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ORU at Denver


Old Titan

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Strange situation:  Denver has been a dumpster fire so far this season, but picked up their first conference win Wednesday with a surprising victory at home over NDSU, winning by 15 points after trailing at the half by 6.

ORU looks to be the better team on paper, and is coming off a gritty win at home over South Dakota, but the current injury situation with Sam and E-Man, along with freshman stars Weaver and Obanor failing to show up so far in conference play away from the Mabee Center, casts doubt for any road game, regardless of the opponent. 

In terms of picking a winner, I wouldn't touch this game with a 10-foot pole.

Since Denver joined the Summit League, ORU is just 2-7 vs. the Pioneers (both wins coming in Tulsa), and it feels like combo guard Joe Rosga played in every one of those nine games. 

Seriously, is this guy through getting his PHD yet?  He may go directly from graduation to being named the new head coach.

Anyway, Rosga has typically given ORU fits, and I expect nothing different Sunday.  Jurgens may be the only healthy guard on the ORU roster capable of giving Rosga problems with his length, but he may foul out in the first half trying to do so.

Hard to pick the good guys in a place where they haven't won this century (ever?), but is Denver actually capable of rising to the occasion in a situation where they probably should?

This may be one of those games where neither team actually wins it; instead one team just ends up losing it (typically by not executing down the stretch). 

In other words, not expecting a work of art...

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Denver always seems to underperform preseason expectations. Weren’t they forecast to be third in the Summit League this year? They have a talented, athletic squad with a couple of highly regarded transfers. Maybe it is just taking them time to get used to Coach Billups’ system and to each other. 

They are athletic and long. I expect them to press us. Hopefully our guys can handle the situation and come out with a win. It is a big hurdle without Kearns and Nzekwesi. 

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As it looks now we have 8 players plus Schneider on the available roster for Sunday. That leaves 3 guards and Emir to protect the foul situation. This is a BIG if for a win. However, they did overcome 10 plus fouls called this past game and maybe they can pull it out. If Weaver and Obanor play as they did against South Dakota then I can see a win but that was a beautiful performance Thursday Night. Just maybe Kearns will be available. That would go great lengths to secure a win. This game will be a 5 point differential. It is a toss-up. OT, you are right about the 10' pole.😎

 

ORU Makes Quick Trip to Denver For Sunday Showdown

ORU Makes Quick Trip to Denver For Sunday Showdown
Jan 19, 2019
 

The Basics
Oral Roberts (8-13, 4-2) at Denver (6-14, 1-5)
Date/Time:
 Sunday, January 20, 2019 / 4 p.m. (MT) / 5 p.m. (CT)
TV/Video: Altitude2 / DenverPioneers.com
Radio: The Franchise 107.9 FM / 1270 AM
Location: Tulsa, Okla. / Mabee Center

TV.jpg?max_height=15&max_width=15   Altitude2 / DenverPioneers.com     |  Graph.jpg?max_height=15&max_width=15   Live Stats   |  Audio.jpg?max_height=14&max_width=15   The Franchise

Notebook.jpg?max_height=15&max_width=15 ORU Notes  |   DU Notes  | Summit League Notes

TwitterLogo.jpg?max_height=13&max_width= ORUMBB | ORUAthletics  |  Instagram.jpg?max_height=15&max_width=15  ORUMBB | ORUAthletics  |  Hashtag.jpg?max_height=15&max_width=15 ORUMBB     


 

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team is in the midst of a stretch of playing five of six games being at home, but the lone road game comes Sunday as the Golden Eagles travel to Denver.  

Sunday's game will tip off at 4 p.m. (MT) / 5 p.m. (CT) from Magness Arena and will be televised on Altitude 2. The game will also be streamed for a small fee at DenverPioneers.com. Adam Hildebrandt's radio call of the game can be heard on The Franchise at 107.9 FM and 1270 AM, and online at TheFranchiseOk.com.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes: at Denver
Opponent Game Notes: at Denver
Summit League Notes: Week 11
Live Stats: at Denver
TV / Live Video: Altitude2 / DenverPioneers.com
Free Audio: The Franchise 107.9 FM / 1270 AM

Scouting the Opponent
• Denver is led by Ronnie Harrell, Jr., who is scoring 13.6 points per game this season, followed by Joe Rosga who is dropping 12.8 points per contest. Donovan Carlisle is the leading rebounder for the Pioneers at 5.8 boards per game, but Denver has three players averaging 5+ rebounds per game.

• Denver got its first Summit League win of the year last time out, beating North Dakota State 80-65.

Quick Hits
• ORU is 4-8 all-time against Denver and 0-5 on the road. Of the previous 10 meetings, nine have been decided by 10 points or fewer. Last season, all three games were decided by a total of 12 points.

• Last time out for the Golden Eagles, it was the freshmen who stole the show in a 77-74 win over South Dakota. Kevin Obanor (31 points) and DeShang Weaver (24 points) each set career highs and became the highest scoring freshman duo in ORU history. Adding in 14 points Carlos Jürgens and three from Lācis and the freshman class scored 72 of the team's 77 points.

• ORU is fifth in the nation in total rebounds with 768, 49th in the nation in total 3-pointers made (164) and 51st in the nation in total assists with 279.

• Nzekwesi is 18th in the nation in total field goals made (134), 20th in total rebounds (176) and 26th in double-doubles with seven.

