Gameday Central - Oral Roberts
DETROIT (11/27/2015) -- The Titans enjoyed a great Thanksgiving holiday at home, but it will be back to business this weekend as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team visits an old conference foe in Oral Roberts on Saturday, Nov. 28.
Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. (EST) at the Mabee Center. Fans can follow all the action with a live video feed and live stats through the ORU website.
Detroit is coming off a 52-point victory on Monday night as the red, white and blue raced by Michigan-Dearborn, 122-70. The win moved the Titans to 2-1 on the season.
Oral Roberts is on a four-game winning streak and enters the game at 5-1 on the season. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 112-80 triumph at home over NAIA member Tabor College on Wednesday.
The match-up features two old rivals from the Midwestern City Conference (which was renamed the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and the Horizon League in 2001) as ORU was a charter member of the league in 1979 with the Titans joining in 1980. UDM now stands as the eldest member in the HL with 2015-16 marking Detroit's 36th season in the conference.
DETROIT VS. ORAL ROBERTSA battle of old Midwestern Collegiate Conference members sets the scene as Oral Roberts leads the all-time series, 9-7, including winning three of the last four meetings.
Last season, the Titans trailed Oral Roberts at home in the second half, but Detroit came back to knot it up and send it to overtime. In the extra session, the Golden Eagles came out on top, 77-73.
This is Detroit's first trip to ORU since 1987 and UDM is 2-6 all-time on the road in the series.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLESOral Roberts has won four in a row and comes into the game at 5-1. Its only blemish was an 84-66 setback at South Carolina, a game it trailed by just three at the break.
The Golden Eagles won the Men's Against Breast Cancer Classic last week defeating Tennessee-Martin, James Madison and Florida International with all three games decided by 10 points or less.
Obi Emegano tops the team and is one of the leading scorers in the country at 23.4 ppg. Last season, he had 31 against Detroit. Albert Owens is tallying 13.4 ppg., and 5.6 rpg., while Jalen Bradley is averaging 9.2 ppg.
Scott Sutton is in his 17th year as head coach of the Golden Eagles and owns a 311-209 career record.
LAST TIME OUTJunior
Chris Jenkins led six Titans in double figures with 25 points as Detroit cruised to a 122-70 victory over Michigan-Dearborn on Monday night inside historic Calihan Hall.
The red, white and blue finished shooting 57.4 percent (39-of-68), including knocking down a season-high 15 from behind the arc.
Freshman
Aaron Foster-Smith tallied 22 points with six rebounds as he was 8-of-12 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from three.
Michigan-Dearborn came out with a lot of energy at the start and the game was tied, 7-7, three minutes in. UDM took the lead, but the Wolverines hung around and trailed by just one, 16-15, at the 12:24 mark.
That is when Detroit made its big push to take a lead it would never relinquish going on a 15-6 run over the next three minutes for a 31-21 advantage.
The lead dipped to eight at 31-23, but the red, white and blue closed the half on a 31-11 spurt for a comfortable 62-34 cushion at the break.
LOOKING AHEADThe Titans two-game road swing takes them to Music City as Detroit plays at nationally-ranked Vanderbilt on Wednesday, Dec. 2, with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m.
111 YEARS OF TITAN BASKETBALLThe 2015-16 season marks the 111th year of collegiate basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy as the Tigers – yes, Tigers - beat Collegiate, 18-7, in the first official Detroit basketball game.
Until 1919, the then University of Detroit athletic teams were known as the Tigers. In the fall of 1919, the Detroit Free Press' sportswriter Stan Brink, who was covering football for the paper, thought that a good nickname for the team would be the Titans.
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a class of oversized people who happened to have almost perfect physiques.
In its 111 years (two years records are missing in 1907-08 and 1908-09) Detroit is 1,379-1152 (.544) all-time with two regular season Horizon League Championships (1998, 1999) and three conference tournament titles (1994, 1999, 2012).
UDM has also made six NCAA tournaments (1962, 1977, 1979, 1998, 1999, 2012) and seven NIT appearances (1960, 1961, 1965, 1978, 2001, 2002, 2013).
WE LOVE THE 80'SDid you know that Detroit is a remarkable 49-4 overall when scoring 80 or more points under head coach
Ray McCallum.
The Titans are even better outside of the Horizon League where they have a 25-1 record when reaching 80 points.
Year-by-Year Mark When Reaching 802015-16 (2-0)
2014-15 (6-0)
2013-14 (3-2)
2012-13 (14-1)
2011-12 (9-0)
2010-11 (8-1)
2009-10 (7-0)
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARDThe Titans are coming off one of their best scoring games in school history as they rolled past Michigan-Dearborn, 122-70.
