Milwaukee at Wright State: What you need to know about today’s game

Who: Milwaukee (9-11) at Wright State (18-5)

TV/Radio: ESPN+/106.5

Series: Wright State leads 35-30

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 109-48 in his fifth year at Wright State and 519-288 in his 26th year overall. Pat Baldwin is 46-69 in his fourth year at Milwaukee.

Probable Wright State starters

Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.

Loudon Love 6-8 Sr. C 16.7

Grant Basile 6-9 So. F 14.2

Tanner Holden 6-6 So. G 15.8

Tim Finke 6-6 So G 10.0

Trey Calvin 6-0 So. G 9.9

Probable Milwaukee starters

Te’Jon Lucas 6-2 Sr. G 14.7

DeAndre Gholston 6-5 Jr. G 16.4

Amir Allen 6-8 Sr. F 5.4

Josh Thomas 6-4 Sr. G 11.8

Courtney Brown Jr. 6-7 So. F 5.3

About Wright State: Nagy has tied Billy Donlon for the second-most victories in Wright State history, reaching 109 in his fifth year while Donlon did it in six. … The Raiders have won six in a row in the series and 11 of the last 15 meetings. ... A win will give them 19 victories in the fewest games (24) in their Division I history (since 1987-88). The 1989-90 and 2007-08 teams both needed 25 games to get there. … They lead the Horizon League in points per game (81.5) and scoring defense (66.3). Detroit Mercy is second offensively (76.6), and Cleveland State is second in defense (69.4). … They’re out-rebounding teams by 9.1 per game. Only two other HL teams have positive rebound margins, Youngstown State (plus-1.9 per game) and Northern Kentucky (plus-0.3).

Record watch: Love has reached 1,778 points in 119 career games. That’s the third-most in school history. DaShaun Wood, a star guard from 2003-07, is second all-time with 1,849 points in 119 games. Love currently has a 9.4 career rebound average. The record is 8.7 by Rondey Robinson (1987-89).

About Milwaukee: The eighth-seeded Panthers advanced with an 84-72 home win over IUPUI, their fourth win against the Jaguars in five games this season. It’s their first victory in the tourney in three years. … Lucas, a third-team all-league pick, had 19 of his 22 points in the second half and added five assists and five rebounds. Allen had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. … The Panthers hit the skids toward the end of the regular season, losing five straight times until beating Oakland in the final game in double-overtime. They’re 249th in the NET rankings (out of 347 D-I teams), almost 200 spots lower than No. 63 Wright State. The second-best HL team is Detroit Mercy at 159. … The Panthers lost to the Raiders on the road by 11 and 10 earlier this month, but they actually “won” the second half in each game, 53-50 and 45-40.

Next game: The league semifinals and finals will be played March 8-9 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

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