The Gameplan's Quarterfinal Recap: SUU

Oakland won its quarterfinal game against Southern Utah last evening by a score of 82-66. Similarly to the last game between these two squads, Oakland built a solid lead in the last two minutes of the first half before pulling away during the second half. For now, the Golden Grizzlies advance and await for their next opponent to be determined at the conclusion of tonight's SDSU-IPFW tilt. For a full recap of last night's game, you can check out game stories from a number of sources, including The Oakland Press, The Oakland Post, and the Detroit Free Press. Additionally, the conference provided video of the post-game press conference here, and WXOU also has its own post-game interview with Coach Kampe available here. Great coverage, all around!

Defensive Score Sheet

Last night's quarterfinal game was a much more efficient affair than the regular season closer between Oakland and Southern Utah a week ago in Cedar City. Both teams scored well above last week's rate, despite the fact the score was nearly the same. As a result, the defensive score sheet from this game was a bit less extreme than last week's edition. For a brief introduction to the concept of a defensive score sheet, check out the debut post from Friday. Now we'll dive right into the charts, starting with Oakland.

When comparing charts between games, one might wonder why this week's individual defensive ratings are higher. This is due to the fact that individual defensive ratings are calculated in part from the team defensive rating. The tournament game featured a much more average defensive performance by Oakland, on a per-possession base, than the last one which was on the extreme low end (note that OU's "average" defensive output is tops in the league - so this is a good thing). As a result, the numbers look higher, when indeed they are still quite strong. The column that really stands out to me is that of Percent of Team Defensive Possessions. We would expect, on average, each player to account for 20% of a team's defensive possessions, and Oakland comes really close to achieving this standard. As opposed to the last game where Keith Benson was active at a very high clip, this time he's right on the average mark at 20%. SUU went at Travis Bader quite a bit for the second straight game as the redshirt freshman, along with Benson and Will Hudson, faced the highest number of possessions in raw terms. In what has been a trend between these two teams, Ilija faced an incredible amount of possessions in very limited minutes. But his stop percentage improved drastically here (from 16% to 35%). Kudos.

Now we turn to Southern Utah's score sheet. Unlike Oakland, SUU allowed the offense to score well above what it has allowed on average in conference play.

Oakland's bigs went at SUU's frontcourt from the post and the guards attacked them from the perimeter, so we end up seeing guys like Matt Massey and Kyle Davis accounting for a lot of the team's defensive possessions. Ray Jones, Jr. was also above the average by this standard, no doubt due to the many times he found himself trying to prevent Reggie Hamilton from driving to the hoop in the first half. Here's one play where Hamilton shakes off Jones and scores over Massey's out-stretched arms:

There's nothing too alarming here with the rest of the SUU defensive score sheet, though I do want to showcase the individual lines of Matt Massey and another of SUU's many post options, Matt Hodgson.

Massey had a stop percentage of just 12% in the time he was on the floor, in large part due to Keith Benson getting the best of him. Benson was hitting most of his jumpers and hook shots, and he was going up hard when deep in the post. Massey took the brunt of those makes, and while he hit a few jumpers over Benson himself, he was definitely overmatched on this night. Matt Hodgson, on the other hand, used his length to bother shots. He and Benson shared the court at times during the game, and a few of those forced misses or defensive boards were while guarding Benson. Perhaps most incredibly, Hodgson didn't commit any fouls that sent a player to the stripe - this from a guy whose minutes have often waned due to foul trouble. Hodgson did, however, make a lazy pass that led to this:

And that was the story of the game for Oakland. No matter the adjustments Southern Utah made, they were just too talented and focused for the Thunderbirds to pull an upset.