 DeShang Weaver is 20th in 3-point percentage (45%) and 34th in total made 3-pointers, ranking second in The Summit League in both categories.

• ORU has held teams to 36 points or fewer in the first half in seven of the last 10 games and a total of 12 times this season. 20 is the lowest total given up in the first half, doing so in an eventual overtime win over James Madison.

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---

ORU GRAD

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I would like to see a healthy Emmanuel go against his brother David, a freshman forward for Denver. That would be a rare matchup of brothers going against each other.

 

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If no E-man AND Kearns, then I would be shocked by an ORU victory on the road at Denver. I kind of think the game will go depending on which Denver team shows up. The one that is riding the turn around victory over NDSU, or the Denver team that lost all those other Summit conference games?

Even if Kearns does play, I can't imagine he would be anywhere near 100%. This is a pivotal game for ORU. Win this one and then they are looking at four straight at home that I believe realistically they could go 3-1.

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14 minutes ago, 74Titan said:

I would like to see a healthy Emmanuel go against his brother David, a freshman forward for Denver. That would be a rare matchup of brothers going against each other.

 

I don't think David is playing that much for the Pioneers. He didn't play in their previous two games against SDSU and NDSU.

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Thank you for the update, Dr. Cornelius. This seems a bit odd, given the fact that David passed on ORU-and others-to sign with Denver. I would have thought David would be starting, but that's obviously not the case. 

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1 hour ago, 74Titan said:

Thank you for the update, Dr. Cornelius. This seems a bit odd, given the fact that David passed on ORU-and others-to sign with Denver. I would have thought David would be starting, but that's obviously not the case. 

I was under the impression that when it came down to it, ORU passed on David, not the other way around...

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I hate this game. A healthy ORU destroys Denver, I have no doubt.  But without our upper classmen captains on the court the young guys will need to play very well on the road. Denver can shoot the ball and that means they could go off on the zone.  Soooo nervous because a win here and I think Sam is back next week.  With the way the league is shaping up we have a real shot to be in the mix at the top.  It's not crazy.  We just can't blow a game against a bottom dweller. 

Either way, the wife and I will be at this game today so maybe our encouragement will tip the scales in our favor 🙂

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No respect for ORU in Vegas as we are +6....O/U is 145......This is a win for the Good Guys if we had E-Man and Kearns but have to assume that both are out so the Golden Eagles will be very short handed today....the good news is that Denver just stinks at 6-14....yeah, they beat NDSU on Wednesday but the Bison stink too.....this is probably going to be a very close ugly played contest....we have never won up there and always difficult adjusting to the Mile High climate.....but I think Coach Mills is teaching these guys how to win and play thru adversity.....ORU hangs in and guts out a 74-72 win over the Pioneers....TheEagleman teases ORU and the over with a minimal play.....I just have a feeling.....or maybe it's the heartburn from that cold pepperoni pizza I just ate......:tb-blue:

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34 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said:

I hate this game. A healthy ORU destroys Denver, I have no doubt.  But without our upper classmen captains on the court the young guys will need to play very well on the road. Denver can shoot the ball and that means they could go off on the zone.  Soooo nervous because a win here and I think Sam is back next week.  With the way the league is shaping up we have a real shot to be in the mix at the top.  It's not crazy.  We just can't blow a game against a bottom dweller. 

Either way, the wife and I will be at this game today so maybe our encouragement will tip the scales in our favor 🙂

I truly hope so Luker. This game is now soooooooo important. A win here puts us in 2nd or 3rd place in the Summit. However, with the four freshmen with Smith on the floor, do we have any leadership? Kerns is a leader and just having him on the floor for some of the game is vital. I hope he returns for this game. One thing is for sure that the freshmen are having to grow up fast. I was really impressed with Weaver's coolness to shoot the three in the last minutes of the South Dakota game. I would love to see a victory today. I say three-point victory. ORU 70-67 ORU GRAD

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Hard to win on the road - especially without your two leaders/upperclassmen. This will be an interesting test of our young team. A win would be huge. 

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I’m expecting a blow out loss. I was really impressed with the way the young guys stepped up on Thursday against a lot of adversity, but I don’t think they can repeat that for 40 minutes. 79-60 Denver. Hopefully they prove me wrong. 

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36 minutes ago, EagleManiac said:

I’m expecting a blow out loss. I was really impressed with the way the young guys stepped up on Thursday against a lot of adversity, but I don’t think they can repeat that for 40 minutes. 79-60 Denver. Hopefully they prove me wrong. 

Geez, Maniac....that was a buzz kill......anything is possible in the Summit this season (check out 29 point rout of IPFW by WIU last night)….but TheEagleman doesn't see a blowout today.....either way......:circle-logoi:

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1 hour ago, theeagleman5 said:

Geez, Maniac....that was a buzz kill......anything is possible in the Summit this season (check out 29 point rout of IPFW by WIU last night)….but TheEagleman doesn't see a blowout today.....either way......:circle-logoi:

Just callin it like I see it. Hopefully I'm proven wrong, but I just don't feel good about this one. Then again, I don't often attempt to pick games for a reason.

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You never know...ORU needs to value each possession and take/make smart shots. That s how you win on the road. Denver is a terrible team...Good Guys need to find a way....any word on Kearns???😁

 

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ORU shooting horribly tonight....not looking real good....😦

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Hanging tough, just gonna run out of gas. Down 11 with under 4 to play. 

With E-Man I believe ORU wins this game. Weaver seems to absent in the box score....

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