ORU at Omaha

[Dr. Cornelius]

52 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

That was me; I said at season-start that he would/should be red-shirted in any other program in America.

He's still a liability on defense, and I haven't noticed him rebounding or even trying to get to the rim, but in terms of a catch-and-shoot wing, he's been excellent lately.

But, once the word gets out on him, and teams start running someone with some length out to challenge him when he catches the ball, I'm curious to see how he reacts.

I doubt ORU would be have been able to sign Weaver if they told him he would have to redshirt. Not too many Summit League perimeter players can match Weaver's length at 6'8". Most players his size in our conference play around the basket so it will be interesting to see what other coaches do.

 

50 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

Why didn't this guy sign in November?

Waiting/hoping for better offers?

Abmas started gaining a lot of interest right around the time ORU started recruiting. I imagine he is waiting until after his senior season to see what offers he gets. Would be another good addition for this team.

[ORU GRAD]

• Photos
•  
• Box Score

ORU Tops Omaha 87-84 to Start Summit League Play

Final	1	2	T
ORAL ROBERTS	49	38	87
OMAHA	38	46	84

Dec 30, 2018

 

Box Score (PDF) | Photos |  Season Stats  |  2018-19 Schedule  |  Tickets

The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 87 – Omaha 84
Record: ORU (5-11, 1-0) – UNO (7-8, 1-1)
Location: Omaha, Neb. (Baxter Arena)

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team held off an Omaha charge and grabbed an 87-84 road win Sunday afternoon at Baxter Arena. The Golden Eagles were 9-10 from the free throw line in the final 10 minutes of the game to help seal the victory.

ORU's inside-out combination was unstoppable as Emmanuel Nzekwesi scored a career-high 28 points to lead all scorers. Kevin Obanor also did work inside with 19 points, while DeShang Weaver provided the outside threat going 7-10 from 3-point range en route to 21 points. Sam Kearns chipped in 11 points and led ORU with four steals, adding seven assists without turning the ball over.

Omaha got 21 points and eight assists from J.T. Gibson and 19 points and seven rebounds from Zach Jackson. K.J. Robinson added 14 points and Mitch Hahn scored 12 points.

ORU out-rebounded the Mavericks 37-23 and had five blocks in the game, matching the second most this year. ORU had eight swats against Southwestern, and five each against James Madison and BYU.

Quote of the Game
"For us to come out of here with a victory was really a tribute to the free throw line for us. We were able to make 9-of-10 in the second half and for us, that was the difference in the basketball game. DeShang can really shoot the ball and we needed him to make some shots to loosen things up for Emmanuel and Kevin. You aren't going to get a kid to go 7-10 every day, but he can shoot the ball and to his credit, he made shots tonight." – Head Coach Paul Mills

Turning Point
After taking a shot from Omaha to start the second half, A Weaver 3-pointer put ORU up 64-62 with 9:17 to play. The game was tied on two more occasions, but ORU never trailed again.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Nzekwesi led ORU in scoring (28 points) and rebounding (14 rebounds), while Kearns led ORU in assist (seven) and steals (four).
Omaha:  Gibson led the Mavericks in scoring with 21 points and also led them in assist with eight. Jackson had a team-high seven rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU shot 53 percent (31-58) from the field, 41 percent (10-24) from 3-point range, and 83 percent (15-18) from the free throw line, including a 9-10 mark in the second half.

- Omaha shot 47 percent (31-66) from the field, 39 percent (11-28) from 3-point range) and 68 percent (11-16) from the free throw line.

- ORU held a 21-5 rebounding advantage at halftime, and finished the game out-rebounding Omaha 37-23, leading to an 18-9 lead in second-chance points.

- ORU held a 38-32 edge in points in the paint and a 23-9 advantage in bench points, thanks to 19 points from Obanor.

- ORU had 18 turnovers while Omaha had 11 and the Mavericks used it to a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

News and Notes
- ORU is now 4-0 on the season when leading with three minutes to play. The Golden Eagles held a four-point lead (78-74) when the clock hit 3:00 Sunday.

- The Golden Eagles handed Omaha its first loss of the season when scoring 80-plus points. The Mavericks entered the game 7-0 when reaching 80 points and 0-7 when falling short.

- ORU is 5-2 this season when leading at halftime this season. ORU held a 49-38 lead at the break, the largest lead of the game, and led for 35:31 of the game.

- ORU's 83.3 percent from the free throw line was the best percentage of the season when attempting at least 10 free throws. It was the third time this season in which ORU has shot 80 percent or better, hitting 81 percent (26-32) in an overtime win over James Madison, and 87 percent (7-8) at SMU.

