Toledo vs. Oakland Prediction: Can Trey Townsend, Golden Grizzlies Bounce Back Against Rockets?
Oakland is looking to bounce back with a win over the struggling Toledo Rockets. Can Trey Townsend and the Golden Grizzlies get a big home victory on Wednesday night? Ben Rajavuori provides his prediction and analysis for the mid-major clash.
Ben Rajavuori - December 6, 2023, 4:05 PM EST
5 minToledo vs. Oakland Prediction: Can Trey Townsend, Golden Grizzlies Bounce Back Against Rockets?
The Toledo Rockets travel from Ohio to Michigan tonight to take on the Oakland Grizzlies. Toledo sits at 3-4 on the season with four straight losses to New Mexico, UC Irvine, Indiana State, and George Mason. Oakland enters this game at 5-4, but is fresh off a loss to Purdue Fort-Wayne. Oakland is a slight 1.5-point favorite to take care of business tonight. Can the Grizzlies get back on track at home?
Toledo vs. Oakland Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: December 6, 2023
- Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN+
Toledo vs. Oakland Prediction
The loss against Purdue Fort Wayne was bad, but IPFW is having one of their best season in a long time. They are 8-1 to start the season, with their lone loss being a quad-one loss on the road against San Francisco. It's also hard to fault Oakland too much for that loss because IPFW shot an insane 65% from three, draining 17 of their 26 three-point attempts. There's not much you can do when a team shoots 65% from three on you.
Aside from that loss, Oakland has two quad-one losses to Illinois and Ohio State and a quad-two loss to Drake. They have won the games they were "expected" to win this season, outside of last game.
The Grizzlies lost Jalen Moore this offseason, but they returned a lot of players from last year, and they have a team full of upperclassmen who have been at Oakland for a while. They will also get Blake Lampman back for this game, who has missed seven games with a hip injury. The fifth-year guard is a big addition to get back for the Grizzlies, and his experience and scoring ability will be a good addition to get back.
The Toledo Rockets have now lost four in a row, as I mentioned in the opener. Toledo started the season 3-0, but this recent skid has me worried about how they will bounce back. In the offseason, the Rockets lost RayJ Dennis (19.5 PPG), Setric Millner Jr. (16.1 PPG), and JT Shumate (16.0 PPG). They were their three leading scorers and three-point shooters who accounted for 51.6 of the Rockets' 85 points per game last season.
That's a big hole to fill, and Dante Maddox can't do it all himself. Toledo's offensive identity for a while now has been three-point shooting, but Dante Maddox is the only one who has really been shooting threes. Toledo is not a tall team, and they have used their perimeter shooting to win under Tod Kowalczyk, but that does not seem to be their mojo this year, and it doesn't look be be working out for them.
Oakland seems like the more consistent, experienced, and balanced team. They have their identity, and all the players have been there for a long time under the same coach. Toledo is in a funk, and they are not a team I would put money on right now. I think Oakland is the best bet in this spot.
Toledo vs. Oakland Pick
Pick: Oakland -1.5 (-110) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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