DETROIT (2/26/2026) -- The #MetroSeries is big enough, but this year, a lot more will be on the line as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team heads to Oakland looking to lock up a home playoff game on Saturday.

Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. at the O'rena, with Neal Ruhl and Darryl Jacobs on the call on ESPN+.

Oakland already knows it will host a playoff game, but the Titans need a win to clinch a top-five finish and a home game in the first round. A loss would have UDM scoreboard watching for the right combination to also get into the top five.

The Titans can get as high as the third seed or fall all the way to seventh with just one game left in the regular season.

Detroit Mercy is 14-14 on the year and 11-8 in the Horizon League as its four-game winning streak came to an end at Robert Morris. The Titans have still won six of the last eight to put themselves in position for a home playoff game.

Oakland has won two in a row and is 16-14 on the season and 12-7 in league play, as the Golden Grizzlies are looking to finish as high as second in the league standings.

The Titans fell in the first meeting, 95-87, in Calihan Hall.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• This is the 39th meeting between the two schools, located about 26 miles apart.
• Oakland leads the series, 23-15, and has won 17 of the last 19 overall and 22 of 26 since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Detroit Mercy is 3-11 all-time in Rochester Hills, collecting victories in 2017 (93-88), 2021 (82-72), and 2023 (96-74). 

IN THE CLASSROOM

• Detroit Mercy just missed a team 3.0 GPA as UDM tallied a 2.91 in the fall semester.
• Junior Ayden Carter and freshman Zak Abdalla posted a perfect 4.0, while five other Titans recorded at least a 3.0.
• Seven Titans made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in Abdalla, Carter, Je'kel Cotton, London Maiden, Xavier Istomin-Monroe, TJ Nadeau, and Tyler Spratt. 
• In addition, Nadeau was just named to the Valeo #HLMBB All-Academic Team. 

#HLMBB CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET REFUSING TO TAKE SHAPE 

• There is just one day left in the regular season, but there is still plenty to be determined in the Horizon League standings heading into the postseason.
• The Titans are fighting for a top-five finish and a home game, but can also fall all the way to seventh place.
• UDM knows that a win will guarantee them a home game and as high as the three seed. A loss would have the Titans scoreboard watching, where the right combination of outcomes could still get them a home game as the five seed.
• The opening and first-round games are slated for home sites, while the second round, semifinals, and championship will take place in Indianapolis, March 8-10, at the Corteva Coliseum.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

• Detroit Mercy is second in the Horizon League in three-point field-goal defense (33.w%) and second in overall field-goal percentage defense (44.4). 
• Also, in the last nine games, the Titans have shot at least 50.0% five times (50.0% vs Oakland, 55.6% vs. NKU, 53.7% at Milwaukee, 52.5% at Wright State, 53.6% vs. Milwaukee). 

CLEANING THE GLASS

• UDM has hit the glass all season long and leads the conference at 37.9 rebounds per game - 59th in DI - and third in the HL and 53rd in the country with 12.5 offensive rebounds per game.
• Detroit Mercy has won the glass in 13 of the 19 league contests and secured at least 15 offensive boards in seven games on the year. 
• The Titans posted a 49-27, +22, margin on the glass against Cleveland State, the second biggest on the season behind the 51-18 advantage over Siena Heights. The +22 margin was the largest against a DI school since UDM posted a +33 against Youngstown State at home in 2016.
• UDM posted a 44-34 margin at Purdue Fort Wayne, where the Titans collected 15 offensive rebounds.
• At Niagara, Detroit Mercy dominated the boards, 43-27, including 14 offensive that led to 14 second-chance points. 
• Earlier in the season, the Titans had 21 offensive caroms at UIC.

MAKING THE FREE ONES

• The Titans tied their season high in free throws, going 26-of-30 in the road win at IU Indy, just a hair better than the 26-of-31 effort in the home victory over Cleveland State.
• Detroit Mercy leads the HL and is 33rd in the nation at the free-throw line at 76.9%.
• UDM has reached double-digit made free throws in 22 games this year and has 10 games with at least 20.
• Senior Orlando Lovejoy leads Horizon League and is 29th in the NCAA at 89.1% (114-of-128).
• Other Titans making the free ones include freshman Lance Stone at 86.1% (51-of-59) and sophomore TJ Nadeau at 84.6% (55-of-65). 