It was the 91st career game in Titan history that Detroit crossed the 100-point plateau.
It was the highest scoring game since Detroit cruised past the City College of New York (CCNY), 135-77, in 1979, which is also the Titan school record for points.
The 122 points are tied for the seventh-highest scoring game in school history.
Detroit totaled 62 points in the first half, the most in a half since posting 65 in the second against Concordia in a 113-68 victory in 2011
Top 10 Scoring Games In Titan HistoryDetroit 135, CCNY 77 - 1979
Detroit 133, Iowa Wesleyan 79 - 1977
Detroit 132, CCNY 91 - 1978
Detroit 124, Canisius 89 - 1978
Detroit 123, Xavier 110 - 1965
Detroit 123, Wayne State 77 - 1977
Detroit 122, UM-Dearborn - 2015
Detroit 122, Marshall 86 - 1977
Detroit 122, Buffalo 81 - 1978
LONG RANGE GAMEThe Titans were 15-of-27 from behind the arc their last time out against UM-Dearborn, the second time this season that they have hit 10 or more treys.
Last season, UDM hit 10 or more 3-pointers just three times.
Detroit's 15 trifectas were the most since knocking down 15 against DePaul in 2007
WHAT A START FOR CBSenior
Carlton Brundidge has jumped out to a quick start in his final year of collegiate eligibility.
Through three games, he leads the team with 6.0 assists, and is tied for third in rebounding (6.0) and fourth in scoring (12.0). He is shooting 55.6 percent from the field and has a team-high six steals.
He also has a phenomenal 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the year with 18 assists against just two turnovers.
He had 14 points in the season opener and followed that up with 12 points at Pittsburgh. His last time out, he scored 10 points and handed out a career-high nine helpers, the most by a Titan since Jason Calliste had 10 at UIC in 2013.
By scoring in double digits, he has now reached double figures in three-straight games for the first time in his career.
CHRIS UPJunior
Chris Jenkins was at the top of his game his last time out finishing with a career-high 25 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
He was a career-best 9-of-12 from the field and tied his career high with four 3-pointers.
It was his second career 20-point game as he is tied for the team lead in scoring at 13.7 ppg., all while shooting 60.9 percent on the year.
GETTING HOT EARLYSenior
Anton Wilson recorded his third career 20-point game as he led Detroit with 20 markers at Pittsburgh on Nov. 20.
He scored all 20 of his points in the first 20 minutes of play, the first Titan to score 20 in the first half since Nick Minnerath had 21 against Valparaiso on Jan. 17, 2013.
It was also one point off his career high of 21 set against UM-Dearborn in 2013.
#1 SHOOTING 3'SSharpshooting senior
Anton Wilson continues to make his name show up in the Titan record books.
He shot 41.8 percent from behind the arc last season, a number that ranks sixth in school history as he was 56-of-134 from long distance.
With his four triples in the season opener, he passed Titan legend and 12-year NBA veteran Willie Green for eighth in school history with 128 career 3-pointers.
He is also seventh in school history with a 40.2 career three-point field goal percentage.
Titan Career 3-Point Field Goal Leaders1. Rashad Phillips, 1998-01 - 348
2. Desmond Ferguson, 1998-00 - 235
3. Dwayne Kelley, 1990-93 - 224
4. Jon Goode, 2005-08 - 202
5. Greg Grays, 2001-02 - 169
6. Michael Jackson, 1992-95 - 157
7.
Juwan Howard Jr., 2012-15 - 146
8.
Anton Wilson, 2012-pre. - 128
Titan career 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leaders1. Archie Tullos, 1985-88 - .433
2. Bill Wood, 1987-90 - .415
3. Tony Tolbert, 1993-94 - .409
Jon Goode, 2005-08 - .409
5. Derrick Hayes, 1997-98 - .405
6.
Anton Wilson, 2012-pre. - .402
7. Desmond Ferguson, 1998-00 - .398
8. Rashad Phillips, 1998-00 - .396
MORE 3 NEWSSenior
Anton Wilson started the season with back-to-back games hitting four 3-pointers and now has 12 career game with four or more treys.
He also has 65 career games with at least two 3-pointers and 20 games knocking down at least three triples.
EASY POINTSSenior
Anton Wilson is a career 82.9 percent shooter at the free throw line connecting on 73-of-88 career attempts.
He does not have enough free throw attempts to qualify for the school record book or his percentage would rank fourth in Titan history.
JA-LETHALSophomore
Jaleel Hogan recorded a career-high 16 points at Pittsburgh as he was a career-best 7-of-12 from the field with five rebounds.
