GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Cleveland State (9-16, 5-7 HL) | Thursday, Feb. 13 – 7 PM | Athletics Center O’Rena | Rochester, Michigan
COVERAGE BROADCAST
ESPN+/TV20 | TALENT: Neal Ruhl (PxP) and Dan Waterstradt (Analyst) | RADIO: WDFN-AM (1130), iHeart Radio app | TALENT: Neal Ruhl (PxP) and Dan Waterstradt (Analyst)
ROCHESTER, Michigan – Oakland University men’s basketball opens a four-game homestand on Thursday night with Cleveland State. Tipoff against the Vikings is set for 7 pm at the Athletics Center O’Rena.
Thursday’s matchup marks the first time for sophomore guard Rashad Williams squaring off with this former team. Williams knocked down 91 triples a season ago for the Vikings, coming in at No. 2 in program single-season history.
Williams is averaging 26.8 points per game over the past four outings – highlighted by a career-high 37 points at Detroit Mercy on January 31. The Detroit native earned Nike Horizon League Player of the Week honors, and followed the performance with a 34-point night at Northern Kentucky on February 6. Williams is the first Golden Grizzly to knock down eight three-pointers in a single-game since Kendrick Nunn did so at Detroit on January 20, 2018.
Oakland went to NKU and Wright State – the top two teams in the league standings – and put itself in a position to win in both games. At NKU, the Golden Grizzlies had the ball with 10 seconds to play, trailing 71-70, but a turnover under the basket would be the deciding factor. Against the Raiders, Oakland came back from down 17 to pull within two with just over seven minutes to play, but wouldn’t get any closer.
Senior center Brad Brechting’s double-figure streak ended last time out at six games. Senior forward Xavier Hill-Mais went for his sixth double-double of the year at NKU last weekend and followed it with his fifth 20-point effort of the season versus Wright State.
Since Williams was granted his waiver on Jan. 16, Oakland’s scoring average has gone up 6.0 ppg. For the first time this season, the Golden Grizzlies has scored 70 or more points in four-straight outings.
Cleveland State enters Thursday’s contest seventh in the conference standings with five league wins. The Vikings dropped both its games last weekend, falling to UIC and Youngstown State. CSU has lost six of its last eight. Algevon Eichelberger leads a trio of Vikings in double digits this season with 13.7 points per game while leading the squad with 6.5 boards per outing.
Thursday and Saturday, Oakland University Athletics will be featuring the Sweetheart Deal in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Fans can purchase a game ticket and chili dog for $10 – featuring the Sweetheart Dog.
Inside the Series
Overall: Oakland, 9-8
At Home: 4-3
At CSU: 5-4
At Neutral: 0-1
Current Streak: Oakland, 3
Last Meeting: W, 68-55, Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 11, 2020
Series Note: Last home loss to CSU came on Jan. 16, 2017, 76-65
Notes
- Rashad Williams was named the Nike #HLMBB Player of the week after dropping a career-high 37 points in the Golden Grizzlies’ 77-64 victory over Detroit Mercy on Friday, January 31.
- Xavier Hill-Mais is one of 10 Horizon League seniors named to the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship Midseason Watch List, announced on Tuesday, February 4. The 2020 event is scheduled for April 3-5 at Atlanta’s Atlantic Station. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native has scored in double figures in 23 of 24 games this season – highlighted by six double-doubles – most recently at Northern Kentucky on Feb. 6. Currently, Hill-Mais ranks inside the top eight in the league for points per game, 15.5, and rebounds, 7.7. He is knocking down over 51 percent of his field goal attempts – good for first in the Horizon.
- Rashad Williams – playing in just his seventh game as a Golden Grizzly – has knocked down multiple three-pointers in every outing – his season high came at NKU. Williams knocked down 8-of-15 from range. For the first time in his career, he recorded back-to-back 30+ point efforts. The Detroit native ranks second all-time in Cleveland State single-season history with 91 three-pointers a year ago. Williams is the first Golden Grizzly since Kendrick Nunn to hit eight triples in a game – 8 by Kendrick Nunn at Detroit Mercy in Calihan Hall (1/20/18).
- Since Williams was granted his waiver, Oakland’s scoring has gone up 6.0 ppg. For the first time this season, the Golden Grizzlies have scored 70 or more points in four-straight outings.
- The three-point streak was extended to 995 by Rashad Williams midway into the first half. The last time Oakland did not convert a shot from behind the arc was on Jan. 30, 1988 vs. Wayne State University. The Golden Grizzlies have hit a three-ball in 995-consecutive games, which is the fifth-longest streak in the NCAA.
- Oakland’s last loss at the O’Rena to Cleveland State came on Jan. 16, 2017, 76-65. Brechting started in the effort while Hill-Mais dished out a career-best four assists with seven points off the bench. Jalen Hayes became the 35th player in school history to surpass 1,000 points in the game.