LOOKING FOR THAT SWEET SHOT

• The Titans have struggled from downtown most of the year, but have connected on double-digit 3-pointers in four HL games after making 10-of-21 against Milwaukee last week. The Titans were also 12-of-20 against NKU, 11-of-29 versus Oakland, and 10-of-22 against Cleveland State.
• While the numbers overall this season are not great, UDM actually leads the Horizon League in league-only games at 40.2% from the outside.
• Overall, Detroit Mercy ranks 152nd in three-point shooting (34.6%) and 288th in triples per game (6.7), seventh and 11th, respectively, in the HL, and has reached double-digit 3-pointers eight times in the last 92 games.
• Last season, UDM ranked 11th in the HL and 341st in DI, connecting on 5.6 per game.

PROTECT THE BALL

• Detroit Mercy has tallied a season-high 11 steals twice, in the season opener at UIC and against Cleveland State, and came away with 10 steals against Green Bay.
• Senior Orlando Lovejoy leads the way, ranking fourth in the Horizon League with 1.63 steals per game. 
• On the flip side, the Titans committed a season-low six miscues at Cleveland State and have had 10 or fewer turnovers in 10 games this year, including three of the last five.

WHAT NADEAU ABOUT NOTHING

• Sophomore TJ Nadeau has netted double figures in 18 of his 27 games.
• The #HLMBB All-Academic Team honoree registered his eighth career 20-point game, going for a game-high 25 points against Milwaukee, tying his career best with six 3-pointers.
• He had a team-high 20 points at Green Bay, going 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from three, and posted a career-best 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep at Cleveland State.
• He also had 20 against Robert Morris and 24 points on a 9-of-14 effort from the field and six triples at Notre Dame.
• Nadeau is second on the team with 13.1 points per game, and also team-high 59 triples - the most since Jayden Stone had 62 during the 2023-24 campaign - as his 2.19 3-pointers per game are 11th in the HL. 

OUR PRIDE AND JOY

• Preseason All-Horizon League guard senior Orlando Lovejoy is all over the leaderboard for the Titans, leading the squad in scoring (14.9), assists (3.7), and steals (1.6), and fourth in rebounding (3.6).
• He is in the top 10 in the Horizon League in scoring, assists, and steals. He also has a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio (99 A, 55 T).
• He currently has 1,283 points, 303 assists, and 162 steals in his career, posting a pair of 30-point performances and 15, 20-point efforts, including six this year. 
• His defensive prowess has seen him post at least two steals in 13 of his 26 games played, and 19 career games with at least three steals.
• Also in his career, he has 21 games with at least five assists.
• He has scored in double figures in eight straight games and is averaging 19.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, shooting 57-of-110 (51.8%), in that span.
• He just had 19 points, four assists, and three boards at NKU. 
• Last week, he was the HL Player of the Week and the USBWA National Team of the Week after a career-high 33 points (11-19 FG, 11-12 FT) and five assists in the win over Green Bay, and 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the victory over Milwaukee.
• He had a team-high 18 points in the win at Wright State, and 24 points, going 8-of-10 from the field and 8-of-10 at the line, knocking off NKU. 
• He had a career all-around game, tallying 18 points, a career-tying nine assists, a career-high eight steals, and seven rebounds as the Titans swept Cleveland State. The eight steals were the third most in school history and the most ever against a Division I program. 
• Lovejoy registered a pair of 20-point games with 22 points in a road win at Youngstown State (where he was a career-best 10-of-10 at the line) and 20 points against Robert Morris (where he tied his career high with a pair of 3-pointers and dished out five assists). 
• One of the most impressive stats is that the 6-3 guard is an old-school player - making just four total 3-pointers last season and matching that this year - as he looks to penetrate and use his mid-range game.
• In fact, in eight of his 15 career 20-point outings, he has not even attempted a three.

THE LEGEND OF GEETER

• Senior Legend Geeter has been that senior leader on the floor and has expanded his game into a scorer, rebounder, and distributor.
• Geeter now has at least five rebounds in 18 games this season, including nine of the last 10, and is eighth in the HL in rebounding (6.2) and 10th in offensive rebounding (2.1). 
• He also has at least three assists in eight games and 28 in the last nine contests.
• Geeter just had nine points and six boards at RMU after eight points and eight rebounds against Green Bay, grabbing a key rebound and hitting two free throws with under five seconds left to help seal the win. Before that, he had 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists against Milwaukee.
• He was solid at Wright State with eight points, eight rebounds, and a huge block with under 1:30 left in the contest. 
• He posted his second double-double with 12 points, a career-tying 10 rebounds, and six assists, along with a block against NKU, and just missed another double-double the game before with a career-best 24 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against Oakland. 
• Earlier this season, he netted 22 points, going 8-of-8 from the field and grabbing six rebounds against Wright State.
• In his last 14 games, Geeter is averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, shooting 54.4% from the field.

