But coach Scott Nagy doesn’t find any consolation over making progress.
He wants wins.
“It eats me alive to be 0-3. I don’t care who we’ve played. And I don’t want anyone around me who doesn’t feel the same way,” he said.
The Raiders did plenty of things well and pushed the Hoosiers for almost 40 minutes — even without star Trey Calvin, who averaged 27.5 points the first two games.
The Horizon League preseason player of the year suffered a shoulder injury in the Toledo game Tuesday and didn’t suit up against IU.
Asked Friday about Calvin’s status for the Gulf Coast Showcase, which starts Monday, Nagy said: “I don’t have any idea. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. I just go with the guys we have.”
Freshman guard Kaden Brown, the Michigan high school Division II player of the year last season, started in his place and had just two points, going 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3.
Andrew Welage, a senior guard from Greensburg, Ind., scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, making 7 of 10 threes.
Tanner Holden scored 24, going 8 of 17 from the floor and 7 of 7 of foul shots, and he also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
Alex Huibregtse scored 15 points.
“I’m not one of these guys who’s going to spend a lot of time going to the trainer,” Nagy said, referring to LaShaunta’ Jones.
“I know who’s going to play. That’s my focus. If Trey can’t play, he can’t play.
“She’ll get to us and let us know. But I’m confident in the guys we have if he can’t.”
The outcome at IU may not have been different with Calvin, but they would’ve liked the chance to find out.
“Honestly, where we miss him most is defensively because he’s so good on the ball,” Nagy said. “We scored 80 points against Indiana without him. The offense, I’m not concerned about.”
Nagy thought Calvin’s absence managed to free up a pair of slumping players.
Huibregtse, a junior wing, was 0 of 7 on 3′s the first two games but went 3 of 6 against the Hoosiers.
Welage, a senior wing, had played only a combined nine minutes the first two games and hadn’t attempted a shot.
“I can’t say enough about how proud we are of Andrew. You look at the Toledo game, and he played less than two minutes, but he didn’t get discouraged. And we couldn’t take him off the floor against Indiana.”
“Hopefully, that’ll be a good example for the other kids — not get discouraged and stick with it, because there’ll be opportunities if you have yourself ready.”
But while the competition has been stout, the Raiders are giving up 90.7 points per game.
They fell behind by 15 quickly to the Hoosiers and never could make up the deficit.
“That’s been our biggest problem, not starting games well defensively. It’s just an onslaught immediately. And sometimes we’ve been able to weather that because we score, too. But I’m amazed we haven’t been better,” Nagy said.
“The good part is the second half of the Toledo game and the second half of the Indiana game, we were better defensively. We’re usually worse in the second half historically. But we have to start games better.”
MONDAY’S GAME
Wright State vs. Louisiana, 5 p.m., 1410, 101.5
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