Reggie The Conquerer

In his first elimination game as a Golden Grizzly, junior Reggie Hamilton did not disappoint. His performance in the first half was simply otherworldly. He scored 21 points during the opening 20 minutes, hitting everything from floaters in the lane to spot-up threes from downtown. He used his defense to create offense, and he got to the free throw line off the dribble-drive. All aspects of his skillset were on display, including his constantly improving ball control (just two turnovers). That run he made in the first half ensured Oakland's lead was safe while SUU was still within striking distance, and his teammates picked up where he left off in the second half. What I enjoyed about Hamilton's performance, more than the numbers, was his demeanor. At one point while he was shooting a free throw, the camera panned in on him and he looked mean, confident, ready to win. It's the "gunner" face:

Hamilton had that face early in the season, especially during the first few road games, but I had thought it was born more out of frustration from his early struggles than anything else. But as I watched him more and as he found his fit as the team's lead guard, it began to look more and more like that gunner mentality. Sure, such play can lead to mistakes from trying too force the issue, but more often than not, it has worked for Hamilton to the benefit of the team. It's a trait that is unique to him on this squad; no one else has exhibited that same kind of "take it to you" attitude. And for Hamilton to put it on display in the tournament, as he has done often in conference play, is a good omen for the Golden Grizzlies as they try to move forward.

An Excuse To Show You Travis Bader's Block

We all know Travis Bader has the smoothest stroke on the team, but apparently he's also been working on his swatting form. At about the midpoint of the second half, Bader had a great block on Ray Jones, Jr. from the weak side. Not only was the block cool, but it lead to a transition three-pointer for Drew Valentine assisted by, you guessed it, Travis Bader!

That was Bader's fifth block of the year, so it's safe to say it's a moment that should be treasured. Bader's passing ability has also been on display in recent weeks, including this quarterfinal game where he had four dishes. He was also the recipient of a pretty sick pass from Larry Wright:

Bader also had an NBA-range three, available in .gif form here. In non-Bader multimedia entries, you can also check out a great play from Larry Wright here. What I liked most about that one was that he was aggressive on the defensive glass and used his quickness in the open court and agility in the paint to get a good look in transition. Finally, a little love for Keith Benson: a stop and pop jumper tailor made for the NBA.

What's Next

Oakland moves on to the semifinals face the winner of tonight's SDSU-IPFW game. In addition to being available on ESPN3.com, the game will air live on Fox Sports Detroit, which is also a win for the local area! That game will be played Monday night at 7:00pm.

Quarterfinal Preview: Oakland vs. Southern Utah

Summit League Tournament Quarterfinal

(1) Oakland vs. (8) Southern Utah

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

Watch: Webstream ($) | Radio: WDFN / WXOU

After achieving a 17-1 record in conference play, Oakland heads to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the conference tournament. As the number one seed, OU is the first to play on Saturday evening in a game that pits the team against Southern Utah. These two squads met a week ago in Utah where the Golden Grizzlies came away with an 82-68 victory. Prior to that loss, the Thunderbirds had won three straight games including a big one over IUPUI in Indianapolis. It took a bit of time for Coach Roger Reid's young team to come together, but they finally did during the stretch run. It wasn't enough to propel them any further in the standings, though, so they still enter this game as the eighth and final seed in the tournament. The talk from the Oakland camp all week has been about staying focused, while the Southern Utah contingent has stressed the desire to leave it all on the court. Whatever happens, it looks to be a battle as it's win or go home from here forward.

If you stopped by the blog earlier, hopefully you had a chance to check out the introduction to the Defensive Score Sheet. Though it would have been great to debut that feature earlier in the season, I figured last week's Southern Utah match would be a great starting point given the looming rematch on Saturday evening. If you haven't read the post yet but appreciate data-driven insight, please check it out. I'm going to revisit the defensive ratings from that post here, though with a different focus this time.

From the data in that post, we learned that in last Saturday's match the most active defenders were the big men on both teams. Since Oakland and Southern Utah are well-stocked in the frontcourt, such a statement comes with little surprise. Even though SUU's bigs put up a fight, the data showed that OU's seasoned veterans came away with the more dominating performance on the defensive end. On most nights, that has been the case. Oakland's guards, on the other hand, have rarely been patted on the back for their defense. Though they have made key stops or have had quality nights guarding the opponents, most nights guys like Reggie Hamilton and Travis Bader are more lauded for their contributions on the offensive end. Yet against Southern Utah, the information gleaned from the Defensive Score Sheet shows they were quite influential on the defensive end, too.