SPRATT IS COMING HOME

• Redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt has really come on since the start of the season, scoring in double figures 11 times in the last 15 games.
• Even when he is not scoring, he has helped the Titans, finishing with five assists against Green Bay.
• He scored 15 points and registered a season-high nine rebounds against Youngstown State. 
• He had an all-around game of nine points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block at Wright State, scoring the game-winning basket with under 10 seconds left.
• Spratt was the HL Freshman of the Week for the second time this season after netting a season-best 28 points against NKU, connecting on 8-of-10 from three (the most 3-pointers by a Titan since Antoine Davis in 2023), along with a season-high six assists and six rebounds. 
• He had 21 points against Oakland, making 9-of-19 from the field with six rebounds, and knocked in five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, six boards, and two assists against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• After starting the season 10-of-47 overall (21.2%), 4-of-25 (16.0%) from three, and averaging 3.9 points, Spratt has made 74-of-157 (47.1%) from the field and 43-of-97 (44.3%) from distance and averaging 13.2 points and 4.1 boards in his last 18 games.

THE BIG MAN

• The Titans reeled in a big man in 6-8, 250-lb London Maiden has shown dominance at times in the paint.
• Maiden has dealt with an illness that limited him for a part of the conference season, but he has been in double figures in three of the last seven games.
• He had seven points in 12 minutes against Milwaukee after scoring 10 points in just 10 minutes against Youngstown State. Maiden had 10 points and five boards at Wright State and 10 points and four boards at Milwaukee.
• He had 16 points and eight rebounds at Niagara, and a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds, going 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 at the line versus IU Indy.

KALAMBAY'S PLAY

• Sophomore Ryan Kalambay has started to make his mark in the paint, just as he did in the second part of last season. 
• Kalambay has scored at least eight points in five of the last nine games, and grabbed at least five rebounds in 16 of his last 18 games - including four in double digits - and is tallying 5.1 rebounds and eighth in the conference at 2.14 offensive rebounds per night. 
• He now leads the team with 35 blocks - the most since Chris Brandon had 44 in 2019-20 - and stands sixth in the HL with 1.25 blocks per game.
• Kalambay just tied his season-high with 10 points and five blocks and registered nine boards at Robert Morris. He had six points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block in the win over Green Bay, added 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and a block versus Youngstown State, and eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals at Wright State, securing the final board of the contest and hitting two free throws to seal the win.
• He tied his career-high with five blocks at Green Bay, and that was after eight points and a team-high 10 caroms at Milwaukee.
• He posted a season-high 11 rebounds with eight points versus Oakland, and registered his second career double-double, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks against Cleveland State.

GREAT STONE TO BUILD UPON

• Detroit Mercy freshman Lance Stone has started to step up in his rookie season, scoring in double figures in nine games.
• He also has 58 assists and just 34 turnovers on the year, and is averaging 7.9 points and 2.3 assists in the last 13 games, making 19-of-44 (43.1%) from three. 
• He had 10 points and two steals against Green Bay. Stone recorded 12 points and three assists against Youngstown State, and eight points and five assists at Milwaukee. 
• He scored a season-high 16 points with four assists against NKU, and that was after a season-high seven assists with six points against Oakland.
• Stone also dished out seven assists at DePaul, the most by a freshman since Anotine Davis.
• The son of assistant coach LaMonta Stone, he posted over 1,500 career points and breaking the Michigan high school record in assists, with more than 850 helpers in his career.

THE RETURN OF LARY

• Senior Jared Lary had just started to find his role last season at Detroit Mercy, but suffered a knee injury at Eastern Michigan.
• Lary had four points and three rebounds against Youngstown State, and netted a season-high 10 points with five rebounds at IU Indy.
• He had six points on a pair of huge 3-pointers with four rebounds at Youngstown State. He netted seven points at Purdue Fort Wayne, pulled down six rebounds at Niagara, and tallied seven points, a rebound, and an assist at DePaul. 
• He started six of the nine games he saw action in last season before the knee injury, recording 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds. 
• Lary had 11 points, six rebounds, two steals, an assist, and a block against Niagara and netted a season-high 15 points - all in the second half - shooting 6-of-9 overall and 3-of-4 from three, with four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block at Ball State.

