Important game against Oakland

Milwaukee Panthers (11-5, 1-1) vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies (6-11, 1-1)
Location: Athletic Center O’rena – Rochester, Michigan
Time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Broadcast: TV: HLN (HorizonLeague.com); Radio: WISN-AM1130

Is it time to panic? After the Milwaukee Panthers struggled against one of the top teams in the Horizon League in Cleveland State, fans have been left to wonder if this will be the common result against top quality opponents. No one knows, but the Panthers’ game against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies should give fans a clue of what to expect the rest of the way.

This is the first season the Golden Grizzlies will be apart of the Horizon League as they where previously a member of the Summit League. These two programs have only played against each other twice since 1990 with each team winning a game on their home court.

The Golden Grizzlies may only have six wins, but they played as tough of a nonconference schedule that you will see a mid-major play. They had to play against teams like Michigan State, North Carolina, Indiana, Gonzaga, Cal and UCLA.

This could help them in the long run as they will not see a Horizon League team near the same level of any of the programs listed above. While the Golden Grizzlies struggled in their first conference game against Wright State they responded by knocking off Valparaiso at home this weekend.

Oakland has been a solid offensive team this season averaging 73.2 points while making 43.3 percent of their shots, including 37.5 percent of them from behind the arc.

The Golden Grizzlies defense on the other hand is not that good as they usually get outrebounded, and allow their opponents to score 75.8 points on 46.7 percent shooting per game.

If Milwaukee wants to have a chance at winning this game they will need to slow down senior guard Travis Bader. He is a solid offensive player averaging 21.5 points per game as he makes 41 percent of his shots.

Joining Bader in the starting lineup will be guards Kahlil Felder and Duke Mondy, and forwards Tommie McCune and Corey Petros.

Milwaukee will counter with their usual lineup featuring guards Steve McWhorter and Jordan Aaron, and forwards Austin Arians, Matt Tiby and Kyle Kelm.

While it is hard to say that this game is a must win since it is still early in the conference season, it will be very important for the Panthers to walk away victorious. The Panthers will need to take care of the ball while getting to the free throw line on a regular basis if they want to even have a chance at winning this game.