As a reminder, the lower the defensive rating, the better. Both of Oakland's starting guards concluded the game with stellar defensive ratings while active on a decent portion of defensive possessions. In raw numbers, Southern Utah went at Travis Bader the third-most of any player (just behind Kito and Will), and the redshirt freshman held his ground, stopping 62% of those scoring opportunities. Bader also had a steal and four defensive rebounds, all of which helped him attain his strong defensive rating for the night. Hamilton did a fine job as well, though it is interesting to note that the opposition did not attempt many shots against him. Still, when they did, he stopped 58% of them while chipping in two steals and one defensive board. SUU's starting guards were scored on more than they stopped their respective opponent, as both Ray Jones, Jr. and Ryan Brimley had stop percentages under 50%. These trends hold up with the reserves as well, though SUU did receive solid defensive contributions from some of its role playing guards in very limited minutes.

Oakland's defense has been superior to that of Summit League opponents throughout the conference season, largely through its incredible post defense. That will always come in handy against a big team like Southern Utah, but if the game from last Saturday tells us anything, it's that Oakland's guards were also able to shut down and score on Southern Utah's guards. If they can match such a feat in the quarterfinal game, the Golden Grizzlies will be difficult to surmount.

Key Match-Up

Will Hudson vs. Kyle Davis

Though SUU's Ramell Taylor had the bigger game last Saturday at the forward spot, Kyle Davis has been the most consistent throughout Summit League Play. Taylor, who dropped 15 points and eight rebounds on Oakland, had only been in double figures three other times all conference season. Davis, on the other hand, has quietly had a strong freshman season for the Thunderbirds. Though he struggled to put the ball in the basket last week against Oakland, he had been on a bit of a roll as he averaged 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in February. According to what some of the players told Carter Williams of SUU News, they will be trying to limit the second-chance opportunities Will Hudson usually provides Oakland via the offensive glass in this game. Davis will likely get first dibs at accomplishing that task, though Hudson does not figure to be easy to stop. He attained a double-double in three of Oakland's final four games, and a full 46% of his rebounds were on the offensive end during that stretch. Because of his strong performance against Oakland, Taylor may also be a player to keep an eye on as he contends with Hudson. Many of his made field goals last weekend were of the "falling back jump shot" variety, though he did have four offensive boards.

Southern Utah Player To Watch: Jackson Stevenett

That surge Southern Utah made during the last month of the season coincided with very consistent play from sophomore Jackson Stevenett. The 6-foot-5 sophomore has been playing very well as of late and topped off the regular season with a respectable line of 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists against Oakland. He also had a great dunk that showcased some of his sneaky athleticism. The Thunderbirds have had very balanced scoring all season, but Stevenett seems like the kind of guy that could have a big scoring night given the many ways he can score. Matt Massey is like that too, especially when his jumper is falling, but he's more prone to foul trouble than the young Jackson.

Oakland Player To Watch: Reggie Hamilton

Oakland is so deep this season that any player could have an outstanding game this weekend, or the team could simply have a balanced effort to pull out a win. So ignoring match-ups or trends for this pick, the guy I am most excited to watch in this game is Reggie Hamilton. Coach Kampe has mentioned many times this season that Hamilton is the guy from last season without a ring (since he was sitting out due to transfer rules), and throughout conference play, we have seen the junior guard play like a guy hungry to win that championship. Fresh off being honored as a First Team All-Summit League selection, Hamilton will play his first elimination game as a Golden Grizzly. I can't wait to see how he responds.

In two meetings this season, Oakland went 2-0 against Southern Utah. On a per-possession basis, the Golden Grizzlies held the Thunderbirds to 0.89 points, a full .16 points lower than their typical offensive output in conference play. Oakland scored 1.09 points per trip, well below their season average of 1.19, a number impacted by last week's game where OU shot just 39% from the field. The teams have met just once in the conference tournament back in the 2002-2003 season. OU was a three seed and lost 55-66 to SUU which had the six seed.

Since Oakland first appeared in a Summit League conference tournament in 2001-02, the number one seed has won the tournament seven times, the two seed once, and the seventh seed once (Oakland in 2004-05). Additionally, the number one seed has made the championship game in every year since at least 1993-94.