THE PRIZE FROM OHIO

• The Titans landed one of Ohio's top recruits in 6-6 freshman Je'kel Cotton.
• Cotton missed a few games with a lower-body injury, but has stepped up at key moments during UDM's recent four-game winning streak, ringing in two big triples in the win over Green Bay and tying a season-high with nine points and three 3-pointers in the win at Wright State.
• He also came up huge with nine rebounds, four points, a block, and a steal in the win over NKU.
• Cotton had five points and two rebounds at IU Indy, hitting a key 3-pointer in an early run to help erase a 10-point deficit.
• He was a part of the high-scoring bench, tallying seven points in just five minutes of court time against IU Indy. 
• In his collegiate debut, he had two points and four rebounds in just eight minutes of action at UIC and pulled down seven caroms at Notre Dame. He also came up with a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds in the win over Cleary.  
• In high school, he was All-State as a senior after averaging 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, netting a career-high 40 points.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

• Freshman Keshawn Fisher had a good start to his collegiate career with 12 points at UIC and 14 points versus Cleary.
• He had 10 points against Cleveland State, including an off-the-glass pass from Orlando Lovejoy and a dunk that was #8 on SportsCenter Top plays. 
• Fisher scored a season-high 15 points with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal at Youngstown State. 
• He also had 14 points with a season-best nine rebounds at Purdue Fort Wayne.
• Fisher was a three-star recruit and had an 85 rating on 247Sports.com after prepping at Overtime Elite Academy in Atlanta, an institution that has produced top 10 NBA draft picks Rob Dillingham, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, and Alex Sarr in the last few years.
• In his lone season at OTE, he posted 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks, and was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year. 
• At River Rouge High School, he was named All-State First Team by the Detroit News and the AP as a senior after tallying 25.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. 

NATE THE GREAT

• Sophomore Nate Johnson has scored at least six points in six games and pulled down at least four boards six times. 
• He just had two points, three rebounds, and a steal at Robert Morris. He had five rebounds off the bench versus Cleveland State, and a season-best 12 points and six rebounds against Siena Heights.
• Johnson had seven points and four boards at MSU and six points and four rebounds against Eastern Michigan. He started the year with seven points, four rebounds, and two steals at UIC and added seven more points at Notre Dame and nine against Cleary.  
• A member of the HL All-Freshmen Team, he was one of the freshmen trio who played in all 32 games, making 31 starts, and posted 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, hitting 38.6% from the field and 30.1% from three.
• Johnson's cousin is former Titan standout Wilbert McCormick, who played from 1977-80 and is second in school history with 611 assists. 

FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

• Detroit Mercy landed a recruit from Australia in a big way as 7-1, 235-lb Xavier Istomin-Monroe joined the Titans.
• He has scored a basket in four of the last five games and has at least three rebounds in six contests. 
• He grabbed a season-high five rebounds with three points against Siena Heights.
• At Niagara, Istomin-Monroe had six points and two boards, and that was after his best offensive game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal at DePaul. 
• He had three rebounds at UIC, at Notre Dame, and at Michigan State, and has a blocked shot in four of the eight games. 
• He is only the second Australia-born Titan following Jayden Stone (2022-24).
• As a prep, he won U-18 titles in both Canada and Australia. 
• Last season, he was at the Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto, helping the team win a NPA title, after averaging 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He earned finals MVP after posting a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds in the championship game.
• In his homeland, he suited up for the City of Sydney basketball association, leading the team to a Melbourne Classic U-18 national title in 2023. 

AC BRINGING THE FAITH

• Junior Ayden Carter - who is out for the season with a knee injury - stood out at DII Walsh, and netted double figures in six games before being sidelined.
• He had a great all-around game with a season-high 21 points - his ninth career 20-point game - six rebounds, a career-tying four assists, and a career-high three steals against IU Indy. 
• In his DI debut at UIC, he tallied a team-high 18 points (7-14 FG) with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He had 15 points and eight boards over Cleary, 12 points and six rebounds at Toledo, and 10 points at DePaul.  
• At Walsh, he played in 50 games and tallied 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 46.2% from the field and 80.4% at the free-throw line. 
• As a sophomore, he led the squad at 19.0 points, was second with 5.7 rebounds, and third with 1.7 assists, scoring in double figures in 19 of his 20 games and netting eight 20-point games.
• Earlier this year, he was ordained as a minister by his church, Path2Life Ministries.