Oakland at Detroit Mercy: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

This in-state matchup comes from the state of Michigan as these two mid-major teams look to win and rise in the Horizon League conference standings with a victory.

Only approximately, 26 miles separate the University of Detroit Mercy and Oakland Basketball in a rivalry nicknamed the Metro Series. The Golden Grizzlies reside in Rochester, MI which is a suburb town north of the city of Detroit. Both universities are located near Interstate 75, so the drive to either basketball arena from either campus is only an under half an hour drive from each other.

Not many collegiate rivals can say that they are that close in proximity to one another. Both teams play in the Horizon conference with Oakland having joined the conference in 2013, and UDM being an original member of the conference. This rivalry is increasingly important year after year and this game may end up being referred to as a classic.

Game Match Up

Teams and Records: Oakland (8-12, 6-3 HL) and Detroit Mercy (8-12, 4-4 HL)

Date: January 23rd

Time: 7 PM EST

Channel/Streaming: ESPN+

Team Profiles heading into this game

Detroit Mercy

Best Wins: At Purdue Fort Wayne (75-66), Charlotte (70-49), Ohio (88-74), at Tulsa (76-72), and Robert Morris (87-75)

Notable Defeats: At Washington State (54-96), At Florida Atlantic (55-76), and at Boston College (66-70), at Charlotte (80-82), at Cincinnatti (54-72), and Youngstown State (79-84)

KenPom Ranking: 204

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 206

Sagarin Ranking: 213

Net Ranking: 216

Quadrant 1 Wins: Zero

Quadrant 2 Victories: Zero

Quadrant 3 Wins: Three

Oakland

Best Wins: Milwaukee (83-61), at Northern Kentucky (64-63), at Wright State (75-73), and Robert Morris (69-65)

Notable Defeats:  Youngstown State (69-85), at Michigan State (54-67), at Boise State (57-77), at Syracuse (66-95), Missouri State (64-76), San Jose State (67-80), at Toledo (90-112), and Oklahoma State (62-91)

KenPom Ranking: 273

College Basketball Power Index Ranking: 247

Sagarin Ranking: 263

Net Ranking: 269

Quadrant 1 Wins: Zero

Quadrant 2 Victories: Zero

Quadrant 3 Wins: Two

Rivalry History

Last 10 games of this rivalry: The Golden Grizzlies have won nine out of the previous ten games against the Titans.

Current Win Streak: Oakland has won the last game between these two schools, having a one-game winning streak in this rivalry.

The last meeting between both schools: The Golden Grizzlies defeated the Titans at home by a final score of 75-59.

Game Preview

Both teams are led by their point guards as Antoine Davis is the leader for the Titans and Jalen Moore is the captain for the Golden Grizzlies. Davis is now the second-all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history and has scored over 40 points in his last two games. Davis not only is UDM’s leading scorer but he has scored 28 or more points, a remarkable ten times this season.

Moore who has missed multiple games due to injury and has not been 100% fully healthy at the start of the season is still Oakland’s second scorer averaging just over 15 points a game and is the assist leader for the Golden Grizzlies averaging approximately six assists a game. Besides the two Horizon Leagues’ Preseason All-League First Team members, which team is fully healthy and at 100% may be the key to who wins this game.

For Oakland, Moore and Blake Lampman have both missed three games this season, and if both players are not 100% healthy versus Detroit Mercy, the Golden Grizzlies will be at a slight disadvantage against the Titans.  Detroit Mercy played without their second and third-leading scorers Jayden Stone and Gerald Liddell in their last game. Stone has not played since January 8th and Liddell has only played in ten games this season. The Titans would greatly benefit if both players played against the Golden Grizzlies in this rivalry game. Let’s now take a look at the main keys of the game for both teams.

It is nearly a given that both teams leading scorers UDM’s Davis and Oakland’s Trey Townsend will be able to play well and be very productive in this game, especially on the offensive end. However, it may come down to the offensive production of Oakland’s off-season transfers Rocket Watts and Keaton Hervey and UDM’s Damezi Anderson and A.J. Oliver. These players from both teams have had some good games this season but have been inconsistent offensively. Defensively their play has not been an issue as all four players have played well overall on the defensive end. The main key to this game besides which team is the most healthy and which secondary players will be able to score in double digits is where this game is being played at.

Detroit Mercy is 5-2 on their home court with impressive wins over Ohio and Charlotte and their two losses at home were by only three and five points. Oakland in true road games is 3-6 and they had to go to overtime against IUPUI who is in last place in the Horizon League in their last road contest.

However, the Titans have lost two of their last three home games and the Golden Grizzlies have won their three last road games so the overall home and road records for both teams may not be as big as on overall key to this game as originally thought. However, with this game being played at the historical Calihan Hall, the Titans have a slight edge heading into this match-up.

Prediction: Detroit Mercy 81, Oakland 79