DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team will once again be in front of a national television audience as the Raiders welcome Northern Kentucky for a 9 p.m. tipoff that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. The Raiders have won four of their last five games overall while NKU has lost two of its last three contests entering Friday.
Prior to tipoff, the Raiders will celebrate Senior Night with festivities set to begin around 8:45 p.m. on the court as Wright State recognizes the careers of Tim Finke, Andy Neff and CJ Wilbourn.
Fans can follow the action several ways – via live stats, by watching on ESPNU or by tuning in on WONE 980 AM. Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have all the play-by-play on the radio feeds.
FRIDAY: WATCH ON ESPNU | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | LISTEN ON WONE 980 AM | GAME NOTES | TICKETS
LAST TIME OUT
Four players finished in double figures, paced by a career-best 22 points by AJ Braun, as Wright State cruised to a 103-71 Wednesday night victory over IUPUI inside the Nutter Center. Braun finished the night 8-of-9 from the floor while connecting on six of his seven free throw attempts, as his 18 first half points gave him a new scoring high after just 20 minutes on the way to the game-high 22, as he added seven rebounds and a pair of assists in just 18 minutes of action. Amari Davis’ 15-point performance was his 14th double-digit scoring output of the season, but his first in nearly a month, while Brandon Noel filled up his stat line with a 12-point, eight rebound, seven assist night. Trey Calvin was the final Raider in double figures with 11 points
NORSE NOTES
Northern Kentucky is 15-10 this season and coming off a road loss last Saturday at Youngstown State as the Norse have lost two of their last three contests. Trey Calvin tallied 31 points, including 21 in the second half, in the first meeting on Dec. 29, while Amari Davis added 10 points and AJ Braun chipped in eight points and pulled down four rebounds. Wright State leads the overall series 28-16 and has won six of the last nine meetings, including the 2022 Horizon League Championship game and three of the last four contests inside the Nutter Center. The first-ever meeting came Dec. 6, 1972, a 91-87 Raider win at Northern Kentucky.
THE NORSE SIDE
-Northern Kentucky is 15-10 overall and 10-4 in Horizon League play to date but has dropped two of its last three overall. The Norse have seen seven of their losses come away from home (3-4 true road game, 0-3 neutral).
-Marques Warrick is the third-leading scorer in the Horizon League with 18.3 points per game and is top-10 during HL play at 17.4 points per game hitting over 2.2 3-pointers per game. Chris Brandon is grabbing 10.1 boards per game against HL opponents including eight double-digit rebound efforts and four double-doubles.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Wright State’s 50.0 overall season shooting percentage to date is 4th best in the country behind Gonzaga (1, 52.0 percent), Colgate (2, 50.6) and Xavier (3, 50.2). Trey Calvin’s 401 total field goal attempts is No. 5 nationally and his 195 field goals made is ranked 6th, while Brandon Noel’s 60.1 percent field goal percentage is tops in the Horizon League and is No. 22 nationally in shooting percentage.
A+ AJ
AJ Braun recorded a career-best 22 points on Feb. 8 against IUPUI, with his 18 first half points gave him a new scoring high after just 20 minutes on the way to the 22 points. Braun finished the night 8-of-9 from the floor while connecting on six of his seven free throw attempts. The eight made field goals tied a career-high, while both the free throws made and free throw attempts were both new career-bests.
TREY GETTING IT DONE
Entering Friday, Trey Calvin has recorded 20 or more points 13 times this year – including six of the last eight contests. Calvin now has 20 performances of 20-plus points in his career with three 30-plus point performances this season, including a career-high 44 points at Youngstown State on Feb. 2.
COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
