5 Things to Know About Purdue's Next Opponent — Oakland Golden Grizzlies
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After a convincing 82-51 win over Evansville in its season opener, No. 1 Purdue is ready to turn the page and welcome Oakland into Mackey Arena. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a 121-78 loss to No. 7 Michigan on Monday, hoping to have better luck against the Boilermakers.
What all does Oakland bring to West Lafayette for Friday night's matchup? Here are a few things to note about the Golden Grizzlies.
Greg Kampe is a legend
The first thing that comes to mind when you think about Oakland basketball is Greg Kampe. He has been in charge of the program since 1984, winning over 700 games and coaching in more than 1,200 contests during his time with the Golden Grizzlies.
Kampe has coached this program since it was a Division II team, but has watched it grow into a Horizon League squad. Over the course of his career, Oakland has five regular-season conference titles (three Summit League and two Horizon League) at the Division I level. The Golden Grizzlies have played in four NCAA Tournaments, which included a win over Kentucky in the first round of March Madness in 2024.
There aren't many coaches who stick with one program as long as Kampe has been at Oakland, especially at the mid-major level. It's what makes him one of the most respected coaches in the sport.
Only played eight guys in opener vs. Michigan
Oakland opened up its 2025-26 campaign against No. 7 Michigan on Monday, losing 121-78. What was more interesting than the final score was that only eight guys played in the game. Four of the team's five starters logged at least 32 minutes, with Nassim Mashhour the odd man out at 22 minutes.
Each of the three guys who came in off the bench —Nate Deer, Khoi Thurmon, and Brett White II — played for a minimum of 11 minutes. Will we see a similar rotation from Oakland on Friday night?
Tuburu Naivalurua is the top returning player
Naivalurua is now in his third season at Oakland, making a big jump from his sophomore to junior season. In the 2023-24 campaign, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Last year, he was the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder, posting 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
In Monday's opener against Michigan, Naivalurua scored 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor. He collected five rebounds in the blowout loss. The forward doesn't possess the same size as Purdue's Oscar Cluff or Daniel Jacobsen, but he's not afraid to battle in the post.
Willing to shoot threes, and a lot of them
Oakland has shot at least 750 three-pointers every year since the start of the 2020-21 season. Each of the last two years, the Golden Grizzlies have attempted more than 825 shots from long range. For reference, Purdue shot 715 three-pointers last season.
Kampe's team isn't afraid to fire from long range, especially when they're open. Oakland isn't the most prolific three-point shooting team, only shooting about 33% twice in those five years. But if they catch fire, they can be a dangerous team to play.
Oakland fired up 26 three-pointers against Michigan, making 11. Brody Robinson was 3-of-6 from distance to lead the way.
An 0-3 all-time record vs. Purdue
Purdue and Oakland have only played three times, with all three matchups coming since 2001. The last meeting was on Dec. 1, 2020, a 93-50 victory for the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena.
All three meetings have been one-sided, with Purdue winning each game by 15 points or more. Each of those three games has also been played in West Lafayette.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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