The sting of those losses is still fresh. And as Nagy has found, that’s usually all it takes.
“When somebody beats you, and you get to see them again, if that doesn’t get your ire up, then you probably don’t belong playing,” he said.
The Raiders are 9-9 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon League. That’s not the start they were hoping for — nor one they figured they’d need to be in the thick of the conference race.
But there are no clear front-runners this season and very little separation at the top of the standings. Four teams have two league losses and three have three.
“It’s pretty tight,” Nagy said. “It’s as balanced as I’ve ever seen it.”
Oakland and Green Bay are tied for first at 6-2, while Youngstown State and Milwaukee are 5-2.
Joining Wright State at 4-3 are Northern Kentucky and Purdue Fort Wayne.
YSU won the league last year with a 15-5 record, while Milwaukee, Cleveland State and NKU tied for second at 14-6.
Nagy believes 15-5 almost certainly will be good enough to win the title again.
“It’ll be hard for teams not to have more than five losses,” he said.
He believes a reasonable goal is to win all of your home games and split on the road, which would mean a 15-5 record.
The Raiders are 2-0 at home and 2-3 on the road. So far, so good.
But they can’t afford any slip-ups this week.
Green Bay, which was picked last in the preseason poll, is in the midst of a startling turnaround under new coach Sundance “Sunny” Wicks.
The Phoenix is off to an 11-8 start after finishing 3-28 last season.
Milwaukee, picked second in the league, had a rocky first two months with injuries and internal issues but seems to have sorted that out, winning five of its last six games to improve to 9-8.
“They’re both good teams,” Nagy said. “Having them at home doesn’t guarantee anything. You can’t just rely on, ‘We’ve got these guys in our gym now.’
“We’ve got to focus on how to beat them. It doesn’t just automatically happen.”
While Green Bay has been the surprise team in the league, no one expected Northern Kentucky to get off to such a ragged start.
Picked as the preseason favorites for the second straight year, the Norse are 9-9 after going 22-13 and reaching the HL tourney title game last season.
But they’ve played five of their first seven league games on the road. And Nagy believes they’ll be a factor in the race at the end.
“They just lost two games in overtime,” he said. “I think they’re playing pretty good. And Darrin (Horn) is heck of a good coach.
“You lose at Cleveland State and Oakland in overtime … just one shot here or there and think how much different you’d feel.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Green Bay at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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