College Basketball Preview: Wright State at Cleveland State

Parker Ernsthausen scores a basket during Wright State’s 55-51 win against Cleveland State on Jan. 5. TIM ZECHAR/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Parker Ernsthausen scores a basket during Wright State’s 55-51 win against Cleveland State on Jan. 5. TIM ZECHAR/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Who: Wright State (18-9, 9-5) at Cleveland State (8-19, 4-11)

When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: Spectrum Sports, ESPN3

Radio: 106.5-FM

Series: Wright State leads 34-33 and has won three in a row.

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 18-9 at Wright State and 428-249 in 22 seasons overall. Gary Waters is 193-169 in his 11th season at Cleveland State and 364-304 in 21 seasons overall.

Probable Wright State starters

Steven Davis;6-8;Sr.;F;14.9

Mark Alstork;6-5;Jr.;G;19.0

Justin Mitchell;6-5;Jr.;G;11.7

Grant Benzinger;6-3;Jr.;G;11.6

Mike La Tulip;6-1;Sr.;G;7.7

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Probable Cleveland State starters

Derek Sloan;6-6;Jr.;F;3.2

Demonte Flannigan;6-8;Sr.;F;11.0

Rob Edwards;6-4;So.;G;15.9

Kasheem Thomas;6-0;Fr.;G;7.7

Bobby Word;6-4;Jr.;G;11.0

About Wright State: The Raiders are coming off an 84-81 win at Youngstown State on Thursday, their victory in a row and seventh in the last nine games. … Mark Alstork scored 33 points, and Justin Mitchell finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. … Kempom.com gives Wright State only a 48 percent chance of winning and predicts Cleveland State will prevail 68-67. The Raiders are 175th in the Pomeroy ratings. … Wright State is 8-1 in games played less than 48 hours after its previous one. … A win would make Scott Nagy the fourth consecutive WSU coach to win at least 10 league games in his first season at the school (Billy Donlon 10-8 in 2010-11; Brad Brownell 13-3 in 2006-07; Paul Biancardi 10-6 in 2003-04).

About Cleveland State: The Vikings are coming off a 62-60 home loss against Northern Kentucky on Thursday. CSU has lost six of its last eight and is 6-5 at home. … The Vikings are 227th in the Pomeroy ratings. … Cleveland State ranks last in the Horizon League in scoring offense (65.5) and second in scoring defense (67.4). The Vikings are last in rebounding margin (minus-4.9) and assists (10.7), but first in turnover margin (plus-2.6). … CSU has made a 3-pointer in a school-record 593 consecutive games, and the Vikings have hit at least three 3-pointers in 142 in a row. … Thurgood Marshall graduate Evan Clayborne is a freshman forward at CSU and has appeared in 24 games, averaging 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.4 minutes. … The 55-51 loss at WSU on Jan. 5 equals the fewest points CSU has scored this season.

Coming up: The Raiders head to Northern Kentucky on Tuesday night.

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