of a 30 and 10 double-double from the junior swingman. Drew Valentine will be tasked with guarding Young in this game. He has developed into a defensive stopper for the Golden Grizzlies since the new year began, so it'll be interesting to see how he handles what will be his toughest individual opponent yet.

IUPUI Player To Watch: Christian Siakam

Christian Siakam's junior season didn't get off to the best start as he performed inconsistently in the non-conference and early part of the conference season. However, since putting up his first double-double against IPFW in early January, the big man has been on a bit of a tear. Since that game, Siakam has gone 39-of-55 (71%) on his two-point field goals and has 27 offensive rebounds to 24 defensive rebounds. Essentially, he's become that low-post option the Jaguars desperately needed to get inside baskets and second-chance opportunities. Already this year guys like NDSU's Marshall Bjorklund and ORU's Damen Bell-Holter have had career nights against Oakland by working hard on the offensive glass, and the Golden Grizzly frontline will surely get another punch from Siakam.

Oakland Player To Watch: Keith Benson

Oakland's senior center had a run to remember to finish up the month of January that included four straight 20+ point games. He struggled from the field against WIU on Thursday but still managed to get a double-double. The numbers will be there for Keith Benson, but this conference showdown with IUPUI is the type of game where his leadership and will to win becomes an important asset to the team. Hopefully Kito has ample opportunities to change the game on Saturday night inside an arena we all hope he gets a chance to play a few games in next year as well.

History

Oakland's lone conference loss in 2009-2010 came on the road against IUPUI. It was an absolute drubbing in which the Jaguars used a second-half push to send the Golden Grizzlies home with a 78-54 loss. OU had a terrible shooting night that led to a lot of available rebounds, a battle IUPUI won by a whopping 46 to 26.

As always, if you're interested in getting in on the conversation with other Oakland fans before, during, and after the game, we highly suggest checking out the Golden Grizzly Hoops forum: Game Thread.

Game Preview: Oakland at Western Illinois

Game 25: Oakland (16-8, 11-0) at WIU (7-14, 2-8)

Thursday, February 3, 2011 | 8:00pm EST

Watch: Rocky Vision ($) | Radio: WDFN (1130 AM)

Oakland gears up for its closest two-game road trip in conference play with stops in Illinois and Indiana. Western Illinois, the first opponent, has struggled mightily this season but does own a conference home win over North Dakota State. At this point, the Leathernecks are fighting for a victory or two down the stretch in hopes of making the field of eight for the conference tournament. Oakland continues to roll in conference play to the tune of an 11-0 record and will be looking to dispatch of WIU to get off to a positive start on the trip.

Not According To The Plan

It wasn't supposed to be this bad for Coach Jim Molinari in 2010-11. After missing the conference tournament in his first season, he led his squad to Sioux Falls last season as the seventh seed. That was thought to be the first step toward bigger things in Macomb, Illinois, but things just haven't gone according to plan, dating back to the summer when post presence James Granstra decided not to return to the team for his senior season. Then several key contributors were injured as the non-conference season rolled on, and the team has been without All-League selection Ceola Clark since early December. To put into perspective how devastating of a loss that has been, consider that when Coach Molinari was asked what Clark meant to his team prior to the season beginning, he responded, "That I can feed my kids." There is still time left for the Leathernecks to get a few wins, but there is reason to believe this has been a lost season for Molinari and Company.

Key Personnel Match-Up

Reggie Hamilton vs. Matt Lander

I'm still not entirely sure why Matt Lander didn't play in the second half of the Oakland-WIU game earlier this season, but that remains the only instance all year where the senior guard did not score in double figures. That's a fact that is all the more interesting when one considers he is averaging 15.2 points in conference games. Lander will get a test when he matches up with Reggie Hamilton, a proficient scorer himself. However, Lander has been very weak from beyond the arc this conference season, shooting just 28.6% there. Reggie has the advantage in that department, but Lander is good at taking the ball to the basket and draws a lot of fouls as a result. In fact, the only players who have been to the line more than him in league play are Keith Benson, Jay Cousinard, Alex Young, and Maxx Nakwaasah - pretty good company.

WIU Player To Watch: Kaimarr Price

Kaimarr Price has been a solid addition to the Leatherneck stable this season as a junior college transfer. At 6-foot-8, he's the tallest regular contributor on the team which makes him a bit undersized against some of the more imposing frontcourts. It is a shame that he hasn't had David Gebru (a 6'10 sophomore) to help him out in the paint as it could have opened him up for more looks, but alas, like most of the team, Gebru was lost for the season with an injury. Still, Price is averaging about 7 rebounds per game in league play and gets to the line at a respectable rate. He's a pretty atrocious shooter from the field (36.4% in conference games) which is hard to figure out since he typically plays close to the basket. His best game was against Oakland at the O'rena earlier this season when he dropped 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting, by far the most attempts he's had all season.

