TV/Radio: ESPN+/980-AM
Series: Wright State leads 27-14
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 123-60 in his sixth year at Wright State and 533-300 in his 27th year overall. Darrin Horn is 62-39 in his fourth year at Northern Kentucky and 233-150 in his 13th year overall.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.
A.J. Braun 6-7 Jr. F 6.3
Grant Basile 6-9 Jr. F 17.5
Tanner Holden 6-6 Jr. G 20.1
Tim Finke 6-6 Jr. G 8.8
Trey Calvin 6-0 Jr. G 14.2
Probable Northern Kentucky starters
Chris Brandon 6-8 Jr. F 5.4
Marques Warrick 6-2 So. G 14.8
Sam Vinson 6-5 Fr. G 12.0
Trevon Faulkner 6-4 Sr. G 12.7
Bryson Langdon 5-9 Sr. G 5.6
About Wright State: The Raiders have the top offense in Horizon League play with a 77.2 average but had their lowest output in a conference game this season in Friday’s 60-57 loss to Milwaukee. They did make 10 of 12 free throws and are shooting 76.5%. The school record is 76.4% in 2016-17. … Two weeks after piling up 26 turnovers against Cleveland State, they had no turnovers in the first half and just four overall against the Panthers. That tied their lowest total in at least the last 16 years (the program’s online season stats don’t go beyond 2006-07). They had four against Valparaiso on Jan. 10, 2014 and four against Hofstra on Feb. 19, 2011. Part of the reason for the better ball-handling was that Nagy played sub Keaton Norris 32 minutes, putting a second point guard on the floor with Calvin, while limiting Braun to nine minutes. … Holden’s eight-point game was only his third single-digit effort this season and lowest output since scoring five at Cleveland State on Dec. 4. … The Raiders have a winning record against every team in the league under Nagy except NKU, which improved to 7-6 with a 73-63 victory at home Jan. 26. Holden had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Warrick led the winners with a game-high 23 points.
About Northern Kentucky: The Norse have won eight of their last nine games. The only defeat in that span was a 74-68 home loss to Detroit. They dominated Milwaukee on Wednesday in a 75-39 win and completed a Wisconsin sweep by beating Green Bay, 71-62, on Friday behind Warrick’s 24 points. They shot 53.3% from the field and went 7 of 15 on 3′s against the Phoenix. … They knocked off the top three teams in the league in their recent surge: Cleveland State, Wright State and Oakland. They smothered the Raiders with a zone defense in the first meeting, holding their guests to 40% shooting overall and 30% on 3′s. … The Norse have the top defense in the league, giving up 66.1 points per game. They’ve also taken the most 3′s with 646 while shooting 34.2%. They’re making 9.3 treys per game, second to Detroit Mercy’s 10.1. Perimeter-oriented teams, though, don’t get to the foul line as much. They’re eighth in the league in free-throw attempts with 376 (15.7 per game), 101 fewer than Wright State.
Next game: The Raiders play at Oakland at 9 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.
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