DETROIT (1/16/2025) -- Saturday will be on high alert for sports fans in the Motor City, and it all starts with the #MetroSeries as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team hosts rival Oakland on Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall.

Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App as Dan Hasty and Jeremy Otto have the call.

Tickets to all Titan games can be purchased here.

The 2024-25 season marks the 11th year of the Metro Series as Oakland currently has a 6-4 lead with a win in men's soccer and top finishes in men's and women's cross country, while Detroit Mercy won at women's soccer and women's basketball. The winner of each competition will be awarded points, with cross country, golf and track and field being decided by the highest finish at the Horizon League Championships. The school with the most points at the end of the season will be awarded the Metro Rivalry Cup.

The Titans are looking to end a three-game skid as they enter the game at 6-13 overall and 2-6 in the Horizon League. UDM has seen injuries derail its season as seven players have missed at least one game, tied for the fifth most in the country.

Oakland is 7-12 and 4-4 in league play, as the Golden Grizzlies have won two in a row, defeating NKU on the road and IU Indy at home.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• This is the 36th meeting between the two schools, located about 26 miles apart.
• Oakland leads the series, 20-15, and has won 14 of the last 16 overall and 19 of 23 since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Detroit Mercy is 12-10 at home in the match-up, winning the first 11 meetings in the Motor City, but Oakland has won nine in a row, with the last Titan win at Calihan Hall coming in 2015, 74-54. 

TOUGH FOES IN THE NON-CONFERENCE

• The Titans will play a few home games in the non-conference campaign. Three will take place in November, marking the most home games since they had three in the 2018-19 season.
• Overall, the Titans' 10 DI opponents are 99-61 (.618) on the year, highlighted by Rhode Island (12-2), Wisconsin (12-3), Davidson (11-4) and Wake Forest (11-4).

WE JUST NEED 5 MORE MINUTES

• The Titans are 3-0 in overtime games this year, the most wins in the extra session since the 1982-83 campaign when they won at Michigan State and at home against Canisius and Dayton.
• So far on the season, UDM downed Niagara 84-78 for the first win in extra time since a 116-109 victory against Houston Baptist (Houston Christian) in 2017. Detroit Mercy added another at Eastern Michigan before its come-from-behind 78-76 win at Robert Morris.

OUR FRESH FIVE

• Detroit Mercy did something at Purdue Fort Wayne that it has not done in over 50 years: start five freshmen in a game.
• Grant Gondrezick II, Nate Johnson, Ryan Kalambay, TJ Nadeau and Miles Mitchell all got the nod, as UDM played just eight players in the contest. 
• Detroit Mercy is also believed to be the only team in DI to start five freshmen this year. 

NOT YOUR NBA GAME

• The Titans are currently fifth in the Horizon League hitting at 34.3% from downtown. 
• But a little different than in years past or today's professional game, UDM is 11th in the HL and 335th in DI, connecting on 5.8 per game and 11th in the conference, and 346th in the country with just 16.9 attempts per game. 
• In fact, the red, white, and blue have made double-digit 3-pointers just once this season (11 at home vs. Purdue Fort Wayne) and three times going back to the start of last year (spanning 51 games). 

WINNING THE GLASS

• Detroit Mercy has outrebounded its opponents in 11 of its 19 games as the Titans are third in the Horizon League and 75th in the country with 38.3 rebounds per game, fifth in the HL and 71st in the country with 12.4 offensive boards, and fifth in the league with a +1.6 margin. 
• UDM registered a 48-31 tally at Wake Forest (14-6 on offense). The Titans outrebounded Ball State, 40-30, with 13 offensive and collected 15 of the last 20 rebounds in the contest to seal the win. 
• Detroit Mercy took the glass against Niagara, 49-28, the first time it had a margin of +20 since a 53-20 advantage at home over Youngstown State in 2016. 
• The Titans pulled down 53 rebounds in the season opener against Cleary, the most since the 53 they had against Youngstown State. They also edged Loyola, 40-39, which included 20 offensive caroms, and Tulsa, 47-44, 16-9 on offense. 