Oakland Player To Watch: Ilija Milutinovic

Ilija Milutinovic has played at least 20 minutes in four games this season, the last one coming in early January against Western Illinois. Since then he's struggled to see the floor as Oakland has faced a number of contenders in recent weeks. Keith Benson and Will Hudson will likely play major minutes as always unless they get into foul trouble, but Ilija is due for some minutes soon. He's been solid in short appearances as of late, limiting his turnovers and personal fouls, but hasn't had enough touches to shoot the ball. Ilija will be an important cog in one of the games down the stretch here.

History

Oakland has a rather impressive history against Western Illinois at Western Hall. Since the 1999-2000 season, the Golden Grizzlies are 10-1 in Macomb, Illinois. The lone setback came back in February of 2001.

Pre-Game Linkage

This week's must read comes from Dan Fenner of The Oakland Post, OU's student newspaper. He has a feature about Drew Valentine's growth throughout the season. Check it out here. Paul Kampe of The Oakland Press also checks in with the latest edition of his weekly Grizz Talk show featuring an interview with Greg Kampe. You can watch that here.

As always, if you're interested in getting in on the conversation with other Oakland fans before, during, and after the game, we highly suggest checking out the Golden Grizzly Hoops forum: Game Thread.

BracketBusters: Where's Oakland?

Each year, ESPN puts on an event known as BracketBusters in late February in an attempt to highlight the year's best mid-major schools. Games are generally determined by RPI, and the top eleven matches of the bunch are televised on some combination of ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. For the teams involved, it offers some quality exposure and a chance to boost their respective resumes for at-large hopes or higher seeds come NCAA Tournament time. Additionally, the games are set up as home and home series, so each team gets a guaranteed home game out of the event.

On the surface, BracketBusters can be a great event for the best mid-major schools. However, for those toiling in the bottom quarter of the RPI, it can create tough situations like this year's match of Southeast Missouri State and Sacramento State. Neither team is having a particularly good season, and now in the midst of conference play Sacramento State has to make arrangements to travel all the way to Missouri for a meaningless game. Some schools will avoid partaking in BracketBusters for the uncertainty in travel, while others are presumably so focused on the conference season that it isn't sound scheduling practice to disrupt the stretch run.

The Summit League has never been a staple of the event as typically only one or two teams represent the conference (usually Oral Roberts). ORU is the only team involved this year, and the team will welcome Pacific of the Big West in this year's version. That's not exactly a marquee match-up, but it nonetheless gives the Golden Eagles a chance to see where they stand against a similar school from a similar conference. However, it's not a game that will draw a lot of exposure to the conference during this event.

The team that would have sparked some interest for The Summit League this year would have been Oakland. In fact, during the BracketBusters Selection Show on ESPNU yesterday, both Joe Lunardi and Andy Katz noted OU's absence prior to announcing any of the pairings. Now Oakland has never participated in the event, but there's no doubt that this year could have offered the program some great exposure. Oakland's RPI puts the team squarely in the group of teams that will have televised games, and in fact if RPIs would have held, Oakland might have been playing Northern Iowa of the Missouri Valley in primetime on ESPN2 in a few weeks. That would also mean a school like UNI (or VCU, Kent State, Drexel, etc) would have made a return trip to the O'rena in 2012-13. Not a bad gig.

Instead, schools like Valparaiso, Wright State, and Austin Peay will be a part of those eleven television games (all teams the Golden Grizzlies played this season). While there is something to be said about staying within the conference during conference season - after all, that's the only way OU is getting an NCAA bid - I can't help but think as a fan that OU is having just as great of a season as any of the other elite participants this season. It would have been great to see the team compete in such an event while securing a solid mid-major to come to the O'rena down the road from now.

Next season, The Summit League has made room for BracketBusters weekend in the schedules of every school in the conference. Oakland is listed as being a participant in a road game. While it'll be neat to see how the cards fall for the team next season, I wonder if there wasn't a missed opportunity this season.

Week 6 In The Summit League: Unsuspecting Players To Fear

In last week's Summit League wrap-up post, we highlighted players on each team who looked to be in the running for potential All-League selections. That post took into account production through the half-way point in conference play; however, there also exists a slew of players who haven't quite had All-League type seasons but can help their team in big ways. These are the players who have high ceilings or shown flashes of greatness but who also have been inconsistent on the year as a whole. If these guys perform to their potential, then they make their respective teams tough to top. When March rolls around, opponents will want nothing more than to ensure these guys do not get rolling.

Eric Carlson, Junior Forward (NDSU)

The 6-foot-6 Eric Carlson was the inspiration for this post after exploding for 32 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday night in a double overtime win for NDSU. It was the junior's first huge game in a season where he was expected to have had many. After averaging about 15 points and 7 rebounds as a sophomore, Carlson this year is posting just 11.3 points and 5 rebounds per contest. Heading into the year, this was a player who had apparently done a lot of work in the offseason in order to catapult himself into the upper-echelon of conference forwards, yet his body of work, at least when looking at production, hasn't put him in such a group yet. However, if he builds on the momentum of this past week where he was a monster on the offensive glass and a regular at the charity stripe, then NDSU will have a strong finish to the season. If Carlson is in beastmode in Sioux Falls, well let's just say that the frontline of him, Michael Tveidt, and Marshall Bjorklund is not one to take lightly.

