Oakland at Valparaiso, 9:00 PM Eastern, ESPN2
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The Under the Radar Game of the Day is heading to Valparaiso, Indiana tonight for a key battle in the Horizon League as the top two teams according to all of the major metrics meet up, with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in town to take on the Valparaiso Crusaders. Oakland enters play tonight with a record of 12-3 overall, 2-0 in conference play, and ranked in the Top 100 in RPI, KenPom and Sagarin (100, 84 and 76 respectively). Martez Walker led the way with 21 points last time out in a home win over Northern Kentucky, while Jalen Hayes added 18 points and 8 rebounds. Also keep an eye on Sherron Dorsey-Walker, who had 25 points in a win over Wright State last week, his second highest career total after the 27 he scored earlier this year against Oral Roberts.
The Crusaders of Valparaiso University currently sit at 11-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Their RPI (55) is much higher than Oakland’s, while their KenPom (83) and Sagarin (81) ratings are comparable. Matt Lottich, in his first season as head coach after Bryce Drew left for Vanderbilt, has done an impressive job with this team. Two of their losses (at Kentucky and at Oregon) are to teams that may end up as 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The third, at home to Santa Clara, is still making us scratch our heads. However, with wins over Alabama, BYU and Rhode Island on their resume, the Crusaders could still land inside “the bubble” if they can roll through conference play. That all starts tonight as Alec Peters, Shane Hammink, Tevonn Walker and company need to send a message to Oakland and the rest of the Horizon League that the path to the conference championship goes through Valparaiso.