Many people have probably never heard of the Summit League and, even with some assistance, may only recognize one team: Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles have won the Summit League’s automatic berth into the NCAAs each of the past three years, but after losing four starters from last year’s team and trying to work four true fresmen into the rotation this year, the Summit League door is open…enter Oakland.
Oakland (that’s Oakland, MI – I know those Bay Area Raider fans are easily confused) returns all five starters from last year’s team and seven of their top eight scorers. They also add a recruiting class that’s being touted their best ever and the best group in the league. While they likely won’t need to log a ton of minutes, it gives the team good depth and Ilija Milutinovic, a 7’0″ from Serbia, gives them much needed size up front.
After a narrow opening loss to a very good Cleveland State team (who probably deserve a Team to Watch themselves), Oakland bounced back with a win at Oregon. The Ducks may be down this year, but that’s a team who has gone 30-5 at home the last two seasons. Going into Eugene and getting a win is a big boost for this Oakland team, whose schedule doesn’t get any easier. They go to the Carrier Dome this week to take on Syracuse and still have games at Michigan St., Michigan and Kansas St. upcoming. By time league play rolls around, this team should be well prepared.
Every March, we’re shocked by a mid-major school giving the big boys fits and that could very well be Oakland. They’ve got a lot of experience, depth and talented guard play. They need to improve defensively, where they were downright terrible last year, and so far so good. They held both Cleveland St. and Oregon under 40% from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies have the chance to prove something with their non-conference schedule and if they can pick up a few big wins and gain some confidence, this will be a dangerous team come March.
