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Oakland fan here thinking about making the trip to see the game. I'm wondering if this is a game where one could buy two tickets at the door before the game? Or have the games been nearing sell-outs so far this year? Just wondering in case the weather forecast is sketchy.

Hoopsdude - How is this year's Oakland team shaping up?  Strengths and weaknesses?  How do this year's and last year's teams compare?  Etc.?

Thanks for the tips on tickets, everyone. Kind of leaning toward saving the eight hours round-trip in favor of watching for free on HLN. But as for this question, Oakland is shaping up to be a contender in the Summit League once again. The team looked really good prior to the last week which has seen losses to Ohio and Michigan and a sluggish performance against a non-Division I team. High-scoring attack just like last year but as Michigan proved, teams can indeed outscore Oakland in a fast-paced game (just as Valpo did at the O'rena last year). I'm really looking forward to watching Oakland's freshmen bigs compete against Van Wijk. Should be a great high scoring match-up all around.

Oakland fan here thinking about making the trip to see the game. I'm wondering if this is a game where one could buy two tickets at the door before the game? Or have the games been nearing sell-outs so far this year? Just wondering in case the weather forecast is sketchy.

Read about this in the Detroit paper today, and I couldn't believe my eyes! Felt compelled to check out what you guys were saying about it. I just wanted to make one point about exposure for Brandon. I can only speculate how it is in the Horizon, but as a Summit League enthusiast, I can say that if the talent is there, the NBA scouts will follow. Keith Benson from Oakland has had scouts at Oakland games - home and away - for much of the past two years. And it hasn't just been at the big powerhouse road games. There were scouts watching him in Cedar City, Utah of all places. Likewise, this year Alex Young from IUPUI was getting looked at by scouts quite a bit. And a few years back George Hill from IUPUI was drafted in the first round out of The Summit League.

Because the Horizon League had other guys who were being scouted this past season (Mack and Cole, mainly), Brandon had even more opportunities to be "seen" within league play. It is true that those scouts will be at more Big Ten games on a more consistent basis, but if he is truly a talent capable of playing at the next level, the scouts will come to see him play often. There is a reason scouts were at almost every game Benson played this year...he has the talent, and they needed to evaluate it. But at the same time, the coaching staff put together a non-conference schedule designed to showcase him against players of the same ilk, that way there is tape of him going up against future first-rounders that they can evaluate better. But he also put himself in a position to be noticed by leading his team to championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.

I believe Wood could benefit more from leading Valparaiso to a Horizon League championship, post-season appearance, etc, while posting great numbers in the process. A challenging non-conference slate wouldn't hurt either, at least to the point where they'll get some tape of him going up against more NBA prospects.

Anyway, that's just my two cents, thought it was a point worth bringing up.