Top Five OAA Games This Week.

Written Sunday January 23rd at 4:00 PM

Since there is no podcast this week. Here are my top five matchups to look forward too for the week.

Girls

Harper Woods at Seaholm (Tuesday):

This is a huge matchup which gives the winner the leg up in the Blue. The Pioneers are unbeaten but they haven’t been as tested as the Maples have. Harper Woods’s closest game was eight points in a 48-40 win over Farmington. Seaholm's record has been very respectable. They have has played a very tough non conference in Troy Athens, Berkley, Royal Oak, and Macomb Dakota. If the Maples want to win this game they need to use their experience which starts with Shay Manchester. The Pioneers have played very well and have a ton of experience but this will be a test for Coach Paul Allen. They have not been into Oakland County and Seaholm is a pretty long hike. It should be a very interesting game to say the least.

Rochester at Lake Orion (Tuesday):

This is a huge matchup which the winner gets the leg up in the White. Both teams have been red hot lately. The Falcons have had a really good start led by their two twin towers in Alice Max and Kiley Robinson. The Dragons have a ton of experience with Maddie Ebbert, Kylie Heck, Chloe Wiegers, Taylor Dinda, Olivia Peplowski, Grace Sullivan, and Audrey Wischmeyer. The coaching matchup is very interesting between Bob Brydges and Bill Thurston. This should be a very interesting matchup to say the least.

Ferndale University at Avondale (Tuesday):

This is shaping up to be a very interesting matchup in Auburn Hills. It seems lately that the Eagles have had the Yellow Jackets number particularly in Auburn Hills. Ferndale University beat Avondale 43-35 last season in girls basketball and in boys basketball it was the Eagles that beat the Yellow Jackets 40-32 last week in Auburn Hills. Ferndale University has lost two of their last three games after a 4-0 start. Avondale has won two straight and have started to turn things around. The Eagles have been the Yellow Jackets kryptonite, can the avenge it is the question.

Oxford at Adams (Tuesday):

This is a very interesting matchup of two teams that have star players in Myranda Wymenkio of Oxford and Maddie Kessman and Abbey Drahnak of Adams. The Highlanders have won two straight in large part to Kessman and Drahnak but Anaya Howard is the wildcard in this game. The Wildcats took a huge hit with Peyton Ritcher out for the season with an ACL injury. Oxford’s stellar freshmen of Allison Hufstedler, Nevaeh Wood, and Sophia Rabb have been playing really well despite losing two straight games. It should be a fun coaching matchup between Rachel Bryer and Joe Malburg. It should be very interesting to say the least as mentioned.

Rochester at North Farmington (Friday):

This is a rematch of a 42-40 Rochester victory on December 21st on their home floor. Since that game these two teams have gone in opposite directions. The Falcons have won five straight games while the Raiders have been around 500 (3-3) since that game. I’m really curious how Rochester handles North Farmington’s small court. The guard matchup favors the Raiders with Sela Lefler and Penelope Creary but the interior matchup favors the Falcons with Alice Max and Kiley Robinson. It’s an interesting matchup to say the least.

Boys

Adams at Clarkston (Friday):

This is rematch of the district finals which the Wolves beat the Highlanders last season. There is a ton of star power on both of these teams. Adams has Gunner Walters, Jon Urusy, Brady Prieskorn, Peter Karsiais, and Justice Mims. Clarkston has Keegan Wasilk, Nate Steinman, Zach Austin, Cavanagh Diton, Brady Kosin, and Desman Stephens. The Highlanders are 2-3 in January which is not good. The Wolves have won four straight since losing to North Farmington. The coaching matchup is also interesting with Jaret Thomas and Tim Wasilk. Things favor Clarkston but never ever count Adams out.

Rochester at Berkley (Thursday):

The Falcons are off to a great start in the Blue after winning over Troy Athens. Berkley looks to be one of Rochester’s toughest challengers in the Blue along with Oxford. The Bears are a very young team but they have some experience. Rochester has a ton of experience led by Armann Hussani and Matt Stone. The coaching matchup between Nick Evola and Joe Sermo is going to be very interesting. Going to Berkley is always very deceiving and especially if CMN TV is there. It should be a very interesting matchup on Thursday night.

Troy at Bloomfield Hills (Monday):

This is shaping up to be a very interesting matchup between in Bloomfield Hills. Troy features Darius and Jon Whiteside for Coach Gary Fralick. Bloomfield Hills is loaded with proven experience in Noah Adamcyzk, Carson Brotsky, Derrick Lee, CJ Jackson, among others. The Blackhawks have won four straight games. The Colts have been around 500 (2-2) in January. It should be a very interesting matchup to see especially with White play underway.

Pontiac at Ferndale University (Thursday):

The Phoenix earned a huge win on Friday by beating Harper Woods 56-53 on the road. They head to Ferndale to take on a Ferndale University squad that has really turned things around. The coaching matchup is very interesting between Dameon O’Neil and Josh Nicks. Can the Eagles contain Davion Hall??? If they do they have a great chance to make some noise in the Gold.

Bloomfield Hills at Groves (Friday):

This is a huge game for the Falcons to see if they belong in the White discussion. Groves has won five straight and is 4-0 in January. Bloomfield Hills has played really good basketball. The coaching matchup is very interesting between Benny White and Phil Kurajian. This is shaping up to be a very interesting game on Friday night in Beverly Hills.