GAME NOTES: The Oakland Golden Grizzlies will try to bounce back from an 0-2 start as they finally play at home, hosting the Western Michigan Broncos in a non-conference clash at the Athletics Center O'rena.

Western Michigan was in season-opening action on Sunday against Aquinas. The Broncos easily coasted to an 87-57 win, following two low-profile exhibition victories. The defending Mid-American Conference champions hit the road for the first time this season.

Oakland played two relatively easy exhibition games to get ready for the season, but it may not have helped. The Grizzlies, who lost a significant portion of their roster in the offseason, have dropped two straight, including a recent 89-77 loss to Eastern Michigan.

This meeting represents the 10th clash between these programs in the all-time series. Western Michigan owns a healthy 7-2 all-time lead, and has won three straight against Oakland.

This season, the Broncos are slightly worse off without dominant big man Shayne Whittington (16.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 47 blocked shots), who is now playing at the next level. But that doesn't mean the team's chances to repeat as MAC champions have dwindled heavily. The Broncos return preseason All-Conference First Teamer David Brown, who scored a MAC-high 19.1 ppg, after he was granted eligibility to return for a sixth season. Whittington may not be back, but the rest of last season's championship-winning team is. Shooting guard Connar Tava (11.8 ppg, 5,7 rpg, 2,9 apg) and point guard/scoring guard combo Austin Richie (7.9 ppg, 2.3 apg) should fill out the guard positions around Brown, while Tucker Haymond (7.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg) will help out at the forward position.

Richie and Brown each contributed at least 20 points in the team's first victory of the season over Aquinas. Richie led all players in the game with 28 points, connecting on a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point distance. Brown contributed 20 points and 4-of-5 from deep, while Tava netted 13 points with eight rebounds and five assists in the win. Despite Whittington's absence, the Broncos were still able to pull down 41 rebounds in the contest.

Oakland will greatly miss prolific scorer and the NCAA's all-time 3-point leader Travis Bader this season, but several players return from last year's Grizzlies squad that can pick up some of the slack. Max Hooper scored 18 points to lead his squad against Eastern Michigan, while Tommie McCune and Kahlil Felder each netted 15 points. McCune grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, and Felder just missed out on a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Corey Petros did get a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Felder and Petros are projected to be two of the better players in the Horizon League this season, and they've already shown their worth in two games played. They are tied atop the statistical leaderboard averaging 19.0 ppg for the Grizzlies, while Felder has already dished out 19 assists in two game, and Petros is averaging 9.0 rpg. Felder was a triple-double threat on any given night during his freshman season. McCune is averaging 14.5 ppg and Hooper has a 12.0 ppg mark through two contests.

Oakland has some of the players to get things in gear, but the team simply can't execute on the defensive end. The offense is there for sure, but the Grizzlies seemingly can't win unless they play a team with a sub-par offense. That's not the case for Western Michigan, which will be able to score with ease against Oakland.