TV/Radio: ESPN+/980-AM
Series: Wright State leads 52-15
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 125-62 in his sixth year at Wright State and 535-302 in his 27th year overall. Jerrod Calhoun is 71-82 in his fifth year at Youngstown State and 195-120 in 10 years overall. He led Fairmont State to an NCAA Division II national runner-up finish in 2016-17.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.
Grant Basile 6-9 Jr. F 17.8
Tanner Holden 6-6 Jr. G 19.8
Tim Finke 6-6 Jr. G 9.1
Trey Calvin 6-0 Jr. G 14.0
Keaton Norris 6-0 Fr. 3.2
Probable Youngstown starters
Jamir Thomas 6-8 Sr. F 2.2
Michael Akuchie 6-8 Sr. F 14.4
Tevin Olison 6-4 Sr. G 12.3
Dwayne Cohill 6-2 Jr. G 14.1
Shemar Rathan-Mayes 5-11 So. G 5.8
About Wright State: The Raiders have more wins against Youngstown State than any other team, but the Penguins have won three of the last four meetings, including a 90-87 home win on Jan. 15. Wright State was down to just five scholarship players that game, mostly because of Covid-19 issues. Trey Calvin was out, and the only subs were walk-ons. Dwayne Cohill had 25 points for the winners. … The Raiders are third in the league in scoring with a 75.2 average but a surprising 10th in scoring defense, allowing 71.8 per game. They’re a little better in conference games, scoring 76.9 and giving up 70.1. … They out-rebounded Oakland 38-21 and Detroit Mercy 34-26 in their last two games. Still, their rebound margin of plus-1.2 per game is far behind their plus-9.3 mark last season, which was sixth in the country, and it’s the worst in six years under Nagy. They’ll have all they can handle against YSU, which has the best rebound margin in the league at plus-2.8 per game. … The Raiders are shooting 76.8% on free throws, which is on pace to break the 2016-17 record of 76.4.
About Youngstown State: The Penguins have set a program record for league wins with 12. They’ve won eight of their last nine games, but the last five have been at home. … Akuchie has had three straight double-doubles. … The Penguins were picked seventh in the HL preseason poll and are currently in sixth, but they could finish as high as second. Since joining the league in 2001-02, their best finishes are a pair of fourth-place ties in 2006-07 and 2019-20. … Garrett Covington played three games before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. The 6-5 senior averaged 12.5 points last season and was named to the HL all-defensive team three straight years. … Wayne product Darius Quisenberry averaged 14.9 points last season but left for Fordham as a grad transfer. The former all-league guard is the Rams’ leading scorer with a 17.3 average. Naz Bohannon, a 6-7 forward who led the Penguins in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (8.2) in 2020-21, also left as a grad transfer. He’s averaging 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds for Clemson, which is 12-15 under former Wright State coach Brad Brownell.
Next game: The Raiders host Robert Morris at 7 p.m. Saturday. The league tourney starts with first-round games Tuesday and quarterfinal games on the home courts of the top four seeds Thursday, March 3.
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