With his inside play, UDM was able to keep pace with Pittsburgh in the paint as the Panthers just narrowly outscored the Titans, 40-38, in the low post.
He is currently tied for third on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game and also shares fifth tallying 11.0 points per game.
PAINT MANWith his strength inside, sophomore
Jaleel Hogan is uncanny in the paint showcased by his career 60.6 percent field-goal percentage.
Last season, he ended the year with a blistering 62.0 field goal percentage (62-of-100), which would rank third in school history for a single season, but was 25 shot attempts shy from qualifying for that mark.
NO SHORTAGE OF OFFENSEThe Titans have quite a few coaches who have been known to score a few baskets in their days.
Head coach
Ray McCallum ended his collegiate career at Ball State as the MAC's all-time leading scorer with 2,109 points.
Assistant coach
Steve Payne tallied 1,440 points in his college days at Ball State, while assistant coach Jermaine Jackson is 21st in school history with 1,341 points.
Meanwhile, assistant coach
Jay Smith still holds the Michigan high school state record for scoring with 2,841 points at Mio Au Sable High School.
NON-CONFERENCE TOUGHNESSThe non-conference slate features a total of 11 games -- including six regular-season home dates.
Overall, the non-conference schedule has six teams that posted 20 or more wins in 2014-15 - with two other foes garnering 19 – while six of the nine Division I opponents made a trip to the postseason last year. Eight of the nine Division I schools had winning records and combined to tally a 176-125 overall mark (58.4 percent) last season.
Non-Conference Foes 2014-15 RecordBowling Green 21-12
Central State 18-12
Eastern Michigan 21-14
Northeastern 23-12
Oral Roberts 19-15
Pittsburgh 19-15
Toledo 20-13
UCF 12-18
UM-Dearborn 11-19
Vanderbilt 21-14
Western Kentucky 20-12
HL SCHEDULE PUZZLEThe conference schedule is interesting considering the Titans play their first five league games at home and seven of their 10 contests in January on Dick Vitale Court.
Detroit will need to get off to a quick start as it ends the year with four-straight road games, as well as six of its final eight on the road.
GIBSON PROTECTING THE RIMFreshman
Jalen Gibson has seen limited action in the first three games, but that has not stopped him from showing off some of his defensive skills.
He currently leads the team with six blocks, including two at Pittsburgh - where he played just two minutes.
He is also averaging 4.0 rebounds per game as he is coming off a nine-board performance against UM-Dearborn in just 11 minutes of action.
GERALD'S GLASSFreshman
Gerald Blackshear had a fine start to his career as he posted a game-high 10 rebounds to go with six points, three assists, three steals and a block against Central State in the season opener.
He just had four more boards at Pittsburgh and seven with three blocks against UM-Dearborn.
Blackshear currently leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERSThe offense might be averaging over 90 points so far, but the defense has had some strong outings.
In the season opener, Detroit held Central State to 32.4 percent shooting, including just 4-of-18 (22.2%) from three, while outrebounding the Marauders, 52-35.
The Titans had nine blocks, the most since Detroit swatted away nine against Youngstown State in last year's Horizon League Championship first round game and also recorded nine steals.
Against UM-Dearborn, UDM registered nine steals and forced 21 turnovers - turning those into 40 points.
OFFENSIVE ATTACKThe Titans put up 88 points in their home opener, the most in a home opener since cruising past Northern Michigan, 88-53, to start the 2012-13 campaign.
UDM was also 30-of-56 from the field with 11 triples.
Against UM-Dearborn, the Titans were 39-of-68 from the field (57.4%), including 15-of-27 (55.6%) from behind the arc and 29-of-39 (74.4%) at the free throw line.
It was the most field goals by Detroit since going 41-of-68 in a 109-59 win over Aquinas last year. It was also the highest field goal percentage since finishing at 68.2 percent in a victory at Youngstown State last season.
The 29 free throws were the most since going 37-of-43 at the charity stripe against Stony Brook in a triple overtime game in 2013
WHAT A DEBUTFreshman
Josh McFolley didn't have to wait long before he made an impact as he scored the first basket of the year for the Titans and led Detroit with 17 points in the season-opening victory over Central State.
McFolley was 7-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-8 from three, finishing with a team-high 17 points in just 26 minutes.
He is the first Detroit netter to lead his team in scoring in his Titan debut since sophomore Chase Simon had 17 at California in 2009. He is also the first freshman to lead the team in scoring in his collegiate debut since Jerry Davis had 18 against Toledo in 1978.
On Nov. 23, he was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week after notching 17 against CSU and eight at Pittsburgh.
Through three games, he is third on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg., shooting 48.3 percent from the field (14-of-29).
