DETROIT (3/1/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will make the short trip up Interstate 75 to face #MetroSeries-rival Oakland on Saturday. 

Game time is set for 6:00 p.m., at the OU Credit Union O'rena and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App. Fans can also listen to the action on the radio on WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

The game does have some impact on what the final regular season standings and record book will look like. A win by the Titans would force the Golden Grizzlies into sharing the Horizon League regular season title, although Oakland has clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament due to tiebreakers over Youngstown State and Green Bay.

Detroit Mercy can still move up to the 10th seed with a win and an IUPUI loss at Cleveland State. If the Titans are the 11th seed, they will play at sixth-seeded Milwaukee, but if the red, white, and blue can get to 10th, the first-round match-up will be either at Cleveland State or Purdue Fort Wayne.

Senior Jayden Stone still leads the conference in scoring at 20.5 points, 12th in the nation, along with 2.3 triples, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists, top 15 in the HL in all three, while sophomore Marcus Tankersley has now scored 20 or more 10 times on the year and is tallying 16.5 points on the year - seventh in the league - and shooting 45.5% from the field - 13th in the conference.

The Barbasol Horizon League men's and women's Basketball Championships are set to start on Tuesday. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

• This is the 35th meeting between the two schools, located about 26 miles apart. 
• Oakland leads the series, 19-15, and has won 13 of the last 15 and 18 of 22 since joining the league in 2013-14. 
• Detroit Mercy won last year on the road, 96-74, but is 3-9 all-time in Rochester. The two other wins were in 2017, 93-88, and in 2021, 82-72.

STARTING TO SURGE

• The Titans have struggled on offense but have picked it up in the last 13 outings, averaging 72.5 points after tallying just 60.1 in their first 17 games. 
• Detroit Mercy has registered double-digit assists in 10 of the 13 games.
• UDM has shot over 46.0% in seven of the last eight games, including some big performances, shooting 51.7% against Wright State, 52.2% against Purdue Fort Wayne, and 51.0% in the win over IUPUI. UDM tallied 47.5% at NKU - including 66.0% in the second half - and hit a season-high 59.6% at Wright State the game before, its best mark since hitting 66.0% against Green Bay in 2021. 
• They had a season-high 99 points at Robert Morris and a season-best 17 assists. 

SHOWING SOME DEFENSE

• Detroit Mercy has forced double-digit turnovers in 20 games this season. UDM also has at least 10 steals in seven games this year.
• The Titans' defense forced Robert Morris into 20 turnovers at home and registered 16 turnovers with a season-tying 12 steals at Milwaukee.
• Earlier this year, they forced Ball State into a season-high 21 turnovers with a season-best 12 steals. 
• UDM is fifth in the HL with 6.9 steals per game. 

EARNING POINTS AT THE LINE

• The Titans have made double-digit free throws in 22 games this season.
• The Titans were 17-of-22 against Purdue Fort Wayne and 24-of-33 effort against IUPUI, the second most free throws on the season behind the 25-of-26 at home against NKU.
• The 33 free throws were the most since going 24-of-34 against Rochester on Nov. 8, 2022, a 93-65 win.
• The Titans are fifth in the HL in free-throw percentage at 72.9%. 
• They also have two of the best in the league as Marcus Tankersley is fifth at 80.3% and Jayden Stone is 10th at 78.8%. 
• Tankersley has made 30 of his last 33 in the last six games, including 14 straight at one point.  

A PRECIOUS STONE

• Senior Jayden Stone returned to action after missing six games and quickly reestablished himself as one of the top scorers in the NCAA in the last 13 games at 21.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. 
• He tallied 25 points against Wright State, and that was after a game-high 27 points with six rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne. He had 24 points with six boards at NKU, 28 points against Cleveland State and 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists at Green Bay.
• Stone recorded his second double-double of the year with 15 points, a career-high 10 assists, six boards, and two steals at Milwaukee.
• Stone had a monster game with a career-high 36 points and a season-best 10 rebounds, playing 49 of a possible 50 minutes at Robert Morris, while adding four assists, two steals, and a block. 
• He had a then career-best 34 points against Eastern Michigan, hitting 12-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. 
• Defensively, he came away with six steals against Ball State, the most steals by a Titan since 2017.
• He now has two 30-point efforts - tied for second in the HL - and 14, 20-point performances - tied for third in the league - in just 24 games played.
• Stone is averaging a league-best 20.5 points, 12th in the nation, along with 2.3 triples, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists, top 15 in the HL in all three.
• He has played in 37 career games with the Titans and has netted 20 or more 19 times, been in double figures 29 times, grabbed five or more rebounds on 26 occasions, including 19 times this year, and recorded three double-doubles.

