On The Horizon

Jim Squire

Mid-Major matchups to watch this weekend: Dec. 3 & 4--Mid-Major Madness

Saturday’s Slate:
Cleveland State vs. Detriot Mercy - 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Horizon League play continues as one of the conference leaders in the Vikings welcome in 2021-22 Horizon League Player of the Year and one of the nation’s highest scorers in Antoine Davis.

State hoops: UM women (8-0) proving they're a program, not just a team--Detroit News

Davis' delight
The spotlight has been squarely on Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis, since even before the season, as he prepared for his march up college basketball's all-time scoring leaderboard.
Davis, 24, the fifth-year Titans star, admits he was a bit too preoccupied with the points early this season, so much that he even had a chat with mom, Tamilya, about how to stay focused.
"It was a little bit," Davis said this week, when asked if the scoring marks were on his mind too much to start the year. "I just had to zone it out, I don't even think about it now. You don't want to miss out on having fun playing this game. College basketball, it comes and goes. In five years, it went by like that. I can't sit there and dwell on the record. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't."
On Thursday, in a win over Purdue-Fort Wayne in the Horizon League opener, Davis scored 22 points to become the league's all-time scoring king. He became Detroit Mercy's scoring king last season.
He's also up to 14th all-time in scoring, and should pass Danny Manning and Oscar Robertson shortly. If he stays healthy, Davis is likely to finish as the No. 2 all-time leading scorer, behind only "Pistol" Pete Maravich.
Detroit Mercy is celebrating Davis' historic season with a points counter in the corner of Calihan Hall. That won't get any action until the Titans return home Dec. 29.
"I see it in the corner, I like," said Davis, who is at 2,915 career points. "I try not to look at that, either."
In other Detroit Mercy news, the Titans finally saw Alabama State transfer Gerald Liddell take the floor for the first time Thursday night, and he was huge, with 16 points and 16 rebounds in the Titans' 75-66 win at Purdue-Fort Wayne. Liddell, a senior forward, has been sidelined while waiting for credit-transfer issues to resolve themselves. He got the phone call that he was cleared shortly before Thursday night's game. He had been traveling with Detroit Mercy all season, waiting for that call.
Oakland woes
This is the danger of scheduling so tough.
Greg Kampe's Oakland team lacks confidence in a big, big way, and it showed from practically jump street in Thursday night's 80-64 loss at Cleveland State in the Horizon League opener. The Golden Grizzlies trailed by 27 points at one point in the second half, and suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, the last three all by double-digits, since beating Eastern Michigan in an overtime thriller, 92-90, on Nov. 19.
This Oakland team doesn't lack talent, but it's lacking belief at the moment, 39th-year head coach Greg Kampe said. Jalen Moore, star point guard, is 5-for-30 on 3-pointers, and even missed four free throws in the first half Thursday, disgustedly throwing his arms in the air after one of the misses. Rocket Watts, by way of Michigan State and Mississippi State, is 10-for-39 on 3-pointers.
And now comes some bad news about one of the team's sharpest shooters from long range, junior guard Blake Lampman, who is out four to five weeks, at least, after breaking his left arm getting tangled up with a Missouri State player in a game in the Bahamas last week.
Oakland can't play defense, and can't rebound, and it's costing the Golden Grizzlies, with the schedule getting no easier. Oakland visits Syracuse on Dec. 6, Boise State on Dec. 18 and Michigan State on Dec. 21.