PLAYING SOME DEFENSE

• In the win at Ball State, the Titans held a team under 60 points on the road for the first time since a 71-58 triumph at Milwaukee in 2021-22.
• At Wake Forest, the Titans forced the Demon Deacons into missing 25 of their last 31 from behind the arc and 34 of its last 50 shots overall after starting the contest 8-of-11. 
• Against Purdue Fort Wayne, the Mastodons were 6-of-26 from three in the second half, Wisconsin 7-of-35 from distance and Robert Morris 4-of-23.
• In the Milwaukee game, UDM held the high-scoring Panthers to 30.8% from the field and 3-of-24 from three. 
• Despite last weekend, when IU Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne combined to go 32-of-68 from three, the Titans are third in the HL in three-point field goal percentage, holding teams to 32.6%.   

LANDO GETTING TO 20

• Junior Orlando Lovejoy - who missed the last two games with an ankle injury and is considered day-to-day - has continued to elevate his offensive game as he reached 20 points for the fourth straight game and the fifth time this season after his 20-point effort against Milwaukee.
• Along with his 20 points, he tied his career high with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double and also had five assists.  
• He had a career-high 32 points and nine rebounds against Robert Morris, going 13-of-21 from the field.
• Lovejoy tallied 23 to go with four boards and three steals at Youngstown State after 20 points with four rebounds and three assists at Wisconsin. 
• In his last four games, he has averaged 22.8 points on 49.3% shooting (35-of-71) and 88.5% on the line (23-of-26). The last Titan to record 20 points in five straight games was Antoine Davis in 2022-23.
• In his five 20-point games, he has not even attempted a three in four of them. 
• He has been remarkably consistent on offense and defense, scoring in double figures in 13 games as well as grabbing at least three rebounds in 15 games and five on seven occasions. 
• He also has at least three assists in 13 games and five or more in six, ranking fifth in the league with 4.1 per game, as well as at least one steal in 15 games with six multi-steal contests, including a career-high five at Loyola and four at Davidson and at NKU, and is fourth in the HL and 99th in DI with 1.82 steals per game. 
• He had a team-high 16 points with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals at NKU. He posted 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals against Wright State, and that was after 18 points and a career-high nine assists against Purdue Fort Wayne. He recorded 18 points with seven assists and three steals at EMU, tying the game with a layup with just three ticks on the clock. 
• He scored 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line against Rhode Island, with seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals and had a team-high 15 points, eight boards, and handed out six assists at Wake Forest.
• On the year, he leads the team at 16.1  points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, shooting 43.9% overall and 83.8% at the line, ranking in the top 10 in the HL in scoring (4th), assists (5th), assist-to-turnover ratio (10th - 69a - 41t), steals (4th), field-goal percentage (10th), free-throw percentage (4th) and minutes played (1st - 34:28). 

GEETER READY TO MAKE HIS OWN LEGEND

• Junior Legend Geeter has found himself at home in his hometown. 
• Geeter - who missed the last game at Purdue Fort Wayne with an injury - tallied 10 points against Robert Morris and has been in double figures seven times, including five in a row at one point. 
• At Davidson, he netted 17 points - hitting a career-high five 3-pointers - along with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
• Geeter had a great opening week of conference play, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds with two assists and a block against Wright State, and that was after a career game, netting a career-high 22 points, going 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from distance ringing in the game-winning triple against Purdue Fort Wayne, while corralling nine boards. 
• He scored 14 points, along with three boards, three assists, and a steal at EMU, after 11 points, six rebounds, and a career-high four steals with a block against Rhode Island. Earlier in the year, he recorded 14 points against Niagara, going 3-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.
• On the year, he is averaging 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 43.8% (53-of-121) overall, with 12 triples. 
• Geeter was coached in high school by Titan assistant coach LaMonta Stone and started his career at Providence before spending the last two seasons at EMU.

JUST KUAC THIS

• Graduate senior Emmanuel Kuac was off to a strong start in his second Titan season but missed three games with a knee injury.
• He returned at Youngstown State and tied his career-high with nine rebounds and scoring seven points and had 16 points with four boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal against Robert Morris. 
• He posted a team-high 18 points, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from three against Toledo. Kuac netted 11 points with six boards against Purdue Fort Wayne and had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal versus Niagara.
• For his career, Kuac has made 119 field goals, 59 of those from three, including 40 of his 71 field goals as a Titan. 

