Follow or fade me on this play at your own peril. @)
I believe Oakland will beat the Northern Kentucky Norse at the Golden Grizzlies home court (Athletics Center O'rena) in Rochester, Michigan by 18+ points.
This is the first ever meeting between these two Horizon League teams.
Oakland is 11-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play (5th place). They are 6-3 SU at home.
Northern Kentucky is 5-11 overall and 1-4 in conference play (9th place). More disturbing is they are 0-8 SU away.
According to the most current up to date (Monday 18th) KENPOM 2016 overall ratings, Oakland is ranked #103 and Northern Kentucky is #270.
Oakland's offense is ranked #35, while their defense is ranked #222.
Northern Kentucky's offense is ranked #279, while their defense is ranked #247.
Food for thought is the how these two teams fared against a common opponent, Toledo, this season.
On 15 December, Oakland traveled to Toledo as a +5.5 underdog. They won SU and ATS 76-64.
On 30 December, Northern Kentucky traveled to Toledo as a +12 underdog. The lost SU and ATS 73-90.
ATS Trends
Oakland Golden Grizzlies are:
16-3 ATS this season YTD
10-2 ATS their last 10 games
13-5-1 ATS their last 19 home games
4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win
19-6-1 ATS in their last 26 games following a SU win
Northern Kentucky Norse are:
4-14 ATS this season YTD
3-9 ATS their last 10 games
3-10 ATS in their away games YTD
2-6 ATS in their last 8 away games
Technical trends aside, I simply don't feel the Norse will have an answer for this Golden Grizzlies player.
I expect him to have a monster day statistically, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him score 30+ points.
If you've never seen or heard of him, he's the real deal folks. He's a gem of a player.
Point guard KAHLIL FELDER is one of this year's best college basketball player.
I also happen to LOVE the coaching style of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies head coach. "Intense" is a
mild word to describe it. He's the kind of coach most players would LOVE to play for IMO.
GREG KAMPE just completed his 31st season as head coach of the
Golden Grizzlies in 2014-15, and is the 3rd longest tenured coach in Division 1.
Anyway, this may be a tight back and forth game for awhile. However, I just don't see Northern Kentucky able to
match Oakland's intensity the ENTIRE game. The Golden Grizzlies may put the final dagger in the Norse and cover ATS in the last 5 minutes of the game.
I'd prefer a wire to wire ATS cover, but whatever it takes.
Believe me, if the Golden Grizzlies come out flat AT HOME against the Norse, Coach KAMPE will get in their faces. Guaranteed.
He will NOT allow them to take this Northern Kentucky team lightly!
These are the kind of games Oakland should win and cover ATS. As stated above, I expect KAHLIL FELDER to have a
monster day and lead his team to a 18 to 20 point victory.
!/Good luck to anyone who tails me on this play.