Pre-Game Linkage

The Argus Leader out of Sioux Falls is bringing everyone great coverage of the tournament all weekend. They've established a launching page for the tournament which will contain everything written, recorded, or tweeted about the tournament, available here. In addition, Paul Kampe, Oakland beat writer for The Oakland Press, is in Sioux Falls covering all of the action on both the men's and women's side. I would highly encourage keeping tabs of his Twitter feed for immediate news and insights. Dan Fenner of The Oakland Post, OU's student newspaper, is also at the tournament. His Twitter feed can be found here, where he has posted news and insights from the games as well, and the launching page for all of his coverage from the tournament is here. Lots of great coverage should be expected from those outlets throughout the tournament. We are lucky as fans to have them covering the team and tournament!

As for the Gameplan, it'll be game previews for as long as Oakland has games to play. If the team makes it past Tuesday, then a recap and more coverage will follow. And I hope to use all of the great television action over the tournament as fodder to create a stockpile of animated .gifs. Fun times.

Finally, you can always check out the Golden Grizzly Hoops forum where fans have been posting links and thoughts to everything they can find about Oakland and the tournament all week.

Defensive Score Sheet: Oakland vs. Southern Utah

In two meetings this season, Oakland held Southern Utah to an average of just 0.898 points per possession, significantly below the Thunderbirds' conference average of 1.056. Oakland used this advantage to win both games by double digits, even after shooting just 39% in the contest a week ago. The match in Cedar City, then, was marked by a solid defensive effort by both teams. Though we are able to understand team defensive efficiency fairly well from box score data, there has never been a sure-fire way of doing the same for individuals. However, a Defensive Score Sheet, introduced by Dean Oliver in his seminal book Basketball On Paper, can help fill this gap.

The Defensive Score Sheet is basically a way of tabulating what a player does on the defensive end of the court. The recorder marks down each time a player allowed a field goal, forced a miss, committed a foul leading to a miss or make, or forced a turnover. To see which players were most effective in that defensive meeting a week ago, I created one of these sheets after I watched a replay of the game. Assigning credit and blame for defensive stops or lack thereof is a fairly subjective matter, but for the time being let's assume my results are more or less consistent with reality. To see what this looks like, let's go to Will Hudson's line (click to enlarge)

Hudson was very engaged on the defensive end of the court. Southern Utah rarely takes three-pointers (and is in fact last in the nation in percentage of shots taken from beyond the arc) and often goes to its plethora of big men for scoring opportunities. As a result, Hudson faced a lot of scoring possessions - and he did fairly well in denying them points. Now the next stage of the analysis utilized by Oliver is much more complex. It involves a series of detailed calculations that include everything from these raw numbers to items like defensive field goal percentage and rebounding percentage. I first learned about this through the work of David Hess who has been doing this for Kansas all season long. For a brief introduction into some of the terms, you can check out Hess' outline here. I've read the work of Hess and Oliver's chapter on individual defensive ratings many times over, and a lot of it is still over my head. But after working through the calculations a few times, I feel comfortable enough posting the results. Please note any errors are my own.

(I also have to give special thanks to J. Leverenz of the Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue. He has been doing the Defensive Score Sheets for UK this season and was kind enough to pass along some of his tools and tips for this project. While the tables might appear nice and orderly, a lot of work goes into making these, so many thanks to him for helping make it a bit easier.)

I'm leaving a bit out of the tables for now, but these three columns represent well the areas from which we can draw some conclusions. Thoughts on the Oakland side:

• The lower the defensive rating, the better. Larry Wright comes out with the best defensive rating from this game. He managed to stop 84% of plays against him while he was in the game whether by forcing a miss, a turnover, or grabbing a defensive board. Drew Valentine, who had four steals in this game, also comes out with a stellar defensive rating despite the fact that he only accounted for 10% of team defensive possessions while he was in the game. Either Southern Utah didn't try to attack him, or he did a great job of denying his player a shot attempt (which then wouldn't register on this chart).
• I highlighted Keith Benson's numbers across the board for a reason. While he was in the game, he faced a team high 24% of SUU's scoring attack, and he stopped them 63% of the time. The average we would expect a player to face is 20% (100% divided by five players on defensive), so Kito's mark is likely higher for two reasons: 1) SUU went to its big men a lot, and 2) Kito is an eager help-defender. His stop percentage is likely affected by the subjective nature of this task. For example, Matt Massey hit a few 15-foot jumpers that Kito did not directly contend, but that is because his role in the defense is to guard the basket. So how does one assign blame for such makes? That is why this is such a tricky experience. Still, Benson ends up with a great defensive rating.
• Everyone else on the team posted a solid defensive rating. Will Hudson, despite his great looking raw numbers, ends up with a 91.5 rating. This is still a great rating, but it lags behind his teammates. This is where the math involved in calculating these percentages goes over my head as one would think Hudson's rating would have been better because of his strong raw numbers shown above. I think this results from the fact that Hudson is involved on so many defensive plays, including those where he runs out to contest a shot from another player's man. Also, Hudson took the brunt of SUU's offensive attack early on as he guarded two guys, Kyle Davis and Ramell Taylor, who hit a few fading jumpers that were well contested. This is perhaps where the numbers do the defender a disservice.
• Finally, while Ilija was in the game it appears as if Southern Utah went at him quite a bit - 29% of the time. He had a pretty weak stop percentage and defensive rating as a result.

Now let's turn to Southern Utah's defensive percentages.

• As expected, SUU's starting frontcourt duo, Kyle Davis and Matt Massey, faced the brunt of the offensive attack by Oakland. They had to contend with both Keith Benson and Will Hudson, to mixed results. Davis does a decent job while he's on the court by stopping 55% of defensive scoring possessions. Massey, on the other hand, struggled to get stops. I can also tell you that his figures were hurt by the fact that his fouls lead to four made free throws versus two misses, and he also failed to record a defensive rebound.
• Tyson Koehler held his ground in the paint for short spurts, but when scoring opportunities abounded for the Golden Grizzlies, he largely came up short.
• Jackson Stevenett, an underrated forward, is a bit of a do-everything man for the Thunderbirds. He ends up looking pretty solid by this standard, especially considering the amount of minutes he played.
• Finally, Damon Heuir did a fine job in his limited minutes. He did not allow a single point to be scored against him, stopping two plays and helping on another. He also had a defensive rebound and a forced turnover. Because of this, Heuir is rewarded with a low defensive rating.

The defensive rating charts tell us that this game was very much played in the paint, and the big men were very active on the defensive end as a result. Additionally, the numbers show that Larry Wright did a particularly great job on the defensive end, while SUU received nice defensive contributions from role players in short minutes. It is very likely that the quarterfinal match on Saturday will again feature a lot of scoring opportunities for the big men. Knowing what we know of last weekend's meeting, it will be interesting to monitor which side ends up with the defensive advantage. If time and video permits, I will attempt to track these totals again for the rematch.

20 Tips: A Visualization

Throughout the season our "Weekly Recap" posts were highlighted with a screencap or photo of the tip-off of that week's games. In cases where the tip was obscured or missed, the alternative was simply shot of center court featuring an Oakland player with the ball. Below you will find all of the road game shots in one handy visualization with the score of the games included as well. It's kind of neat to look back on all of the places that the team played this year: four Big Ten arenas, two NBA courts, a few great mid-major venues, nine conference destinations, among others. The games are presented in order, except for the IPFW game, which was placed earlier in the sequence to even out the rows.

The Gameplan's Weekly Recap: UMKC/SUU

The Big Picture

Oakland closed its regular season this weekend with a sweep of UMKC and SUU on the longest trip in conference play. The wins came in different ways, one an offensive shootout and the other a defensive effort, but they ultimate sealed a second-straight 17-1 season for the Golden Grizzlies. In the biggest of pictures, hopefully we all get a chance to reflect on what the program has done over the past two years in going 34-2 in conference play. The conference tournament is just a few days away now, but this was another exceptional season for Oakland. Many congrats to the program are due as well as many thanks for providing us with a lot of exciting, and winning, basketball to watch this year.