SCORE IT MARK

• Sophomore Marcus Tankersley has now scored 20 or more 10 times on the year - tied for the seventh most in the HL - including five of the last seven and eight of the last 13 games.
• He just finished with a game-high 22 points with three assists at Youngstown State. He had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists against Wright State, and that was after 17 points and a career-high eight assists against Purdue Fort Wayne as he has evolved into more of a ball handler, averaging 3.8 assists in the last nine contests.
• He tallied 24 points on a career-best 11-of-17 effort at NKU, and that was after matching his career-high with 29 points, a career-high three triples, and handing out six assists at Wright State.
• Tankersley netted 24 points against Robert Morris and tallied 23 points against Youngstown State. That came after a career-high 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and 9-of-9 at the line at Robert Morris.
• He is tallying 16.5 points on the year - seventh in the HL - and shooting 45.5% from the field - 13th in the conference.
• In the non-conference, he had 20 at NC State with a career-tying three steals and recorded his first career double-double with a then-career-best 23 points and 11 rebounds at Northwestern.

RETURN OF THE MAK

• Junior Mak Manciel tallied his seventh double-figure scoring effort of the season with 10 points against Wright State.
• He had 14 points and five rebounds in the win over IUPUI. 
• He started the year 6-of-42 (14.2%) from the field, but is shooting just over 39.2% (42-of-107) in the last 17 games, going in double figures in seven of them. 
• He scored a career-high 20 points, connecting on 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-7 from three at Wright State. 
• He got his game going against NKU at home, recording 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. He then had 16 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from three with a season-high five assists at Robert Morris.
• Last year, he was at Arkansas State, but missed last season due to a knee injury.
• He was a First Team NJCAA All-American as a sophomore at Henry Ford College after posting 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 47.6%. 

DEL CADIA NETS CAREER BEST

• Graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia has three double-doubles on the year as he continues to showcase some fine all-around play as a post-player.
• He had seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds with a career-tying four steals at Youngstown State. Del Cadia ended with 14 points and five rebounds and tied his career high with four steals against Wright State. 
• He almost had another double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and an assist at NKU and ended with 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals against Cleveland State.
• He registered a career-best 17 points on 8-of-15 from the field with three steals and three rebounds against Youngstown State and posted 16 points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne.
• He has now scored in double figures in 14 games and has grabbed at least five rebounds in 18 as he is currently averaging 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds - 15th in the HL - 1.7 assists and shooting 53.5% (99-of-185) from the field, which would be fifth in the league but he doesn't have enough attempts to qualify. 

FINALLY GET TO SEE HIM

• Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac started the season recovering from a past injury, but he showed what he could do when healthy at Milwaukee.
• He drained 7-of-13 from deep en route to a career-high 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting overall to go with a season-high eight rebounds, a career-tying three steals and a block at Milwaukee. 
• He knocked down two 3-pointers and had eight points at Youngstown State and had five points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne. 
• He missed the first 12 games, recovering from an injury sustained before his arrival at UDM.  

MOTOR CITY PRIDE

• Senior Kyle LeGreair has 12 multi-assist games this year and a steal in 14 of the last 17 games and 20 on the season. He has multi-steal games on six occasions after recording a season-high six boards, six points, three assists and two steals at YSU. 
• He also had five points and five rebounds with two assists and a steal against Milwaukee. 
• He registered five rebounds and three assists at Ole Miss, two steals at Ohio and three assists against Oakland. 
• LeGreair has played in 87 career games and has amassed 113 assists and 61 steals.

 
KEEP WORKING HARD

• Junior walk-on Tobin Schwannecke has seen more playing time recently as the coaching staff is awarding him for his dedication in practice.
• He had a season-high five points against IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne, one shy of his career-best of six against Northwood when he played for Grand Valley State in 2021.
• He has now hit a three in three-straight games he has played in and has four triples on the year. 

COACH WILLIAMS MAKES HISTORY

• Detroit Mercy hired its first female assistant coach in school history in former high school coach Jerica Williams.
• She is one of 31 women on DI MBB staffs in positions of leadership directly working with the players, although she is the only current coach in Division I who has on-the-court instruction and recruiting duties.
• She was the girls' basketball head coach at Detroit Country Day from 2020-2022, where she was named back-to-back Coach of the Year, leading her team to back-to-back MSHAA Final Fours.
• Prior to the home opener on Nov. 21, Council Member Angela Calloway presented the Spirit of Detroit Award to her for her outstanding achievement.
• The Spirit of Detroit Award is issued by the Detroit City Council to a person, event, or organization deemed to have performed an outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.