Michigan's Oakland U hopes to become NCAA upstart

ROCHESTER, Mich. — The easiest way to measure Oakland University's basketball success is by mentioning the school's name and watching for the reaction.

"People are starting to know that we're in Michigan, not California," center Keith Benson said.

Led by the 6-foot-11 Benson, Oakland has become the Summit League's dominant program. Although a loss last weekend ended a 20-game regular-season winning streak in conference play, the Golden Grizzlies still lead the league by 2½ games and are eyeing their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

Oakland lost big in the first round to Pittsburgh last season, but the Golden Grizzlies are hoping for an extended postseason run this time after beating Tennessee and playing Michigan State close in December, .

"Playing on a national stage like that, in front of big teams, you really get to see where you place against them," forward Will Hudson said. "On a higher stage, things get exposed, so you know what to work on. We play such a tough schedule and then we learn from it, and then take that into conference play."

The Golden Grizzlies have overwhelmed the Summit League recently, going 17-1 in the 2009-10 regular season before sweeping to the conference tournament title. This season, Oakland (17-9, 12-1) has outscored conference opponents by 16.1 points per game — even after losing 100-88 at IUPUI on Saturday.

The 20-game winning streak was even more impressive considering the grueling travel Summit League teams must endure. The league includes teams in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah.

Benson was the school's crucial catch. He averaged only 6.9 points per game as a high school senior at nearby Detroit Country Day, then redshirted his first season at Oakland, but he's grown about 3 inches in college and put on enough weight to become a legitimate NBA prospect at 230 pounds. Benson, a senior, is averaging 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds this season.

"He just worked extremely hard and got better," coach Greg Kampe said. "I give the kid all the credit in the world."

Hudson, another senior, has come on strong this season, shooting 64 percent from the field. Hudson is from Wisconsin, so when he first found out about the possibility of playing at Oakland, his reaction was predictable.

"I was just like, 'I don't want to go out all the way to California,'" Hudson said. "That was before Oakland was on the map."

Hudson soon found out all about Oakland, a school of about 15,500 undergraduates on a suburban campus not far from where the Detroit Pistons play in Auburn Hills.