Detroit Mercy, Oakland basketball to tip off rivalry in opener of Horizon League play
The Metro Series basketball rivalry between Detroit Mercy and Oakland will get a bit more of the spotlight this season, according to the Horizon League schedule released Tuesday.
The UDM and OU men will tip off their conference schedules against each other, on Nov. 29 (at UDM’s Calihan Hall), as well as wrap up their slates, on March 2 (at OU’s O’Rena). The Titans won the most recent game in the series, 96-74 on Feb. 17 at OU, but the Golden Grizzlies still have a solid edge, with 15 wins in the past 18 games, including eight straight at Calihan.
The women, meanwhile, will face each other in their second Horizon League game of the year, on Dec. 3 at UDM, then again six weeks later, at OU on Jan. 13. OU swept the Metro Series and hasn’t lost to UDM since Feb 11, 2017, a winning streak of 12 games in the rivalry.
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Those rivalry games are part of a 20-game round-robin conference schedule that partially eliminates the building block of previous years: Travel partners. The new schedule format, the league said in a release, “minimizes extended stretches of road games and time away from home.”
Rather than travel to a certain pair of road opponents every other week — a Thursday and Saturday matchup with Cleveland State and Youngstown State, for example — UDM and OU’s schedule allows for some variation.
“The coaches throughout the League are very excited about the new League scheduling model that goes away from travel partners and gives us an extra day between games,” OU coach Greg Kampe said in a release. “This will allow all the athletes an extra day of rest and preparation which should mean a higher quality of basketball on the second game each week. While this is a major change for the fans, it is a good one that will increase the quality of play.”
There are still a few travel partners, however, allowing for economy of travel: The UDM and OU men will visit Indiana to play IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne in December, Wisconsin to take on Milwaukee and Green Bay in late January and Ohio/Kentucky to play Wright State and Northern Kentucky in mid-February.
The Horizon League tournament will begin March 5 with first- and second-round games at campus sites, with the semifinals and final once again set for Indianapolis on March 11-12.
The OU men should be a contender in the Horizon League; the Golden Grizzlies finished fifth last season and return guards Blake Lampman and Rocket Watts plus forward Trey Townsend (an All-Horizon second-teamer last season). The UDM men, meanwhile, will be in a season of transition, with Antoine Davis, the program’s (and the conference’s) all-time leading scorer, finally having exhausted his eligibility.
On the women’s side, OU and UDM will be looking to improve on finishes in the bottom half of the league. The Golden Grizzlies have leading scorer and Horizon League Freshman of the Year Brooke Quarles-Daniels (12.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game) returning, while the Titans will have All-Freshman guard Amaya Burch (7.6 points per game) back for another season.
The full Horizon League schedules for metro Detroit’s teams:
Detroit Mercy men
Nov. 29: Oakland.
Dec. 2: at Cleveland State.
Dec. 29: at IUPUI.
Dec. 31: at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Jan. 4: Green Bay.
Jan. 6: Milwaukee.
Jan. 13: Northern Kentucky.
Jan. 17: at Robert Morris.
Jan. 20: Youngstown State.
Jan. 25: at Milwaukee.
Jan. 27: at Green Bay.
Feb. 1: Cleveland State.
Feb. 3: Robert Morris.
Feb. 8: at Wright State.
Feb. 10: at Northern Kentucky.
Feb. 14: IUPUI.
Feb. 17: Purdue Fort Wayne.
Feb. 22: Wright State.
Feb. 28: at Youngstown State.
March 2: at Oakland.
Oakland men
Nov. 29: at Detroit Mercy.
Dec. 2: Purdue Fort Wayne.
Dec. 28: at Cleveland State.
Dec. 31: at Youngstown State.
Jan. 4: Milwaukee.
Jan. 6: Green Bay.
Jan. 10: Northern Kentucky.
Jan. 13: at IUPUI.
Jan. 17: Youngstown State.
Jan. 25: at Green Bay.
Jan. 27: at Milwaukee.
Feb. 1: Robert Morris.
Feb. 3: Cleveland State.
Feb. 8: at Northern Kentucky.
Feb. 10: at Wright State.
Feb. 14: at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Feb. 17: IUPUI.
Feb. 22: at Robert Morris.
Feb. 25: Wright State.
March 2: Detroit Mercy.
UDM women
Nov. 30: at Youngstown State.
Dec. 3: Oakland.
Jan. 1: Northern Kentucky.
Jan. 4: at IUPUI.
Jan. 7: Purdue Fort Wayne.
Jan. 10: at Cleveland State.
Jan. 13: at Oakland.
Jan. 18: Green Bay.
Jan. 20: Milwaukee.
Jan. 24: at Robert Morris.
Jan. 27: Cleveland State.
Jan. 31: at Northern Kentucky.
Feb. 2: at Wright State.
Feb. 8: Robert Morris.
Feb. 10: Youngstown State.
Feb. 18: at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Feb. 22: at Milwaukee.
Feb. 24: at Green Bay.
Feb. 29: IUPUI.
March 2: Wright State.
OU women
Nov. 30: Purdue Fort Wayne.
Dec. 3: at Detroit Mercy.
Dec. 29: Northern Kentucky.
Jan. 3: at Youngstown State.
Jan. 7: at Robert Morris.
Jan. 10: at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Jan. 13: Detroit Mercy.
Jan. 18: Milwaukee.
Jan. 20: Green Bay.
Jan. 25: Cleveland State.
Jan. 28: at IUPUI.
Jan. 31: at Wright State.
Feb. 2: at Northern Kentucky.
Feb. 8: Youngstown State.
Feb. 10: Robert Morris.
Feb. 15: at Cleveland State.
Feb. 22: at Green Bay.
Feb. 24: at Milwaukee.
Feb. 29: Wright State.
March 2: IUPUI.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Horizon League basketball: UDM, OU get early start on Metro Series
