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The Horizon League tournament had been rolling along smoothly enough over the weekend. The crowds were relatively good, the court at Joe Louis Arena looked like it’d been there for years, and aside from Wright State coach Billy Donlon feuding over the tourney format, everybody seemed to be getting along quite merrily.
But the games hadn’t yet provided a real signature moment. All of the favorites held serve and there were no at-the-buzzer heroics.
Then Monday night arrived, and after almost six hours of basketball, the top two seeds had been eliminated and the fans in attendance (6,557) had been treated to some of the most dramatic action March Madness has to offer -- even if many of them left broken-hearted after a loss by local favorite Oakland in the nightcap.
The Fighting Phoenix
The early game saw regular season champion Valparaiso unable to really find their rhythm against Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Phoenix controlled the play for most of the night, yet still the resilient Crusaders from Valpo were able to tie the game at the end of regulation on a play that I can’t recall seeing since 1972. Not that I actually saw that play, but any hoops devotee knows USA-Russia and the play in question.
Green Bay had one free throw coming, holding a tender one point advantage. With just a couple seconds on the clock, one would assume that many of the Green Bay players would be positioned on the other end of the floor, perhaps even leaving the free throw lane empty as teams are known to do in this spot. The key is to prevent an Aaron Rodgers at Ford Field type play; if a team passes short and hits one from beyond half court, you applaud and move on.
But the kids from Wisconsin, playing their third game in three nights, fell asleep. After the free throw was converted, Valpo took the ball out of bounds, heaved the ball ninety-some feet, and Alec Peters was waiting under the other basket to catch it and lay it in. Getting a game-tying bucket with two seconds to play having to go the length of the floor is supposed to present the highest degree of difficulty; granted, it took a Herculean pass from strong-armed Jubril Adekoya to get the ball there, but the collective brain cramp on the part of Green Bay at such a critical moment was something only Jim Caldwell could be proud of.
But alas, perseverance was on full display for UWGB in overtime. They never let Valpo capture the momentum and pulled the stunner on the conference bully.
Everything’s Coming Up Oakland
Things looked to be setting up just perfectly for Greg Kampe’s Golden Grizzlies. They entered the game very well-rested, the great majority of the crowd was firmly in their corner, and now the heavy favorite in the tournament and one that Oakland struggled with all year had been rudely whacked out of the tournament. Mike Tirico would be doing the game for ESPN, too, and who doesn’t play a little better when you know Tirico is in the building?
They just had to go play Oakland basketball for 40 minutes. Like they’d done so many times this year. But Wright State, the team that had eliminated Detroit on Sunday, is not the team that lets you do what you want. They’re precisely the opposite.
Kampe likes when Oakland plays free and easy. When they’re getting good shots early in the clock and forcing the opposition to keep up. But Billy Donlon’s club from Wright State permitted nothing of the sort to take place.
Oakland did get off to the exact start it was hoping for. Max Hooper, playing just days after the death of his father, drilled his first attempt from deep and the Joe Louis faithful erupted. It was a shot everybody in the arena was happy to see fall through the net, and I’d bet that includes some of the folks from Wright State’s side as well.
But as would be a pattern throughout the night, Oakland could never seize the momentum in full. A made basket would be followed by one of the same from Wright State. A Kay Felder turnover or forced shot would be paired with an effective clock-killing possession from WSU.
Push and Pull for OU Star Kay Felder
It was a tricky scenario in this contest for Felder. Of course, he is the engine that makes Oakland go. He’s been not just their top player throughout the year, but the MVP of the entire conference. He has NBA talent and can get 30-40 points on any night. So he knew it would take a powerful individual performance for his team to advance.
But having said that, a heady team like the one Donlon has at Wright State will not get beaten by a single player. They’ll center on that guy, draw multiple defenders to him, and force the lesser-proven guys to knock down shots. And though there were moments of sheer brilliance from Felder, you could say he played right into their hands.
At the outset, you could tell Kay was not letting the game come to him. He was forcing some shots, making some turnovers on errant drives, and the balance that can make Oakland such a dangerous offensive unit was not really taking shape. At halftime, Felder was 1 of 9 and the Grizzlies were on the wrong end of a 33-25 score.
You did feel like a major run by Felder and Co. was coming, and after a few more back-and-forth minutes to open the second half, things finally turned for the “home” team.
Felder with a long two. Again on a gritty drive to the hoop. Then Hooper did a perfect Rex Chapman imitation and buried an almost running 3 going to his right. Under the circumstances, the performance by Hooper was about as gutsy and inspirational as you’ll ever see.
But the visiting Raiders just never let up. After Hooper’s long-ball, the star senior for Wright State, J.T. Yoho, answered right back. It was one of many monster shots from Yoho on a night when he couldn’t miss.
The final dozen minutes or so put on display tension-filled March hoops at its best. These smaller conference tournaments carry with them such thick, weighted drama. Even in the NCAA Tournament, which is a win-or-go-home scenario, at least you’ve already made it to the big stage. You’d like to go further, to get to the Final Four, but qualifying for the tournament is a major accomplishment for most programs already.
No Tomorrow in the Horizon League
In the Horizon League, like all other “mid-majors,” this is the Super Bowl. As the minutes melt off the clock, and the score is tied or within a couple points, teams must show their mettle and somehow try to forget just how much is on the line. The thought of a loss is soul-crushing and facing tomorrow without a game on the schedule is the worst feeling a college hooper can experience.
Oakland would continue to charge, and finally started getting contributions from their supporting cast. Freshman Xavier Hill-Mais made hustle plays on both ends, converting inside for an important basket after a hard-fought offensive rebound. Martez Walker provided the highlight of the night with a super-charged baseline drive that resulted in a throwdown and a foul. After the free throw, Oakland finally had the lead for the first time in forever.
But to drive a stake through the heart of a charging bull like Wright State, you need to build that cushion out to 4-6 points. Make their defensively-oriented team panic a bit and start their offense earlier than desired. Oakland could never quite get there. They’d lead by a point, or even by three briefly, but it wasn’t enough to really swing the pendulum entirely. Never enough to let you feel that the Golden Grizzly boat had entered safe waters completely.
And sure enough, the inability to get key stops and scores consecutively in the last few minutes would cost Oakland its life. After a Jalen Hayes basket (and FT) with three minutes left, they wouldn’t connect from the field again.
Felder made an uncharacteristically silly decision with a minute left when Oakland absolutely had to put together a quality possession. He passed the ball to the inexperienced Hill-Mais in an awkward part of the floor and it resulted in a turnover. Wright State, as they’ve done throughout the tournament, went right down and made Oakland pay with a timely drive and score on the other end to retake the lead. Oakland would never get it back.
Yoho would ultimately put the Raiders ahead with another jumper and the final minute played out tensely, but sloppily for Oakland. A missed free throw and a missed layup, albeit not an easy one, for Felder.
What had started as such a promising night for Kampe and his team, and the thousands screaming boisterously for their Black and Gold, had ended with a dull thud with the Grizzlies losing 59-55. The underdogs had improbably won both semi-final games, despite it being a third tournament contest in as many days, while Valparaiso and Oakland entered play with the freshest of legs.
Kampe started his press conference by joking, “So much for the double-bye, huh?”
From an entertainment standpoint, the 6,500+ that packed the lower bowl of Joe Louis Arena got their money’s worth, and more. The games were thrilling, with standout performances from all sides. Sadly, that entertainment came with a price; the OU players and fans alike will spend a spring and summer wondering what could have been.
