When: 7 p.m. Thursday
TV/Radio: ESPN3, ESPN+/106.5
Series: Tied 1-1
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 91-43 in his fifth year at Wright State and 501-283 in his 26th year overall. Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of longtime NBA coach Mike D’Antoni, is 114-92 in his seventh season at Marshall. He played for the Thundering Herd and is member of the school’s Hall of Fame.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.*
Loudon Love 6-8 Sr. C 15.9
Tanner Holden 6-6 So. F 11.8
Jaylon Hall 6-5 Jr. F 7.8
Tim Finke 6-6 So G N/A
Trey Calvin 6-0 So. G 4.8
Probable Marshall starters
Andrew Taylor 6-3 So. F 10.1
Obinna Anochili-Killen 6-8 Fr. F N/A
Jannson Williams 6-9 Sr. F 6.7
Taevion Kinsey 6-5 Jr. G 16.4
Jarrod West 5-11 Sr. G 14.2
*Last season’s averages
About Wright State: The Raiders went 25-7 last season and posted their best Division-I winning percentage (.781) and most conference wins (15) while capturing their first outright regular-season league title. They also matched their D-I record for wins, having gone 25-10 in 2017-18. Their best D-II marks were 28-3 in 1985-86 and 28-4 (with a national title) in 1982-83. … They lost to UIC in the conference semifinals but had clinched an NIT berth before the tourney was cancelled. … They have to replace a pair of players who reached 1,000 career points, Cole Gentry and Bill Wampler, but they’re the clear favorites to win the Horizon League, getting 37 of 44 first-place votes from coaches, media and sports information directors. Youngstown State, which had three first-place nods, and Northern Kentucky, which had four, were picked to finish second and third, respectively.
About Marshall: The Thundering Herd started the season Friday with a 70-56 home win over Arkansas State. Their first game against Coppin State was cancelled, as was an upcoming game against Akron. … Kinsey had 17 points and seven rebounds in the opener, while 6-7 senior Darius George had 15 points off the bench and West had eight assists and five steals. … The Herd were 17-15 last season before the Conference USA tourney was cancelled. ... In 2017-18, they ended a 31-year NCAA tourney drought, going 25-11 and beating Wichita State in the first round before being knocked out by West Virginia. … They were picked to finish third in the league behind Western Kentucky and North Texas in a vote of the coaches. Kinsey, a Columbus Eastmoor grad, finished fith in the league in scoring and third in assists (4.2) last season. West was first in steals (2.0) and fifth in assists (4.1) and made the 2019-20 all-defensive team. Both were named to the 10-player preseason all-conference squad.
Starting late: The Raiders have kicked off each of the last 10 seasons between Nov. 5-14, but December starts weren’t uncommon years ago. They began on Dec. 2 in 1992 (losing at Kentucky) and Dec. 3 in 1991 (beating Bowling Green). Before that, they had five December starts, though none later than the 3rd.
Next game: The Raiders host rival Miami at 4 p.m. Saturday. Their only other non-league game is Dec. 13 at Bowling Green.
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