Read below for a full Kansas vs Oakland prediction and preview.
As we head into Week 3, the Kansas Jayhawks and Oakland Golden Grizzlies face off looking to earn quality wins in the early season. The two teams have faced each other twice in history, with Kansas defeating Oakland 89-59 in 2017.
Game Information:
Teams: No. 1 Kansas (3-0) and Oakland (1-2)
Tip Time: 5:00 PM CST (6:00 PM EST)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network
What to know about Oakland:
Oakland was the story of March last year, beating Kentucky in the first round and capturing the hearts of America. This year, things haven’t sailed as smoothly. They are sitting at 1-2, with their win being against a non-Division 1 program. They’ve taken on Boise State, who they lost 43-87, and Illinois, who they played a bit closer, losing 54-66.
Oakland hasn’t had a top guy yet, but DQ Cole is leading the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. He shot 3-21 and 1-15 from three against Boise State, but other than that, he has looked good this season. Three-point shooting has been a major issue for this team. They shot 3-26 against Boise State, then 4-25 against Illinois. When you lose a guy like Jack Gohlke, the three-point hero last season for this team, then naturally you’ll regress. They’ll need a few more to fall today if they want any chance against Kansas.
Oakland is led by Greg Kampe, who is coaching his 41st season at Oakland, making him the longest-tenured coach in college basketball. Kampe has had quite the career and is hoping to make the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for only the second time in his career. Beating Kansas today will certainly help.
Latest on Kansas basketball:
Kansas is coming off back-to-back wins against UNC and Michigan State. Both games were decided by single digits, but the #1 team in the country has picked up two huge resume wins already, and it’s not even Thanksgiving.
Kansas has played one mid-major opponent this season, Howard, who they beat by 30. Oakland is a better team than Howard, per KenPom, but both are in the bottom half of college basketball teams this season.
Bill Self passed Phog Allen last game in total wins by a coach in Kansas Basketball history, putting him at #1 on that list, a great honor. He’ll look to continue to climb up the all-time rankings list with a win today.
Hunter Dickinson was the MVP of the Michigan State game, scoring 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Michigan State had no answer for him, and Oakland will most likely have similar issues today. Kansas is hoping that Dickinson won’t have to play too much, and they can give the talented freshman Flory Bidunga big minutes as they continue to develop him.
Kansas will look to the new transfers to come up big in today’s game. Zeke Mayo has proven his role, but AJ Storr and Rylan Griffen have both struggled early on. Hopefully, they can get comfortable and find their roles against a lighter opponent.
Kansas vs Oakland Prediction: Kansas by 25
[…] Kansas has faced one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country so far, taking on North Carolina and Michigan State in back-to-back games. They were delighted to welcome Oakland today, and took care of business, winning by a final score of 78-57. […]