Anything can happen in March. But one thing is certain: The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies will punch their ticket to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament against the Milwaukee Panthers on Tuesday, March 12.
As forward as that sounds, to this point, we have seen the Grizzlies play in 34 games this season. Twenty-three of those games have been wins, and 16 of those 23 games have been conference wins.
Here are three reasons why the Grizzlies’ season won’t end in Indianapolis.
DQ Cole has played exceptionally well during the Horizon League Playoffs
To start, it doesn’t take much for DQ Cole to get hot during a basketball game, and that has been a testament so far in the Horizon League Playoffs.
In Oakland’s game against the Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) Mastodons, Cole scored 14 points and shot 6-8 from the field in just 17 minutes of play.
What makes that performance so noteworthy is the fact that five other players on the roster played more minutes than Cole, and just one of them, Rocket Watts, scored more points.
In the Golden Grizzlies’ game against the Cleveland State (CSU) Vikings, Cole put up an explosive 20 points, five rebounds, and a team-high four assists. Additionally, Cole was a force to be reckoned with on defense, tallying a steal and a block.
Additionally, across both of these games, Cole has scored the longest streak of points among his teammates and opponents.
Against the Mastodons, Cole scored 12 consecutive points late in the first half, and against the Vikings, Cole scored nine straight points, again, toward the end of the first half. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues when Cole takes the floor against Milwaukee.
However, Cole’s impact on the game goes beyond the box score, as he is frequently a standout defender and a beast on the glass.
“I want to win, so I’ll do whatever it takes to win for the team,” Cole said. “If that’s grabbing every rebound, if I’m not hitting shots, boxing out, whatever it takes to get the dub, that’s all I’m about.”
Translation: The man is unstoppable, especially when he wears his yellow shoes.
The Golden Grizzlies’ roster is incredibly deep
Sure, teams with deep rosters in sports are expected to be more successful than teams with less depth.
However, the Grizzlies’ depth has allowed them to control the game’s pace for most of the playoff games. It also gives the Grizzlies a wide variety of players who can get hot in a hurry.
Notably, in the last two games of the playoffs, neither of the leading scorers for the Golden Grizzlies has started a game in the playoffs.
Against the Vikings, Rocket Watts came off the bench and led all scorers with 18 points. When Oakland beat the Vikings, Jack Gohlke, who was recently named the sixth man of the year in the Horizon League, led all scorers with 21 points and came off the bench.
It’s also important to note that the Grizzlies were essentially without Watts, who only played three minutes in the win against the Vikings, and entirely without perennial starter Isaiah Jones against the Vikings.
Without a starter and a key piece off the bench, who are both lockdown defenders, OU still managed to slide past the Vikings, all thanks to the depth of their roster.
At the end of the day, OU will hit a team where it hurts. The question that remains is: Which Grizzly will strike?
Oakland has a regular-season series sweep over Milwaukee
Fool Milwaukee once, shame on you. Fool Milwaukee twice, shame on me.
Fool Milwaukee three times, and you advance to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
Not only does Oakland have the series sweep over the Panthers, but both of the Golden Grizzlies’ wins this season have come in various ways.
The Grizzlies’ first matchup against the Panthers was more of a traditional win. Trey Townsend and Blake Lampman, who are the team’s leading scorers this season, led the team in scoring and were pivotal on the boards and as playmakers in the game.
When both teams had a rematch on the Panthers’ home court, Gohlke led the Grizzlies in scoring. The 3-point magician took 18 shots, all from beyond the arc, and cashed in on eight for 27 points.
Along with Gohlke, Townsend was the second-leading scorer with 21 points. However, Townsend wasn’t too effective from the field, shooting just 4-13, but Townsend made it to the charity stripe 14 times and only missed a single free throw.
With multiple leading scorers in both games and Townsend proving to be an offensive threat regardless of his shooting night, the Panthers can be beaten in various ways, especially considering the number of offensive threats OU has.
To conclude, between Cole, the deep roster OU possesses that has still won games with injuries, and the variety of offensive power that has worked in their wins against Milwaukee, Oakland will be crowned champions of the Horizon League.
“How lucky I am to have this group of kids,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “I mean, it’s unbelievable. … I might cry because I’m serious. They just are unbelievable.”