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

• Freshman TJ Nadeau is coming off his first 20-point game, ending with 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals at Purdue Fort Wayne.
• He has now scored in double figures five times this season, netting at least seven points in 12 of the 19 games, and also has at least four boards in seven games. 
• He had 11 versus Wright State, and started HL play with nine points, five rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• He posted 16 points at EMU, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from distance, and 4-of-4 at the line. 
• Before that, he registered 13 points with a season-best nine boards at Wake Forest and netted his first double-digit effort with 10 points against Toledo.
• As a rookie, he is averaging 7.8 points, with 23 of his 54 field goals coming from behind the arc, leading the team from distance, and connecting on a three in 14 of his 19 contests.  

NATE THE GREAT

• Freshman Nate Johnson has held his own as a rookie on the hardwood, registering six games in double figures, 16 games with three or more rebounds, and five games with at least two assists. 
• He is currently posting 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 38.7%.
• He just scored a season-high 19 points with six rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne. He also had nine points at IU Indy, eight points against Robert Morris and Milwaukee, with six boards against the Panthers, and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds at Youngstown State, adding six points and three assists. He netted 11 points with four rebounds and a block at NKU and 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against Wright State. 
• Johnson was named the HL Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11 as he showed his all-around skills in his first three collegiate games, averaging 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists, hitting 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the field, with four triples.
• He started his collegiate career with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the win over Cleary. He came back with 13 points and three boards at Loyola and nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the come-from-behind win over Niagara.

GIVE ME A GRANT

• Redshirt freshman Grant Gondrezick II has come on since the start of the year, netting double figures in eight of the last 11 games - three of those reaching 20 - after scoring just 16 total points in his first seven. 
• On the year, he is tallying 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, shooting 36.9% overall and 40.9% from three, while in the last five games, he has 12 assists and just five turnovers. 
• He had 19 points, six rebounds, and a season-tying five assists at Purdue Fort Wayne, and that was after 21 points and five helpers at IU Indy.
• He started his scoring streak by stepping up when his team needed him at Eastern Michigan, posting a season-high 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal as he was 7-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from three, and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe.
• He registered his second 20-point scoring game with 20 at Wisconsin, going 8-of-18 overall and 3-of-4 from three.
• He had 12 points with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals at NKU. Before that, he recorded 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals against Wright State, and added 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists versus Purdue Fort Wayne.
• He had four points, but pulled down a season-high eight rebounds with two assists and a steal at Youngstown State.
• He did not see any action at Elon last year, but was a high scorer at Benton Harbor, posting nearly 2,000 career points. As a senior, he netted 997 total points, averaging 25.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals. 
• His dad, Grant Gondrezick, played college basketball at Pepperdine and then two seasons in the NBA for the Suns, while his mother, Felicia, won the 1988 NCAA Championship at Louisiana Tech.
• His older sister, Kalabrya, played college basketball at Michigan State, while his other sister, Kysre, was Miss Basketball in Michigan, played for Michigan and West Virginia and currently plays in the WNBA.
• His uncle, Glen, his dad's brother, played at UNLV and spent six seasons in the NBA with the Knicks and Nuggets. 

PUTTING IN THE MILES

• Freshman Miles Mitchell was a candidate to redshirt at the start of the season, but after not playing the first three games, he has come off the bench, providing a spark on offense and defense.
• He has 39 rebounds in the last seven games and is coming off a season-best nine rebounds with five points and a steal at IU Indy. 
• He grabbed seven boards at Wisconsin, eight with a block and a steal at NKU and six with a block at Davidson.
• Mitchell finished with four points and a season-best three steals at Youngstown State.
• Earlier in the season, he had eight points and four rebounds in just 13 minutes against Rhode Island, and notched two points, four rebounds, an assist, and a block in 15 minutes of action at Eastern Michigan. 
• He is 20-of-40 from the field (50.0%) on the year, with all of those field goals coming around the basket.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

• Freshman Ryan Kalambay had one of his strongest games as he tied for the team lead with a season-high six boards to go with two assists, two steals and a block at Davidson and just had six rebounds, two points and a block at IU Indy and six points at Purdue Fort Wayne.  
• He had two points, three rebounds, two blocks, and a steal against Rhode Island. He had his second-straight game with five rebounds, three points, two steals and a block against Tulsa after pulling down five rebounds with a block at Wake Forest.