DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team begins its four-game road trip to close the regular season with its second-straight nationally televised Friday night broadcast as the Raiders take on Cleveland State on ESPNU. The Raiders have won three in a row and five of their last six, while Cleveland State is coming off back-to-back home wins last weekend. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Wolstein Center.
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
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State used a 22-5 second half run to pull away from visiting Northern Kentucky as the Raiders grabbed an 83-65 win on Senior Night in front of a raucous Nutter Center crowd of over 5,600 last Friday night. Five Raiders scored in double figures in the win, paced by Trey Calvin’s 23 points as he shot 8-of-13 from the floor in 39 minutes of action, while Brandon Noel just missed a double-double with his 18-point, eight rebound effort as he went 7-of-7 from the floor and connected on all four free throws. Noel completed his stat line with three assists, two steals and two blocks.
THE VIKING AGE
Cleveland State is 16-11 overall this season with an 11-5 HL mark. The Vikings have won two in a row, both at home, and are 10-3 at home to date. Despite three Raiders in double figures (Calvin 24, Noel 16, Finke 11) Cleveland State took the first meeting of the year 85-77 back on Jan. 21 in the Nutter Center.
FAMILIAR FOES
Wright State has won 12 of the last 18 contests in the series overall, which is the longest series all-time in Raider history. The Raiders and Vikings have met 81 times previously, with Wright State coming away with 43 wins. The first-ever meeting came Feb. 12, 1972, a Cleveland State 72-62 win in Cleveland. The first matchup in Dayton came Jan. 21, 1974, a 69-45 Raider win (third meeting overall).
BELIEVE-LAND
-Tristan Enaruna leads the Cleveland State offense that is shooting 46.9 percent from the floor during League play with 17.2 points/game and a 52.6 shooting percentage. CSU is also second in turnover margin as Deshon Parker hold a nearly 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio with over three assists per game.
NATIONAL ATTENTION
Wright State follows up last Friday’s national television win over NKU with a second-straight national broadcast Friday at Cleveland State. This marks the third time under head coach Scott Nagy that the Raiders have played back-to-back regular season contests on national television – but the first time in Horizon League play.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
Wright State’s 50.3 overall season shooting percentage to date is 3rd best in the country behind Gonzaga (1, 52.0 percent) and Colgate (2, 50.6). Trey Calvin’s 414 total field goal attempts is No. 9 nationally and his 203 field goals made is ranked 12th, while Brandon Noel’s 61.3 percent field goal percentage is tops in the Horizon League and is No. 20 nationally in shooting percentage.
THE SWEET SPOT
Wright State has 12 games this season shooting 50 percent or higher from the floor, including four games at 60 percent or better in 2022-23. The 12 such games matches the most in a season under head coach Scott Nagy (since 2016-17). Under Nagy, the Raiders have shot 50 percent or better 67 times with a 63-4 record in those games.
COURTESY CLEVELAND STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
