Horizon foes will collide when the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (11-7) challenge the Northern Kentucky Norse (5-11) at Athletics Center Orena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Golden Grizzlies enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Detroit 86-82 on Saturday. Jalen Hayes was a key piece, recording his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Norse, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 70-65 loss against Cleveland State on Saturday. Tyler White led the team in scoring with 17 points.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Oakland, a substantial 15-point favorite, takes on Northern Kentucky. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 157 points for this matchup. The Golden Grizzlies come into this game 11-7 Straight Up (SU) and 10-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (7-2). The Golden Grizzlies have no trouble scoring as they rank seventh in the nation in offense with 85.7 points per game. The Golden Grizzlies are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting an impressive .383 from beyond the arc. The rebounding edge goes to the Golden Grizzlies in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.1 boards per game.
In the other locker room, the Norse have 5-11 SU and 4-8 ATS records.
This game will be the first meeting for Oakland and Northern Kentucky in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oak, ATS Winner – Oak, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games.
The Northern Kentucky Norse currently sit below 0.500 against the Horizon Conference at 1-4 SU, while the Oakland Golden Grizzlies have a 3-2 SU record.
Oakland is one of the top-scoring teams at home, averaging 87.7 points per game (ranked 20th). Northern Kentucky, on the other hand, allows 83.4 points per away game (ranked 316th).
On average, Oakland has 75.1 possessions per game and scores 1.141 points on each possession. Northern Kentucky has both fewer possessions (69.0) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.011).
Northern Kentucky has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.7%. Oakland is an abysmal 1-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Oakland attempts 22.0 three pointers and Northern Kentucky attempts 21.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies have a 6-7 record while the Northern Kentucky Norse have a losing 4-7 record.
Oakland ranks 76th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.24. Northern Kentucky is ranked lower at 159th with an A/TO of 1.08.
Oakland ranks 71st in offensive rebounding. Northern Kentucky ranks 181st in defensive rebounding.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies average 5.8 steals per game. When giving up 5 or more steals, the Northern Kentucky Norse have a subpar record (3-10) this season.
