Wright State to open Horizon League schedule vs. UIC

Point guard Justin Mitchell, driving on John Kiser, had seven of Wright State’s 22 turnovers in Saturday’s loss to Valparaiso. TIM ZECHAR / CONTRIBUTED

Point guard Justin Mitchell, driving on John Kiser, had seven of Wright State’s 22 turnovers in Saturday’s loss to Valparaiso. TIM ZECHAR / CONTRIBUTED
Sports
By Doug Harris
Sept 6, 2017
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The Wright State men’s basketball team will play at least one time on national TV and possibly once more during Horizon League action, according to the conference schedule released Wednesday.

The Raiders will play on either ESPN2 or ESPNU when they visit Detroit Mercy on Friday, Jan. 5. Northern Kentucky and Oakland also will play that night on one of those two networks.

Wright State has another chance to appear on national TV when they host Northern Kentucky on Feb. 16. Either that game or UIC at Green Bay will be aired on ESPU.

The TV schedule will be announced at least one week before the games.

The Raiders will face their nine conference foes twice each beginning with a home game against UIC on Thursday, Dec. 28.

The round-robin schedule will conclude with a trip to UIC on Feb. 25, followed by the Horizon League tournament March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

IUPUI has replaced perennial league power Valparaiso, which left for the Missouri Valley Conference.

“It will be an interesting schedule for our fans against teams they’ve come to know and a chance to see a new one in IUPUI,” second-year Wright State coach Scott Nagy said. “Early, we play five of eight on the road. And then late, we’ll have six of eight at home.”

After an exhibition against Wayne State on Nov. 3, the Raiders start the regular-season with road games at Loyola on Nov. 10 and Miami on Nov. 14.

Their first home game is against Murray State on Nov. 18.

The Raiders return two starters from a team that finished 20-12 overall and fifth in the conference at 11-7. They cracked the 20-win barrier in the regular season for the first time since 2007-08.

Senior Grant Benzinger was third in scoring with a 12.8 average and was the team’s top 3-point shooter (41.9 percent) and free throw shooter (84.8). Senior Justin Mitchell was fourth in scoring at 11.5 per game and was the Raiders’ leading rebounder at 8.3

2017-18 WRIGHT STATE SCHEDULE

Nov. 3 WAYNE STATE (Exh.)

Nov. 10 Loyola

Nov. 14 Miami

Nov. 18 MURRAY STATE

Nov. 20 TIFFIN*

Nov. 24 GARDNER-WEBB*

Nov. 25 JACKSONVILLE*

Nov. 26 FAIRFIELD*

Dec. 2 Western Kentucky

Dec. 5 OHIO VALLEY

Dec. 9 KENT STATE

Dec. 16 Toledo

Dec. 19 Missouri State

Dec. 22 Georgia Tech

Dec. 28 UIC

Dec. 30 IUPUI

Jan. 5 Detroit Mercy

Jan. 7 Oakland

Jan. 11 Northern Kentucky

Jan. 15 YOUNGSTOWN STATE

Jan. 18 Green Bay

Jan. 20 Milwaukee

Jan. 26 DETROIT MERCY

Jan. 28 OAKLAND

Feb. 1 Cleveland State

Feb. 3 Youngstown State

Feb. 8 GREEN BAY

Feb. 10 MILWAUKEE

Feb. 16 NORTHERN KENTUCKY

Feb. 19 CLEVELAND STATE

Feb. 23 IUPUI (Away)

Feb. 25 UIC (Away)

March 2-6 Horizon League tournament

HOME GAMES IN CAPS (Unless otherwise noted)

*Wright State tournament

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About the Author

Doug Harris