Winning Basketball

Oakland used a hyper-efficient offensive night against UMKC and a hard-nosed defensive approach against SUU to finish the season as the conference's leader in efficiency on both ends of the court. It didn't always look like this would be the case, especially in the last few weeks, given the explosive SDSU offense and the much-improved ORU defense. But as it stands, Oakland's 1.19 points per possession and 1.00 points allowed per possession stand as tops in both categories. That's a testament to the team's winning ways, an approach that over the course of the season has valued offense just as much as defense. And while statistics often give us more reason to doubt than to champion, this weekend's results, as wacky as they may be, should show the versatility of this team.

Let's consider first the UMKC game. It was a high scoring game on an average number of possessions for Oakland, which led to an incredible scoring rate of 1.40 points per trip. That stands as Oakland's most efficient night in conference play. On the other hand, UMKC went for 1.22 points per trip, again a season-high for points allowed by the Oakland defense. It was, quite simply, a night when the Golden Grizzlies out-performed the opponent on the offensive end. Such games have gone in Oakland's favor all season long in conference play, even against high-powered South Dakota State.

After the UMKC game, Oakland showed off its defensive might against SUU in holding the Thunderbirds to 0.89 points per possession. That stands as the team's best defensive performance of the second-half of conference play, and it lags only behind truly dominant home games against Centenary, UMKC, and Western Illinois for the entirety of league play. On the other side of the ball, the Golden Grizzlies only went for 1.02 points per possession, far below their season average but still quite higher than what they allowed the T-Birds. We've now twice seen in the last two weeks (SUU and NDSU) the team struggle on the offensive end but come out with a win because of its defense.

While we may not be sure of the precise way Oakland will be oriented on a given night, this season's efficiency data shows us that one way or another it will be a winning formula.

Return To Form

Another reason Oakland was successful on this road trip was because of its rebounding effort. The raw numbers show as much, but the rebounding rates the team posted were astronomical. For the first time since the second week of conference play, the Golden Grizzlies posted back-to-back double-digit rebounding rate differentials. Additionally, the team posted two of its top three offensive rebounding performances of the conference season this weekend:

1. 54.5% offensive rebounding rate (at UMKC - 2/24/11)

2. 48.4% (at SDSU - 1/27/11)

3. 45.0% (at SUU - 2/26/11)

4. 40.0% (home UMKC - 12/4/10)

4. 40.0% (at ORU - 12/30/10)

So on average, Oakland rebounded approximately 49% of its own misses in the games against UMKC and SUU ... quite a feat! A week after losing the board battle to both NDSU (4.4% difference) and SDSU (2.7% difference), the Golden Grizzlies rebounded with truly dominant performances this week.

"Free Ilija" Watch

It's our last "Free Ilija" update, and it's highlighted by something the seven-footer rarely gets a chance to do: free throws! The Serbian Assassin attempted three free throws at SUU on Saturday night, making two of them. Before Ilija is ultimately "freed" next season, there is always a chance his number will be called in Sioux Falls this weekend. And as he showed us at Tennessee, he can make an impact even if he only plays for five minutes.

Non-Keith Benson Stud Of The Week: Will Hudson

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

Will Hudson continues to play at a high level as his career winds down. He notched back-to-back double-doubles this weekend, marking the first time he's done that all season. He continues to work incredibly hard on the offensive glass, which in turn has afforded him a lot of open looks. Simply, the senior has come to play, and Oakland has been all the better for it. A final factor to note: in the last four games Hudson has made 21 of his 26 free throw attempts (81%). While he had a rough patch in the middle of the season at the stripe, his free throw shooting has been strong as of late and will surely be needed in Sioux Falls.

What's Next?

Oakland will head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this weekend to begin play in the conference tournament. The first game is a Saturday rematch with Southern Utah. It's win and advance or lose and go home from here on out. Best of luck to the Golden Grizzlies as they prepare for the tournament.

Game Preview: Oakland at Southern Utah

Game 31: Oakland (21-9, 16-1) at SUU (11-17, 7-10)

Saturday, February 26, 2011 | 9:30pm EST

Watch: T-Bird Zone ($) | Radio: WDFN (1130 AM)

Oakland wraps up the regular season on Saturday night with a trip to Cedar City, Utah, to take on a surging Southern Utah squad. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the year on Thursday night when they scored a whopping 1.402 points per possession. However, the team also allowed UMKC to go for 1.215 points per trip, a season high in conference play. OU's offense continues to be the definition of elite, but it must shore up the defense in order to ensure a win against Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds are 5-2 in the month of February, and the two losses (to UMKC and ORU) came by a combined five points. These fellas are really on a roll and have put their early season struggles behind them.

