Where: Nutter Center
TV/Radio: ESPNU/106.5
Probable Wright State starters
Grant Benzinger, 6-3, Sr. G, 14.5
Parker Ernsthausen, 6-11, Jr., F, 4.8
Mark Hughes, 6-4, Jr, G, 10.0
Loudon Love, 6-9, Fr., C, 12.4
Cole Gentry, 5-10, So., G, 9.7
›› WSU vs. NKU: They all count the same, except this one
Probable Northern Kentucky starters
Lavone Holland II, 6-1, Sr., G, 13.4
Jordan Garnett, 6-5, Sr., F, 6.5
Jalen Tate, 6-5, So., F, 5.5
Carson Williams, 6-6, So., F, 12.8
Drew McDonald, 6-7, Jr., C, 16.9
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Series history: Wright State leads 22-20, including an 84-81 triumph at NKU on Jan. 11.
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 40-19 in two seasons at Wright State. His career record in 23 seasons is 449-259. John Brannen is 52-39 in three seasons at NKU.
Last games: Wright State lost to Milwaukee 74-73 on Saturday. Northern Kentucky defeated Green Bay 86-80 on Saturday.
About Wright State: The Raiders are 2-2 after a 9-1 start in league play. … WSU is 12-2 at the Nutter Center this season and will be trying to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time under Nagy. … The Raiders rank first in the HL in home attendance with an average crowd of 4,101, a mere two fans more than NKU (4,099). … A victory would give WSU its third consecutive 20-win season. The school will hand out free T-shirts to the first 5,000 in attendance Friday night. … Benzinger is expected to make the 100th career start of his career while appearing in his 125th game, which will move him into fifth place in school history. … Love leads the HL in rebounding (9.9) and is coming off his 11th double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 19 boards vs. Milwaukee. … WSU has finished even or ahead in rebounding margin in eight consecutive games. … KenPom.com gives Wright State a 48 percent chance of winning while predicting a final score of NKU 68, WSU 67. The Raiders are 137th in the Pomeroy ratings.
›› WSU freshman Hall emerging as a force
About Northern Kentucky : The first-place Norse lead the Raiders by one game in the HL standings. NKU has won five consecutive games and eight of nine since losing to Wright State on Jan. 11. … the Norse rank first in the league in scoring offense (79.1) and scoring defense (65.7). They also are first in field-goal percentage (.485), turnover margin (plus-2.65), assist/turnover ratio (1.40:1). … NKU is 17th in the country in two-point field goal percentage (.570). … McDonald is second in the conference in rebounding (9.2) and fifth in scoring (16.9) while recording 11 double-doubles in his last 16 games. … Williams leads the HL in field goal percentage (.615). … Louisville transfer Tyler Sharpe, a sophomore guard, has come off the bench to score a career-high 19 points in each of his last two games. … Dating back to last season, the Norse are 27-8 in their last 35 league games. … NKU is 88th in the Pomeroy ratings and 19th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
Next game: Wright State will play host to Cleveland State for Senior Night on Monday.
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