Robert Morris at Wright State: What you need to know about tonight’s game

Credit: Michael Conroy

Credit: Michael Conroy

Who: Robert Morris (7-22, 5-15) at Wright State (17-13, 14-7)

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

TV/Radio: ESPN+/980-AM

Series: Wright State leads 5-0

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 126-62 in his sixth year at Wright State and 536-302 in his 27th year overall. Andrew Toole is 199-191 in his 12th year at Robert Morris.

Probable Wright State starters

Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.

A.J. Braun 6-9 Fr. 6.1

Grant Basile 6-9 Jr. F 18.2

Tanner Holden 6-6 Jr. G 20.0

Tim Finke 6-6 Jr. G 8.8

Trey Calvin 6-0 Jr. G 13.8

Probable Robert Morris starters

Kahliel Speer 6-7 Sr. F 14.5

Matt Mayers 6-8 Jr. F 14.4

Jaron Williams 6-6 Sr. F 5.9

Enoch Cheeks 6-3 So. G 8.8

Michael Green III 5-11 Jr. G 10.7

About Wright State: The Raiders can match their second-most Horizon League wins by finishing the regular-season with a victory over Robert Morris. They were 16-4 last season while sharing the crown with Cleveland State and 15-3 in 2019-20 while winning the title outright. It took a 13-5 record to share the crown with Northern Kentucky in 2018-19 and 13-3 mark while ending up co-champs with Butler in 2006-07. … The Raiders had 20 assists against Youngstown State, matching their second-most this year. Calvin had a game-high six. They notched a season-best 23 against Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 30. They kept their turnovers to single digits for the seventh time this season, finishing with nine. … Nagy put Braun back in the starting lineup against YSU, and he had six points in 16 minutes.

About Robert Morris: The Colonials were one of the top teams in the Northeast Conference before joining the Horizon League in 2019-20. They won two regular-season titles and two tourney crowns in Toole’s tenure, qualifying for the NCAA tourney in 2015 and ‘20. But they’ve had a tough time adapting to a bevy of stronger foes, going 11-37 the last two seasons. … They’ve lost five of their last six games, including a 78-64 setback Thursday at Northern Kentucky. The Norse had a double-digit lead before the five-minute mark, and Toole said afterward, “We weren’t ready to play.”

Senior Night: The Raiders will recognize three seniors — James Manns, Riley Voss and T.J. Nagy — in their final regular-season home game.

Manns, who had a career-high 26 points against Southern in 2019-20, draws cheers whenever he enters games. Fans clearly yearn for him to play more than he does.

Voss, who transferred from Cornell, has played just seven games because of injuries with a high of nine points against Marshall.

Nagy, the coach’s son, has appeared in eight games as a walk-on each of the last two seasons.

Scott Nagy on Manns: “I’ve coached a long time, and I can’t think of someone I’m more proud of than James in terms of his attitude and the great teammate he’s been. It’s not been easy for him. I love that the fans love him. They’re on me about putting him in the game all the time.

“I think of all the guys I’ve ever coached, he’d be the one I’d look back on and just wonder, ‘Man, was I very unfair to him?’”

“His teammates love him. The fans love him. And they should.”

On Voss: “Riley hasn’t even been here a year, but he’s recognizing, in terms of his body, it’s probably time for him to be done. But we still want to celebrate him. He’s a great teammate, and the guys love him.”

On his son: “He wants to go into coaching, unfortunately. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but we’ll try to help him with it now. Of all the seniors, that might be the hardest one for me. He’s a good student, great young man, great son.

“He’s definitely learned some things about his dad he didn’t know living under my roof, compared to playing for me.”

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