Oakland was one of the best stories of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament last year. The Grizzlies upset No. 3 Kentucky in the opening round and then went to overtime in the Round of 32, eventually losing to NC State.
They’re trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament this year but if they want to do that, they need to get past Robert Morris in the semifinal of the Horizon League Championship. The Colonials won the regular season title and has already beaten Oakland twice this season.
Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook
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Moneyline
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Oakland
Allen Mukeba: Oakland’s forward is their best weapon on both sides of the court. He’s leading the team in points (14.5), rebounds (7.7), and blocks (1.4) per game. He has also had two huge performances in their first two playoff games, including putting up 21 points and seven rebounds in an upset win against Milwaukee in the quarterfinal.
Robert Morris
Kam Woods: Robert Morris has four different players who are averaging double-digit points per game, but Kam Woods is the one who runs the offense. He’s leading the team in assists per game with 5.1 and his 1.8 steals per game also plays a big role in their defensive ability.
I’m going to ride with the No. 1 seed in this game. Look for offensive rebounds to play a huge role in the Colonials victory tonight. They rank 21st in the country in offensive rebounding rate, grabbing 34.6% of offensive rebounds. Now, they face an Oakland team that ranks 306th in defensive rebounding, grabbing only 69.2% of defensive boards.
Robert Morris is also the better shooting team and that’s been especially true of late. The Colonials have an effective field goal percentage of 58.7% over their last three games, while Oakland comes into this game ranking 227th in that stat.
I’ll lay the points with the favorites.
Pick: Robert Morris -3.5 (-110) via BetMGM
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