Post by Commissioner on Feb 21, 2019 22:55:23 GMT -5
Oakland
When: Saturday, February 23, 3:00 p.m.
Where: McRena, Rochester
TV: ESPN3; TV 20 (local)
Radio: AM 910 Superstation (Titans); 1130 AM WDFN (Oakland)
It's crunch time, with just three games left in league play. The Titans haven't done as well as most of our fans hoped or Coach Davis expected, but they've done better than most any impartial observer last July figured they would do. Bottom line: we are not a good team, and the 10-17 record is no fluke. But they can play good ball--The win over Wright State is solid, and the win over Bowling Green keeps looking better and better, as the Falcons are now 19-7 and with a top 100 NET ranking (and they'd be #67 under the old RPI formula). We've got one of the league's best players in Antoine Davis, and a capable #2 with Josh McFolley. But there's just not much margin for error. As of Friday morning, the Titans can still miss out on the HL Tournament, although that seems unlikely. We could still finish as high as 3rd, although that seems unlikely, too. But there's a lot of room in between. A 4th place finish and a first round home game is realistic if the Titans win out; 5th or 6th, likely to play one of UIC, Oakland, or Green Bay, sounds a lot better than a 7th or 8th seed and a first round trip to Wright State or NKU.
Oakland is up first, of course, a series that needs a Titan win, 'cause it ain't no rivalry if we just lose all the time. A loss guarantees that both UIC and Oakland will finish ahead of the Titans in the league standings, so we could kiss that home game in the tournament good bye. A win keeps us in the loop, and also moves us ahead of Youngstown State--for now--thanks to the tiebreaker formula, which could change.
Not much new since we last saw Oakland. They've got the same personnel, and no big injuries. If there has been a change, it is the improved play of center Brad Brechting, who has come alive after two and a half years of mediocre play, plus an injury redshirt year. Entering the game at Calihan, Brechting was averaging 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 49.3%, in 19 games. In 9 games starting with the Titan game, in which he had 8 points and 9 rebounds, he has averaged 18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, while shooting a sizzling 70.4%. They'll use a 7 man rotation, with Kamari Newman as the 6th man and James Beck as thee 7th. If they need to go deeper, freshman Kenny Pittman is likely to get the call.
To watch : Antoine Davis needs 4 three pointers to tie Steph Curry's NCAA freshman record.
Not much more to say on this one. We need a win.
Probable Oakland Starters
PG: #01 Braden Norris, 5-11 Fr. (7.7 ppg, 4.6 apg, 47.3% 3PtFG)
SG: #21 Jaevin Cumberland, 6-3 RS Jr. (16.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 39.9% 3PtFG)
G: #02 Tray Maddox, 6-4 Fr. (5.8 ppg, 33.3% 3PtFG)
PF: #14 Xavier Hill-Maas, 6-8 RS Jr. (18.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 34.8% 3PtFG)
C: #13 Brad Brechting, 6-11 RS Jr. (9.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 34.8% 3PtFG)
Key Reserves
G: Kenny Pittman, 6-3 Fr. (0.6 ppg)
SG: # 10 Kamari Newman, 6-4 RS Soph. (9.7 ppg, 34.5% 3PtFG)
SF: #22 James Beck, 6-7 Soph. (5.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
When: Saturday, February 23, 3:00 p.m.
Where: McRena, Rochester
TV: ESPN3; TV 20 (local)
Radio: AM 910 Superstation (Titans); 1130 AM WDFN (Oakland)
It's crunch time, with just three games left in league play. The Titans haven't done as well as most of our fans hoped or Coach Davis expected, but they've done better than most any impartial observer last July figured they would do. Bottom line: we are not a good team, and the 10-17 record is no fluke. But they can play good ball--The win over Wright State is solid, and the win over Bowling Green keeps looking better and better, as the Falcons are now 19-7 and with a top 100 NET ranking (and they'd be #67 under the old RPI formula). We've got one of the league's best players in Antoine Davis, and a capable #2 with Josh McFolley. But there's just not much margin for error. As of Friday morning, the Titans can still miss out on the HL Tournament, although that seems unlikely. We could still finish as high as 3rd, although that seems unlikely, too. But there's a lot of room in between. A 4th place finish and a first round home game is realistic if the Titans win out; 5th or 6th, likely to play one of UIC, Oakland, or Green Bay, sounds a lot better than a 7th or 8th seed and a first round trip to Wright State or NKU.
Oakland is up first, of course, a series that needs a Titan win, 'cause it ain't no rivalry if we just lose all the time. A loss guarantees that both UIC and Oakland will finish ahead of the Titans in the league standings, so we could kiss that home game in the tournament good bye. A win keeps us in the loop, and also moves us ahead of Youngstown State--for now--thanks to the tiebreaker formula, which could change.
Not much new since we last saw Oakland. They've got the same personnel, and no big injuries. If there has been a change, it is the improved play of center Brad Brechting, who has come alive after two and a half years of mediocre play, plus an injury redshirt year. Entering the game at Calihan, Brechting was averaging 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 49.3%, in 19 games. In 9 games starting with the Titan game, in which he had 8 points and 9 rebounds, he has averaged 18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, while shooting a sizzling 70.4%. They'll use a 7 man rotation, with Kamari Newman as the 6th man and James Beck as thee 7th. If they need to go deeper, freshman Kenny Pittman is likely to get the call.
To watch : Antoine Davis needs 4 three pointers to tie Steph Curry's NCAA freshman record.
Not much more to say on this one. We need a win.
Probable Oakland Starters
PG: #01 Braden Norris, 5-11 Fr. (7.7 ppg, 4.6 apg, 47.3% 3PtFG)
SG: #21 Jaevin Cumberland, 6-3 RS Jr. (16.9 ppg, 3.4 apg, 39.9% 3PtFG)
G: #02 Tray Maddox, 6-4 Fr. (5.8 ppg, 33.3% 3PtFG)
PF: #14 Xavier Hill-Maas, 6-8 RS Jr. (18.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 34.8% 3PtFG)
C: #13 Brad Brechting, 6-11 RS Jr. (9.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 34.8% 3PtFG)
Key Reserves
G: Kenny Pittman, 6-3 Fr. (0.6 ppg)
SG: # 10 Kamari Newman, 6-4 RS Soph. (9.7 ppg, 34.5% 3PtFG)
SF: #22 James Beck, 6-7 Soph. (5.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)