First game of a 3 game road trip, and rather important game. A win, and YSU moves into a 3 way tie for 2nd place with Valpo an CSU who are each 5-3. A loss, and YSU drops to a tie for 6th with Oakland at 4-4.
Milwaukee had a big win over WSU on Thursday, and Valpo beat GB on Wednesday.
This game has the makings to be high scoring, as defense is not the forte of either team. I watched the last 5 minutes or so of Oakland - Detroit, and also watched bits of Oakland games against UCLA, NC, Gonzaga, CAL and Indiana on TV. Their size could give YSU problems, and Travis Bader is one of the best players in the HL.
I expect Corey Petros to be a handful for YSU. He is a very big boy at 6'10", 265lbs. And he is averaging 14 pts and 8 rebounds per game. This tandem gives Oakland a good inside-out duo.
For YSU, this could be a game where KP goes off big time, as Oakland is poor defensively. I also would not be surprised to see KP going to the basket alot in order to try and get Petros in foul trouble, and also enable KP to get to the foul line early and often.
Oakland's SOS is top 50 in the country. They are a much better team than their record would indicate. This would be a nice win for YSU, and put them in very good position for the 2nd half of HL season.