Lightning Striking At The Right Time

You may remember that Southern Utah started the season by dropping a home game to California Baptist out of the NAIA level of college hoops. The team really struggled throughout the season's first two months, and all the losing served as more reason to be glad that SUU would be leaving The Summit League after next year. Though the T-Birds did get a nice win over North Dakota State in the early portion of league play, they didn't start putting together solid offense with enough defense to win until the last month. For visual proof, see how the team's efficiency margin has trended this year:

The team's efficiency margin is in the negatives for the entirety of conference play, but as the trend line shows, it's been on the up-and-up for the better part of the second-half. Better yet, the team's efficiency margin for the month of February is +0.11. Oakland's over the same span is +0.09. Will Oakland's offensive firepower be enough to take down a vastly improved Thunderbirds team in Cedar City? That's why they play the games, I guess.

Key Personnel Match-Up

Oakland's Frontcourt vs. SUU's Frontcourt

Over the last two years or so SUU coach Roger Reid has recruited a lot of size. In fact, SUU has so much size in its frontcourt that it's fairly comparable to Oakland. The SUU frontline isn't quite as experienced as OU's, but it is surely big enough to compete with the opponents on Saturday night. Mott Hodgson's minutes still vary quite a bit, but the 6-foot-11 sophomore did have a breakout night as recently as a week ago at IUPUI. Matt Massey also has size and versatility, and freshman forward Kyle Davis has been on a tear as of late (13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in February league contests). Jackson Stevenett, who checks in at about the same size as OU's Drew Valentine, has also been on a bit of a hot streak lately (double figures in four straight games). Keith Benson, Will Hudson, and Valentine will have their hands full in this one, and depending on how the game is called, Ilija Milutinovic could also be called upon to pitch in.

SUU Player To Watch: Ryan Brimley

Ryan Brimley, or Kenneth Parcell from 30 Rock, is the lone senior on this year's young Southern Utah team. As such, he'll be the only one celebrating Senior Night on Saturday evening. Like a lot of his teammates, Brimley's minutes have fluctuated quite a bit this season as Coach Reid seemingly worked to find the right rotations, and the senior has been rather ineffective during the last two weeks. However, it's Brimley's last game at Centrum so it's likely that the senior will at the very least have the opportunity to impact the game. He's capable of doing so, especially when given the green light to shoot threes, though it is worth noting SUU takes the least amount of three-pointers in the entire nation.

Oakland Player To Watch: Larry Wright

Larry Wright has been playing a lot of minutes in the last two weeks, a move that has chipped away at Drew Valentine's just a bit. Never fear, however, as Wright has been shooting fairly well from the field in that stretch and has been rebounding like it's mid-December. Wright has also stepped up his game on the defensive end of the court, which included a great performance guarding NDSU's Michael Tveidt a few weeks ago that Coach Kampe lauded after the game. If the altitude is not kind to Oakland's scoring threats from deep, the team could use a healthy dose of Wright attacking the basket.

History

The all-time series between these two schools is split evenly at 13-13, according to StatSheet.com. Long-time Oakland fans know well of the team's struggles in Cedar City. Last year's seniors didn't pull out a win there until their last season, which means this year's senior class will attempt to win its second game in a row to graduate with a 2-2 record at Centrum.

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 Preview: Oakland at UMKC

Game 30: Oakland (20-9, 15-1) at UMKC (16-11, 9-7)

Thursday, February 24, 2011 | 8:05pm EST

Watch: RooVision ($) | Radio: WDFN (1130 AM)

Oakland heads to Kansas City for a game against a UMKC team that is much-improved since the two teams met back in early December. The Golden Grizzlies won that game by more than 30 points, but that looks more like an outlier for a Kangaroos squad that is currently 9-7 in league play. One of the reasons the Roos have been successful this season is their improved play at home. Prior to the start of the year, they moved from the Municipal Auditorium into the on-campus Swinney Recreation Center, a venue they are currently 11-2 in this season. If Oakland can channel its early December game, then even a favorable home court won't help UMKC in this one. However, recent trends would indicate this one will be much closer than the previous meeting, especially considering the Roos still stand to improve their seeding by ending the season with a couple of wins.

