The Oakland Golden Grizzlies (13-8) and the Horizon’s top-ranked offense welcome the Wright State Raiders (13-8) and the seventh-ranked defense in the conference. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 29 and can be seen on EFC and ES3.
The Golden Grizzlies enter this game hoping for similar success after edging Milwaukee 82-79 on Monday. Kahlil Felder was a key piece, recording his 10th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 assists. The Raiders, meanwhile, are coming off an 80-66 win against UIC on Sunday. Biggie Minnis had a good game for Wright State, registering 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
Over the last five games, Jalen Hayes has taken his game to another level for the Golden Grizzlies, averaging 17.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 0.6 blocks.
It will be a showdown of conflicting tempos, as the fast-paced Golden Grizzlies (ranked ninth in the nation in possessions per game) will look to push the slow-paced Raiders (281st in possessions per game).
Oakland is a six-point favorite against Wright State and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 153 points. The Golden Grizzlies come into this game 13-8 Straight Up (SU) and 12-4 Against The Spread (ATS). The Golden Grizzlies are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 19.0 per game. 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 39.9 boards per game.
Over on the other bench, the Raiders have 13-8 SU and 9-9 ATS records. Wright State performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 7-3 record. Offensively, the Raiders have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 67.6 points per game by averaging 74.1 during that stretch.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between these conference foes. Their previous game was a Golden Grizzlies victory, but the win was not enough for them to overtake Wright State in their recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 2-5 SU over the last few meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 3-3 record. Oakland and Wright State each held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Oak, ATS Winner – Oak, O/U – Over
Notes
Oakland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last 6 games.
Oakland is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oakland’s last 5 games when playing Wright State.
Oakland is one of the top-scoring teams, averaging 86.1 points per game (ranked second). Wright State allows 63.8 points per game (ranked 26th).
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies rank 25th for their offensive rating of 115.1. The Wright State Raiders have a defensive rating of 96.3 (ranked 52nd).
Oakland has an average field goal percentage of 45.2%. Wright State is an underachieving 2-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Wright State Raiders both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Oakland is 112th and 85th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Wright State is 202nd and 153rd in these categories.
Oakland ranks 86th in assists, registering 15.0 per game. Wright State performs worse at 186th with 13.3 assists per game.
Oakland, the 43rd-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 39.9 rebounds per game. Wright State does worse, ranked 330th with 32.0.
Wright State ranks 347th in offensive rebounds, while Oakland ranks at 50th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Wright State forces a turnover rate of 20.3%. When Oakland turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 2-1 record.
