DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team begins February with a Thursday night matchup at Youngstown State as the Raiders are set to play six of their eight February contests on the road. Both the Raiders and the Penguins enter Thursday’s game on two-game winning streaks. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Beeghly Center.
Fans can follow the action several ways – via live stats, by watching on ESPN+ or by tuning in on WONE 980 AM. Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have all the play-by-play on the radio feed.
THURSDAY: WATCH ON ESPN+ | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | LISTEN ON WONE 980 AM | GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State had a trio of players tally double digit scoring nights as the Raiders held visiting Green Bay to just 29.6 percent shooting in a 77-46 victory Saturday night inside the Nutter Center. All 11 Raiders found the scoring column in the victory, paced by Trey Calvin’s game-best 18 points while AJ Braun just missed out on a double-double with his 13-point, nine-rebound night. Andrew Welage notched his second-straight double-digit scoring performance with 12 points off the bench, while Tim Finke has a full stat line with six points, six rebounds and four assists and Brandon Noel pulled down nine rebounds of his own.
PLAYIN’ PENGUINS
Youngstown State is in the middle of a four-game homestand, winning the first two games last week. The Penguins are currently 9-2 at home to date. Wright State leads the all-time series 50-16 despite an 88-77 Youngstown State victory back in December in the Nutter Center. Brandon Noel tallied 22 points while AJ Braun (17 points) and Amari Davis (14 points) were also in double digits for the Raiders in the loss.
INTERESTING BUT TRUE. . .
Thursday’s meeting will be the first time the Raiders have played at the Beeghly Center with a full roster since Feb. 20, 2020. The Raiders were limited to seven active players due to COVID protocols last January (90-87 YSU win) and both games in the 2020-21 COVID-altered season were played in Dayton.
YOUNGSTOWN TIDBITS
-Youngstown is 17-6 overall with a 9-3 Horizon League mark and a 9-2 record at home. The Penguins have won their last four home contests, with their lone HL home loss against Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 31.
-Youngstown State has made 199 three-pointers this season, on the verge of 200 made threes for the 12th consecutive full season. The Penguins made 186 in the COVID-altered 2020-21 season. The streak started in 2010-11.
ADD ‘EM UP
Wright State’s 50 victories against Youngstown State are most in Wright State program history against a single opponent. The 65 all-time matchups between the Raiders and Penguins entering Saturday makes Youngstown State tied for the fifth-most faced opponent in Wright State history (along with Detroit Mercy).
Wright State most-played opponents:
1) Cleveland State – 81 meetings (43 Raider wins) (1 meeting in 2022-23)
2) Green Bay – 71 meetings (38 Raider wins) (2 meetings in 2022-23)
3) Milwaukee – 70 meetings (38 Raider wins) (2 meetings in 2022-23)
4) UIC – 66 meetings (36 Raider wins)
5) Youngstown State – 66 meetings (50 Raider wins) (1 meeting in 2022-23)
5) Detroit Mercy – 66 meetings (38 Raider wins) (1 meeting in 2022-23)
ROAD TRIP
Wright State plays six of its final eight regular season games on the road in February, including the final four games in a row. Entering Thursday, the Raiders are 5-3 away from home in true road contests (62.5 percent winning percentage) this season. Since arriving at Wright State ahead of the 2016-17 season, Scott Nagy has guided the Raiders to an overall winning percentage of 57.5 percent in true road contests (46-34) – a mark that jumps up to 64.3 percent (36-20) on the road against Horizon League foes.
Looking at the Raiders’ upcoming February road foes (Youngstown State, Robert Morris, Cleveland State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Oakland, Detroit Mercy) – Nagy has led the Raiders to an 18-8 road record at those respective schools, a winning percentage of 69.2 percent.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Wright State’s 50.1 overall season shooting percentage to date is ranked 5th in the country behind Gonzaga (1, 51.8 percent), Colgate (2, 50.8), Marquette (3, 50.5) and Xavier (5, 50.2). Ironically, Youngstown State is No. 7 nationally in shooting percentage at 49.6 percent entering Thursday’s game. Brandon Noel’s 61.6 percent field goal percentage is tops in the Horizon League and is No. 17 nationally in shooting percentage, while Trey Calvin’s 162 total field goals made is No. 15 nationally.
COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