- Weaver hit a career-high seven 3-pointers (7-for-10) and scored 21 points. It was his second 20-point game of the season, two short of his career high 23 scored against Ecclesia. The freshman now has 12 made 3-pointers in the last two games and has four or more 3-pointers in five games this year.

- Nzekwesi was a force all game and finished with a career-high 28 points and 14 rebounds, a season high.

- Sunday marked the first time this season in which ORU has had two 20-point scorers. The last time it happened was when Nzekwesi and Austin Ruder each scored 20 against Denver in The Summit League tournament last season.

- This is the second year in a row in which ORU has started The Summit League season with a win having beat Omaha at the Mabee Center to start league play last year.

Up Next
ORU will host Summit League newcomer North Dakota and Western Illinois at the Mabee Center this week.     

For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics Front Row App at ORUAthletics.com/frontrow  or the ORU Golden Eagles Live App in iTunes or the Google Play Store. For tickets, visit mabeecenter.com or call 495-7ORU (7678).

---#GoldenStandard---

[Old Titan]

1 hour ago, Dr. Cornelius said:

I doubt ORU would be have been able to sign Weaver if they told him he would have to redshirt.

When I made that comment about Weaver, it was intended to serve as a barometer of his readiness to play D-1 basketball.  It was not a suggestion for how ORU should/would handle him his freshman year. 

ORU can't afford to red-shirt ANYONE who can at least contribute off the bench.  Recent history has proven that red-shirting at ORU is an early-marker for a transfer.

[Old Titan]

2 hours ago, ORU GRAD said:

I'm sorry about the tie comment OT

 

"The thing is; I make this look good."

[ORU GRAD]

1 hour ago, Old Titan said:

 

Maybe Coach  should take a look? "The thing is; I make this look good."

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Titan]

Even the head coach at Omaha wears a tie, and he looks like Fred Mertz. (Google him up, millennials).

 

[titansforever]

Loved Fred and Ethel!

[91jack]

On 12/28/2018 at 3:49 PM, Old Titan said:

To say that IPFW is somehow now "even" with NDSU (or anyone else) on this opening weekend, or that NDSU was otherwise "getting the short end of it", is ridiculous.

First off, IPFW has to get TO Grand Forks, which even in the summertime is no picnic:  either you bus the whole way from Fort Wayne, or you fly to Minneapolis and bus from there, or something similar.  Then, you have to get from Grand Forks to Fargo, THEN get from Fargo BACK to Fort Wayne by hook and crook over New Year's Eve, all in the span of around 72 hours.  Mix in the way-too-short hotel room beds, the hotel room heater that leaves you either feezing or roasting in the middle of the night, the crappy food at whatever roadside diner happens to not have frozen water pipes, the never-ending diesel exhaust from the bus (how does it get in the hotel lobby, anyway?), plus forgetting to pack a mask to avoid getting your nose frozen off, and it all adds up to one big pain in the ice.

NDSU, by comparison, just has to get back-&-forth from the dorm to the arena on consecutive days. 

Big whoop. 

And, they've probably already got snowshoes, arctic weather gear, and gas-powered hand warmers from their high school days walking three miles both ways from the dairy farm.  Not to mention the usual comforts of home for the Dakota schools:  the adoring leather-lunged fans, the same three referees that work as high school vice-principals in neighboring counties, and, of course, the succulent lutefisk (Google it).

Sorry, that's not "even" for the visitor. 

Not "even" close. (rimshot)

Sorry!  I thought that they could just fly into Fargo.  You can land a Boeing 747 on their runways and drive from there.  It is 80 miles to Grand Forks from Fargo.  Even if the drive slow because of bad weather, it should take less then 2 hours to get there.  In normal weather it should only take about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I would think that Fargo (120,000) and Grand Forks (100,000) should have some place to eat and climate controlled hotel rooms.  There are some hotel rooms where the pipes might freeze (along with the diners) but those hotels normally charge by the hour.  I sure hope ORU finds some place better than that.  It would probably be cheaper to fly into Minneapolis so that might factor in.  

It is always better to play at home and sleep in your own bed but I was thinking that if one team had an off day and the other team played that would make a difference.  

I don't think it matters where the games are played as far as referees are concerned.  SDSU just played Western Illinois in Macomb and they had a ref that did the Summit League championship game last year.

[ORUTerry]

Omaha defeats NDSU 90 to 77 tonight. They led by +23 at times in  the second half.