The Rouse Of The Roos Revisited

When these teams met almost three months ago in Rochester, UMKC was riding high on a winning record achieved through the early part of non-conference play. The Oakland game, at least at the time, looked to put UMKC back in its place, a sign that the team had simply benefited from a very fluffy schedule (UMKC's non-conference strength of schedule ranks 320 out of 345). However, UMKC bounced back in January with several inspired performances, many coming in overtime, that have helped the team climb in the conference standings. Even if the Roos lose out to finish the year, they'll still finish with at least a .500 league record for the first time in five seasons. It's also the most successful season headed by Coach Matt Brown, whose tenure has thus far been marked by plenty of losing and player defections. It's an interesting turn for Brown, a coach who might have been another losing season away from losing his job. However, the job he's done in leading the Roos to a winning record this season should be commended. He's done it with an extremely short bench that's been decimated by injuries, particularly in the frontcourt. Senior leader Spencer Johnson has stepped in to become a rebounding machine for the Roos, and had the team had a few more bodies available, some of those overtime losses could have very well been victories. Whatever happens to UMKC from here, Brown's performance this season should not be soon forgotten. For the first time, he has the Roos winning more games than they lose, which is a big step for a program that has struggled mightily in recent years.

Key Personnel Match-Up

Reggie Hamilton vs. Reggie Chamberlain

When Reggie Hamilton transferred from UMKC, the team was able to pick up another Reggie, Reggie Chamberlain, via the transfer wire. After sitting out last season due to the transfer, Chamberlain has emerged as a legitimate scoring threat for the Roos. Earlier in the season the junior guard wasn't necessarily a featured option for the team, but he has come on as of late and is averaging 16 points per game in February. If he has a weakness worth exploiting, it's his three-point shooting as he's making just 33.3% of his attempts in league play. Reggie Hamilton, meanwhile, has been shooting lights out for Oakland as the team's second-leading scorer, and he's also been the best distributor in The Summit League in conference games. While Hamilton and his backcourt pals will have to contest with both Chamberlain and Bakari Lewis, the Reggie vs. Reggie match-up figures to be interesting to monitor.

UMKC Player To Watch: Jay Cousinard

Jay Cousinard has been a stud for UMKC this season. He gives the team an athletic presence on the wing, someone who can create his own shot off the dribble and draw contact in the paint. While he's not a prolific three-point threat, he's shooting a serviceable 41.1% from beyond the arc in conference play. Most of his damage comes closer to the basket where he is making 61.5% of his two-point attempts, and when he doesn't get a shot off, it's most likely because he's been fouled as he's third in the league in free-throws attempted in league play, just behind WIU's Matt Lander and OU's Keith Benson. The senior also chips in 6.1 rebounds per league contest. The dude should be a First Teamer when this year is over, and he's got just two more games to show why.

Oakland Player To Watch: Drew Valentine

With the seniors playing their last two games at home last weekend, Valentine didn't play his typical amount of minutes which limited his production opportunities just a bit. Against UMKC, however, Oakland will need Valentine's rebounding as the opponents feature a few great rebounders at the forward spot. If Valentine can chip in a few points via offensive boards while helping to limit UMKC's second chance opportunities, the Golden Grizzlies will be more effective at making it tough for guys like Spencer Johnson and Jay Cousinard to rebound. Valentine will likely also spend some time guarding Cousinard, UMKC's featured scorer, so the sophomore will be in a position to have an impact on the game one way or another.

History

Oakland has won nine straight games over UMKC dating back to the 2006-2007 season. These teams always tend to have high scoring games, though those have more often come at the O'rena than in Kansas City. As noted earlier, this game will be held in UMKC's on-campus gym instead of the historic Municipal Auditorium. The team moved its home games to Swinney Recreation Center this year.

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.