Ledrick Eackles, Sophomore Guard (OU)

Ledrick Eackles was quiet during the stretch run in his freshman season, but he exploded in Oakland's NCAA Tournament game against Pittsburgh. When it seemed like the Golden Grizzlies had no chance of keeping the game within reason, Eackles played his heart out. He used his seemingly limitless speed and athleticism on many aggressive drives to the basket, finishing with a very meaningful 17 points. This year, the sophomore has struggled with his shooting, both inside and outside of the arc, and missed most of the past month with an ankle injury. However, Oakland fans know well what Eackles is capable of doing on the basketball court when he's healthy. His best game this season was in a win over Ohio where he was active on the boards and got to the free throw line for nine attempts. If he is playing within himself, he can be just as deadly a lane penetrator as Reggie Hamilton or Larry Wright. Not bad for a guy who might be the seventh or eighth option on the team.

Trey McCorkle, Junior Forward/Center (IPFW)

IPFW is 5-1 in league games when Trey McCorkle scores at least 10 points. While feeding the big man in the middle isn't necessarily this team's modus operandi, it's proven to help the Mastodons win games this season. McCorkle has been hampered by an injury at times which has limited his effectiveness, but his team definitely benefits when he's an option in the paint. The 6-foot-10 forward is really the only inside threat for this team, something it needs in order to compete against the bigger teams in the league, notably Oakland. McCorkle is coming off an impressive showing against ORU where he scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in just 23 minutes (he fouled out). He's also currently 25-of-28 from the free throw line in league games. For IPFW to hold on to a second-place finish, it will need McCorkle to be as manly in the paint as the neck beard that graces his face.

Dale Moss, Senior Guard (SDSU)

Dale Moss has started every game for the Jackrabbits this season, and despite playing major minutes, his contributions rarely show up in the box score. He's capable of stuffing the stat sheet - a testament to his growth as a player over the past four years in Brookings - yet more often than not his line might read like this: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. The 6-foot-4 guard is a role player on a Jacks team with young firepower, but his tough, smart play makes him a leader on this squad. In league play, he's shooting a whopping 67.4% on his two-point baskets and has nearly as many offensive rebounds (27) as defensive (28). And while the ball isn't in his hands a ton, he's committed only 9 turnovers through 11 league games. Most importantly to SDSU's March hopes, Moss has been boosting his production over the last few games, and his team is undefeated when he scores in double figures. As a senior, Moss is a good guy to have around for this stretch run and one that could very well change a game if he's "on" in March.

Warren Niles, Sophomore Guard (ORU)

Warren Niles is capable of putting a lot of points on the board, but more often than not, it takes a lot of shots for him to get there. In league play, he owns the lowest points per weighted shots mark of any of ORU's regular contributors, an indication that it takes him more attempts to get his points than others. When the guard is efficient, though, he's a player to be feared. He can drain threes and use his agility to get high-percentage looks around the basket. Niles is an adept rebounder, too. ORU's young frontcourt has been solid this season, and Dominique Morrison is always a beast. But if Niles is playing to his strengths while the others are playing well, then look out, Summit League opponents.

Christian Siakam, Junior Forward (IUPUI)

If IUPUI has a glaring weakness, it resides in the team's inside presence. While they've never been a particularly big team, instead relying on versatile and athletic forwards in the frontcourt, last year's version at least had a few guys who could bang around in the paint. There are a couple of young bigs on this year's team, but Christian Siakam is the only seasoned big man. Though he's still undersized up against some of the conference's bigger forwards, Siakam has a wide enough frame that he can be a banger when he's playing smart and not committing fouls. The junior is converting 65.7% of his shots in conference play and has proven to be one of the better offensive rebounders in the league. He's come on as of late and has even found himself getting to the free throw line more often. If he continues this upswing in production while limiting his fouls, he gives the Jaguars a post presence that will be much needed in Sioux Falls.

It seems appropriate to say that the teams featured above are those most likely to be in the mix in Sioux Falls, and it remains to be seen which school will fill out the last spot for the conference tournament. If the standings hold, then a player to keep an eye on for Southern Utah is Matt Massey. The lanky forward is capable of putting up 20 points or so but has struggled to find consistency this season. However, if Western Illinois is able to slide into the field of eight then a potential reason why would be because of Brandon Smith. The senior guard has seen a major uptick in his minutes over the past two weeks and has scored in double figures four of the last five games. While Smith takes a lot of shots to get his points, it looks like he has the green light as WIU searches for any semblance of offensive firepower.

Bonus Video!

The best game in Summit League action this past weekend was the double overtime thriller in Fargo between NDSU and UMKC. NDSU probably has a few more losses than expected while UMKC has a few more wins than most might have anticipated, and as a result, the two squads were fighting it out for middle-of-the-pack supremacy. UMKC had chances to win the game in regulation and at the conclusion of the first overtime but ultimately failed to execute a game-winning play. Finally, in the last overtime NDSU coach Saul Phillips drew up a great play that his players executed perfectly to seal the victory. Here's a highlight of UMKC's failed chances and Michael Tveidt's game winner: