Oakland University Men’s Basketball Upsets Big 12’s Oklahoma State

First Win over a Power 5 Conference Team since March 2017

On Friday night, Oakland University Men’s Basketball upset the Big 12’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.

This was Oakland’s first win over a Power 5 conference school since they defeated the ACC’s Clemson Tigers on March 14, 2017 in the first round of the NIT. That same season, on December 23rd, 2016, Oakland defeated the SEC’s Georgia Bulldogs 86-79.

Three days before this game, Oklahoma State had a blow-out victory over University of Texas – Arlington by 43 points, 88 to 45. What looked to be a high-powered Cowboys offense was completely shutdown in the first half by the Grizzlies’ stifling defense. Oakland held Oklahoma State to only 22 points in the first half, taking a 30-22 lead into the half. In a postgame interview, Oakland Head Coach, Greg Kampe, shared that if the Grizzlies force a slow-tempo game, it would be very tough for the Cowboys to score. That was indeed the case.

Oklahoma State would make up their 8-point halftime deficit, but never pulled away by more than 4-points in the second half. After the Cowboys took a 53-49 lead with 5:13 remaining, they would only score one more bucket the rest of the way.

Then with only 8 seconds left and Oklahoma up by one, Oakland’s Jalen Moore was fouled on a 3-point attempt. With a thunderous crowd screaming for a miss, Moore missed his first free throw. Jalen summoned up his inner steel and converted the next two free throws to give Oakland the one-point lead. The Cowboys Bryce Thompson missed a three-point jumper with a one second left and Oakland would upset the Cowboys on the road 56 to 55.

Key Stats

Oakland’s Jalen Moore led all scorers with 16 points. The Grizzlies held Oklahoma State to 3 for 17 shooting beyond the arc. Oakland’s proving to have a formidable rebounding crew, they out rebounded the Cowboys 35-31. In their opener, the Grizzlies out-rebounded West Virginia 48 to 33.

Oakland’s starting the season with some tough competition on the road. Going into Friday night's matchup, West Virginia was 29th in the Coaches poll, Oklahoma was ranked 31st in the AP poll, and the SEC’s Alabama Crimson Tide, who the Grizzlies play Friday, Nov 19th, is ranked #13 in the Coaches poll.

Nov 15, 2021, Rochester.Life Staff