ORUTerry Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 The Titans are a mix of seasoned and young players. They don't seem to have a lot of size - Blackshear (6'8" Fr) is their biggest post player (5.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg). Detroit's top scorers are Jenkins (6'7" Jr) at 13.7 ppg and 4.3 rebs and Wilson (6'5" Sr) at 13.7 ppg and 5.8 rebs and 3.0 assists. Detroit is 2-1 with their two wins against D-2 schools. They lost at Pitt 79 to 95 on November 20th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU GRAD Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Here is a little tidbit from Detroit Game 4: Detroit @ Oral Roberts by Commissioner » Thu Nov 26, 2015 3:34 pm Game 4: Detroit @ Oral RobertsWhen: Saturday, November 28, 2:00 ETWhere: Mabee Center, Tulsa, OklahomaLive Video: http://www.oruathletics.com/broadcast/naswrp So we're two weeks and three games into the season, and still trying to figure out what we've got in this Titan team. The win over Central State was sloppy but had positive moments and the guys did what they needed to do. They played very well against UM-Dearborn but you just can't draw much from an NAIA game. And while Pitt gave the Titans a pretty good whuppin', I didn't feel like Detroit didn't belong on the floor or couldn't win a rematch. We did have a lead in the second half. And Pitt is an awfully tough place to win. So we're somewhere between mediocre D-II and NAIA teams, and a good ACC team. Coulda told you that last March. Oral Roberts may start to give some sense of where we are on that continuum. At 5-1 (4-1 against D-I teams), the Golden Eagles are off to their best start since the 2004-05 season. They've beaten an unimpressive yet respectable slate of teams, including James Madison, which beat Richmond, which beat Wake Forest, which beat Indiana. (It looks like this may be the game that allows us to play the "we were really the best team in the country" chain game at year end). Their loss is an 18 point defeat at South Carolina, not all that unlike our game with Pitt-- they were in the game for about 25 minutes (and in fact held a narrow lead for much of the first half) until a USC run broke it open. They were picked to finish third this year in the Summit. So they're a solid mid-major opponent. The Eagles are coming off a 19-15 season that was good enough for a CBI bid last year, and included an overtime win over the Titans in Calihan Hall, in what was surely one of the Titans' poorest performances of the season. The Golden Eagles backcourt ripped Detroit pretty well in that one, with Kory Billbury, now a 5th year senior at Virginia Commonwealth, hitting for 23 points. But it was Billbury's running mate, 6-3 guard Obi Emegano, who did big damage in that game, playing 44 minutes and lighting up the Titans for 31 points. Now a redshirt senior, Emegano is one of the top pure scorers at the mid-major level and was the preseason pick for Summit Conference Player of the Year. In 2013-14 he was averaging 23.3 ppg when he went down with a torn ACL early the year. Last year he was good for 18.3 ppg, and this year is averaging 22.8 points, including a 31 point effort against South Carolina. He's a 40% shooter from behind the arc. Emegano is going to score, so the Titans job is simply to keep him reasonably checked and, if it comes down to a last shot scenario, try to keep the ball out of his hands. To Emegano's Mr. Outside, Oral Roberts pairs Mr. Inside, Albert Owens, a 6-9, 260 lb. sophomore center. Owens is averaging 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, including 21 points against ORU's last D-I opponent, Florida International. It should be fun to watch Owen and Hogan pound at one another down low. At the point, ORU uses 6-3 junior Aaron Anderson, a juco transfer who is averaging 4.5 assists per game. Anderson is not a big scorer (6.8 ppg) and rarely shoots the three. 6-1 Jalen Bradley (9.7 ppg) starts as a third guard, and is a three point threat. Daquan Jeffries, a 6-5 freshman, has moved into the starting lineup in the Eagles last two games as the other forward. But look for the guy Jeffries has replaced in the starting lineup, 6-7, 240 lb. senior Brandon Connally to see a lot, and possibly the majority, of the playing time. Connally is averaging 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and is in ORU's top 10 all-time in blocked shots. He played 26 minutes in the first game he did not start, but did not play in Wednesday's blowout of Tabor College. But he's not listed as injured and there's no press stories suggesting a problem, so I presume he'll play. ORU doesn't go deep into the rotation, with the six players I've mentioned collecting the bulk of the minutes. Three of those six--Emegano, Owens, and Bradley--average over 30 minutes a game. Nobody else averages more than 8 minutes a game in ORU's Division I games. Most likely to see the floor much are junior guard Aaron Young and freshman guard Kris Martin, each of whom played 20 minutes in the win over Tabor College on Wednesday. There's very little size on the bench. Tre Vance, a 6-9 junior, and Javan White, a 6-8 freshman, average just a couple minutes per game. Oral Roberts is basically a conservative team that plays fundamentally sound ball. They play at a relatively slow pace, just slightly below the national average, and neither make nor force many turnovers. They don't foul much. On the other side, they are a very good foul shooting team (in part because Emegano is very good and also gets to the line a lot) so we need to watch the fouls and move the feet. After a 4-day layoff, our guys should be fresh for this game, though, so that's a plus. Owens and Connally are big bodies, and both are decent foul shooters, so it will be on Blackshear and Hogan to control them down low with position--none of this reach and grab that last year's Titans were known for. Emegano will score and the trick is just to keep him down around his season average. The Titans are better than ORU on the wings and not surprisingly, Chris Jenkins had one of his best games last year against them, with 13 points and 7 rebounds. While Detroit's big numbers have come against non-DI competition, I feel pretty good about this team's scoring ability after watching the Pitt game, and I expect we can score on Oral Roberts. I'm no Moose when it comes to predicting, and I don't usually offer predictions in these previews, but I think the Titans win if we score 75 or more points, and I think we'll get there. Happy Thanksgiving, and Go Titans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Interesting rundown from the other side....this is the Titans vs. Ex-Titans.....ORU won in OT last season up in Detroit.... an interesting match up and TheEagleman agrees that it should be a close game for the first half....can't take much from the Titans' two early wins but they did get whipped at Pittsburgh.....probably gonna be too much Obi, Owens, Bradley, Martin, Conley and Jeffries for Detroit to handle.....the Titans hang around for 25-30 minutes but the Golden Eagles pull away late for an 83-73 win....I will have to check the line in the morning but I would expect ORU to be a 5-6 point favorite and TheEagleman might have to consider a small wager if the number is that low since I think we win by near double digits or higher.....this is a much needed win because victories in December on the road will be hard to come by....this is an afternoon game at Mabee Center...I guess because of the Bedlam matchup in the evening....TheEagleman will unfortunately miss Pokes vs. Sooners....I will be at Temple-UConn with my grandsons..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU listed as a 6.5 pt favorite today....I am sort of liking that line....I think ORU pulls away in the final minutes to win by 10.,,,,,Detroit has beaten no one..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I agree with most of his analysis but I don't think that we are playing at a slow pace. This team seems to like to push the tempo more than in previous years. I hope Javan White is able to go. Has anyone heard anything about Javan's health status? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 holiday week/out of normal routine, dead arena, player quitting distraction = a Detroit win on White...according to the post game from Tabor -- one more week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Young starts ahead of Anderson.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 pre-game back spasms for Anderson....Chris Crawford could have got good minutes in this game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Anderson is not on the bench.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 really missing Anderson....Young just not strong enough for these physical, athletic Detroit defenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Back spasms right before the game according to Hax. Now in arena at 8:00 mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU shooting 13-17 from 3 w/9min to play. can't remember when they have shot the long ball better. edit: make that 14-18 from behind the arc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU not missing Anderson much.....oh, and news flash....not missing Chris Crawford either....Owens has been in foul trouble all day but still the Golden Eagles are plowing forward....Obi showed up in the 2nd half and has 26 with 5 minutes left..Bradley has 21.....88-75 ORU and two of the top players for the Titans have already fouled out..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU plays slow?....looks like we might put up 100 vs. Detroit today.....94-79 ORU with 3 minutes left....29 for Obi..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Owens is gone now....Conley has 4 fouls....but Young stepped up today with 11 so far.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 98-89 ORU with 2 minutes left....Conley is gone now......31 for Obi.....it will probably take another 15 minutes finish this game....lots of fouls.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUalum Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU is HORRIBLE this season at putting teams away late in the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 ORU holds on for a 100-95 win....must have been a run and gun game at Mabee with little D.....Coach Sutton probably not happy with that but we will take the win over a decent mid major....31 for Obi...Bradley gets 21 and Young 15.....nice win considering our starting PG couldn't go and his back up stepped up big time.....ORU now a gaudy 6-1...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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