NCAAB Game Preview - Oakland at Maryland

Sat Nov 16, 2019 12:00 PM EST

A matinee matchup in College Park, Md., on Saturday will feature the high-scoring Maryland Terrapins, ranked seventh in the nation, against the defense-minded Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a noon tip-off.

Maryland (2-0) is coming off an impressive 73-55 win over Rhode Island on Nov. 9 in which it pulled away after a slow start. The Terrapins, averaging 84 points per game, saw several of their new parts come together in the final 32 minutes, committing just three second-half turnovers and outscoring the Rams 61-31 over that span.

"To go on that run and to rebound and get our zone going was big," said Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. "We hit a couple of threes in that stretch. Donta (Scott) and (Aaron) Wiggins hit back-to-back threes and that was big for us. ... We played with much more poise in the second half."

The Terrapins, though, are shooting less than 24 percent from behind the lengthened 3-point arc this season, and it's a big concern for Maryland so far.

Horizon League contender Oakland (3-1) will love hearing that statistic. The Golden Grizzlies are off to their fast start thanks to a much-improved defense that has allowed an average of just 59.0 points through the first four games and is flexing some interior muscle, tied for fourth nationally with 171 rebounds, and pushing opponents out to the perimeter.

"It's who we are this year," said Greg Kampe, who is in his 36th year of coaching the Golden Grizzlies.

"Tray Maddox, Daniel Oladapo and (Kevin) Kangu are just lockdown defenders, and Brad (Brechting) and X (Xavier Hill-Mais) have bought into that now. It's becoming a culture. It's something we're proud of, that we can really take to the bank, that we can guard and shut down people."

The Grizzlies did just that in their most recent outing, beating Southern Illinois on Nov. 10 in their final game at the inaugural Sunshine Slam in Kissimmee, Fla. The 6-7 Oladapo, who earned Horizon Conference Player of the Week honors, led the way with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

Brechting, a 6-11 center, chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Maddox, a 6-5 sophomore, added 11 points and seven rebounds. Sixty-six percent of Oakland's points came in the paint and the Grizzlies outrebounded the Salukis 44-20.

Maryland will provide a sterner test with athletic 6-10 center Jalen Smith coming off a 19-point, 11-rebound effort. Senior All-America guard Anthony Cowan is averaging 13 points and 5.0 assists but has made just 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

Maryland's long-range misfires fuel Oakland upset hopes.

"We're forcing threes. ... We're keeping (opponents) out of the paint and rebounding," said Kampe, the third-most tenured coach at one school behind only Jim Boeheim (44 years at Syracuse) and Mike Krzyzewski (40 years at Duke).

Still, replicating some of their early defensive and rebounding success this season will be tough for the Golden Grizzlies. The Terrapins are the tallest team in the Big Ten with an average height of 6-8, and they are 47-6 in nonconference home games over the last six seasons. They're 32-6 overall at home in all games over the last two years.

--Field Level Media