Ciao!
The team ventured to Italy where it visited Rome, Florence and Venice for its international trip and played a trio of games while bonding along the way. The team had new faces as more than half of the team's players were new to the roster, along with a new assistant coach in Bobby Naubert.
Opening Up The Season With Some Big Competition
The team opened up its season with back-to-back games against Big Ten opponents in Ohio State and Illinois. Oakland led Ohio State for the majority of the game, and led inside the State Farm Center against Illinois with 10:00 minutes to go. Although the Golden Grizzlies fell in both games, it was a true testament for what was to come.
40th Year Salute to Coach Kampe
Oakland men’s basketball head coach Greg Kampe entered his 40th season at the helm of the men’s basketball team and became the longest-tenured coach at one school. Coach Kampe entered the year 11th overall for most wins by an active Division I head coach. Oakland University and the athletic department honored the Oakland legend in its first home game of the season as it hosted the Bowling Green Falcons. The team rallied around 20 points from Trey Townsend as the four Golden Grizzlies recorded double-digit point games to give Coach Kampe and the team its first win of the season.
Welcome to the Caribbean
The Golden Grizzlies took part in the Cayman Islands Classic, a three-day tournament played in George Town in the Cayman Islands, and finished the tournament in fifth-place with a 2-1 record. The team fell to future NCAA Tournament team Drake close, and won its final two games against Loyola Marymount and Marshall. The team was led by Rocket Watts who was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team as he finished the tournament 20-of-43 from the floor with four from range, seven boards and 18.67 points per game.
Down go the Musketeers!
The Golden Grizzlies secured its 13th Power-6 win in program history as it traveled to the Cintas Center and beat Xavier, 78-76, in front of over 10,000 people. Trey Townsend led the way with 28 points off 11 makes from the field, while Chris Conway and Jack Gohlke followed along with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Bounce Back
The team won its first Horizon League game against Detroit Mercy, 65-50, but lost five of its next six games. Two losses came from NCAA Tournament Teams Michigan State and Dayton, as the Golden Grizzlies bounced back with its longest win-streak of the season at six. The streak started with a win at Youngstown and included wins over top Horizon-ranked schools in Green Bay and Northern Kentucky before another win against Youngstown State. After its skid, the team went 14-3 to finish the regular season 20-11 (15-5 HL).
1K Point Scorers
The Golden Grizzlies had four players with 1000 career NCAA points (Townsend, Gohlke, Watts, Lampman) which was t-9th in the NCAA for most active 1000 point scorers on the same team as St. John's (NY) leads with six. Watts and Lampman recorded their 1000th career-point in the same game while Gohlke hit his 1000th career point off a three in a win over Milwaukee.
The Swim Team
The Oakland Swim & Dive Team showed out this season in the student section and made Oakland go viral with antics during free throws. The team started things off by shaving their heads to distract people at the free throw line, followed by getting a tattoo, waxing their chests and chugging milk.
Thank You, Seniors & Outright Champs
The team paid tribute to its four seniors/graduate students as all four left their mark with the Golden Grizzlies. Trey Townsend, Blake Lampman, Rocket Watts and Jack Gohlke were all honored as the Golden Grizzlies took care of the Detroit Mercy Titans, 75-70, to win the Horizon League Regular Season title outright for the first time since joining the league. Although picked sixth in the preseason poll, the Golden Grizzlies held the number-one overall seed heading into the Horizon League Tournament.
Mr. Oakland
Trey Townsend, son of former men’s basketball player Skip Townsend, grew up going to Oakland men’s basketball games, camps, etc. and found himself a starting role his freshman year. The forward progress in is career where he had a tremendous senior year as he was name #HLMBB Player of the Year and earned First Team honors. Townsend becomes the sixth Golden Grizzly in 15 years to earn Player of the Year honors and first since Jamal Cain was named Co-Player of the Year in 2022. Townsend is now the fourth Oakland player to earn the award since joining the Horizon League in 2013, as he joins Cain, Kendrick Nunn and Kay Felder, all of whom have played in the NBA. Also with a first-team nod, Oakland has now had a player earn First Team All-League honors for 18-straight years.
Regular Season Awards
Along with Townsend, Jack Gohlke was named Sixth Man of the Year while graduate student Blake Lampman garnered second-team honors. Gohlke’s sixth man award was the first time a Golden Grizzly earned the award since Max Hooper was awarded in 2016. Lampman, Townsend and Chris Conway also earned #HLMBB All-Academic Honors as Lampman and Townsend were on the All-Academic team, while Conway was an honorable mention.
Tourney Champs
The Golden Grizzlies held the one-seed entering the Horizon League Tournament and earned a bye and home court advantage for the quarterfinal round. The Golden Grizzlies took down eight-seed Purdue Fort Wayne, 75-65, and was the only Horizon League team to win on its home court. The team traveled to Indianapolis to face seven-seed Cleveland State in the semis where it took care of business, 74-71, to earn a bid to the championship game against six-seed Milwaukee. With an NCAA Tournament bid on the line, the Golden Grizzlies took down the Panthers, 83-76.
Oakland was one of 11 (out of 32) number one 1 seeds to win its conference tournament and defeated the No. 8, No. 7 and No. 6 seeds which all had over 20 wins, for the first time at the Mid-Major level that a one-seed beat an eight, seven and six-seed with 20+ wins en route to a conference championship.
All-Tournament Team
Trey Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies in the Horizon League Tournament, specifically the championship game where he set a career-best 38 points with 11 boards, as Jack Gohlke was an All-Tournament Team selection.
Continued Recognition
Senior Trey Townsend was named to the 2023-24 NABC Division I District 12 First-Team All-District team and was named a finalist for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year, as head coach Greg Kampe was named District 12 Coach of the Year. Kampe was also named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award as well as the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award. With Townsend's recognition, the Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team has had 13 NABC All-District selections since 2009.
NCAA Tournament Bound
Oakland Athletics held a watch party for the team and fans to see both who the Golden Grizzlies would face in the Round of 64 and where the team would be playing. The team drew the 14-seed and was set to face 3-seed Kentucky in Pittsburgh, Pa., inside the PPG Paints Arena. The Golden Grizzlies earned its fourth bid for the NCAA Tournament since turning Division I and made its first appearance since it went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011. The Golden Grizzlies entered the tournament having never won a Round of 64 game as it won a play-in game as a 16-seed against Alabama A&M, 79-69, at the 2005 tournament. The Golden Grizzlies were last a 14-seed during its run in 2010 as it fell in the first round against three-seed Pittsburgh.
Head coach Greg Kampe is the fifth DI Men's Basketball head coach to coach 40 seasons at one school and lead the team to the NCAA Tournament 4 times. He joins the list of: Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Ray Meyer (DePaul) and Adolph Rupp (Kentucky).
Down Go The Wildcats
The Golden Grizzlies battled the University of Kentucky Wildcats in its first round game of the tournament as Kentucky made its record-setting 61st appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have had 112 total players selected in the NBA Draft, with 48 first-round picks and three No. 1 overall picks. The Golden Grizzlies were in for one, but were ready for the test.
The Wildcats largest lead of the night was just two points, as the Golden Grizzlies held as much as a seven-point lead and outshot the Wildcats to take the win. The Golden Grizzlies were led by a historic performance from Jack Gohlke, who poured in a career-high 32 points on 10-of-20 (.500) shooting from three-point range, tying the second most all-time in an NCAA Tournament game, tying Carsen Edwards (Purdue, 3/30/2019) and Roburt Sallie (Memphis, 3/19/2009). Trey Townsend also added 17 points (6-of-15) and 12 rebounds. DQ Cole pitched in 12 points, including three makes from deep (3-of-3), to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Gohlke also set the record for most threes made in a game against Kentucky in an NCAA Tournament game and set the record for most threes made inside PPG Paints Arena.
DQ Cole hit a dagger corner three to make it a four-point game with :28 seconds to play as the team sealed the deal and took down the Wildcats. Coming into the game Kentucky was the second highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 89.4 points per game. They were also fifth in field goal percentage (.497) and first in three-point percentage (.419). Oakland's matchup zone stumped the Wildcats, holding them under all their offensive averages.
Oakland became the first Horizon League team since 2011 Butler to win a Round of 64 game.
Not A Cinderella
The biggest win in program history and one of the biggest upsets of recent in the NCAA, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies took the nation by storm. With appearances on ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, Good Morning America, The Rich Eisen Show, The Pat McAfee Show, and much more, nearly every show led in with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies and its upset over the University of Kentucky Wildcats.
A Season to Remember
The Golden Grizzlies journey came to an end in the Round of 32 against N.C. State, but it was one to remember as it tallied its most wins since 2016-17, won the Horizon League Regular Season title for the first time outright and second time in school history, its first Horizon League Tournament Championship, and its fourth NCAA Tournament bid. Its 15 league wins were the most conference wins since 2010-11 in the Summit League when it won 17.
In The Record Books
Jack Gohlke ranks third in the Golden Grizzlies single season record book for most three-point field goals made with 137, as Travis Bader (2013-14) leads with 147. He also finished fifth in three-point field goals per game with 3.8 and first in three-point field goal attempts with 364.
Graduate student Blake Lampman set the all-time school record against Detroit Mercy on March 2 for most games played in a Golden Grizzlies uniform with 138 and finished his career with 143. He's also in the fifth spot career wise in three-point field goals made with 279, while Lampman is third in attempts with 843, as Erik Kangas (2005-09) is ahead with 861 attempts.
Trey Townsend has played and started in 129 games to date, which put him second in the Oakland record book for most games started and is fourth overall in the books in minutes played with 4,500. In games started, Townsend is behind Johnathon Jones (2006-10) with 135, while Corey Petros (2011-15) is third in minutes played with 4516. The senior also finds himself sixth overall in offensive rebounds (286, Tom Eller (1990-94) is fifth with 292), fourth in defensive rebounds (602, Corey Petros (2011-15) in third with 664) and sixth in total rebounds (889, Kevin Williams (1972-76) in fifth with 924). He's also t-sixth in career double-doubles with 21, tied with Tim Kramer (1975-79).
A Thank You to Our Fans
The Golden Grizzlies faithful showed out day-in and day-out, whether it was inside the OU Credit Union O'rena, or on the road. The Golden Grizzlies boasted the third-largest home attendance average in the Horizon League and ranked first in overall attendance. On average, the team saw nearly 3,000 fans per home game.
The success of the Golden Grizzlies won't end after this season as the team will defend its regular season and tournament title next season! Don't miss out on season tickets, be the first to get all the information you'll need for next season HERE! Fans can also buy merch HERE, visit the OU Opendorse Marketplace HERE and contribute to the Grizz Den Collective HERE!