When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV/Radio: ESPN+/980-AM
Series: First meeting
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 131-63 in his seventh year at Wright State and 541-303 in his 28th year overall. Matt McKillop is in his first season as Davidson’s coach.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.*
A.J. Braun 6-9 So. C 5.4
Brandon Noel 6-8 Fr. F N/A
Amari Davis 6-2 Sr. G 9.0^
Tim Finke 6-6 Sr. G 8.8
Trey Calvin 6-0 Sr. G 14.6
Probable Davidson starters
Reed Bailey 6-11 Fr. F N/A
Sam Mennenga 6-9 Jr. F 8.4
Desmond Watson 6-5 So. F 2.9
Grant Huffman 6-3 Jr. G 4.2
Foster Loyer 6-0 Sr. G 16.2
*2021-22 averages
^Average at Missouri last season
About Wright State: The Raiders have gone 0-2 against the Atlantic 10 under Nagy. They lost to La Salle, 72-70, in the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase and were beaten by George Washington, 74-63, in the 2021 Naples Invitational. … They went 22-14 last season, notching more wins than any other Horizon League team despite finishing fourth. … They’ve captured at least a share of three regular-season titles with two league tourney crowns in the last five years. Since joining the league in 1994, they’d won just one regular-season title and one tourney crown before their latest run under Nagy. Both came in 2006-07 behind league player of the year DeShaun Wood. … Calvin and Davis were preseason second-team all-league picks. Calvin won’t need long to become the 37th member of the program’s 1,000-point club. He’s at 881. Davis has already reached that milestone with 1,244 points, including 955 in two seasons at Green Bay. ... The Raiders were picked to finish third in the coach’s poll. Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky were co-favorites, while Oakland was fourth, followed by Youngstown State, Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, Robert Morris, Milwaukee, Green Bay and IUPUI.
About Davidson: The Wildcats opened the season Monday with an 87-64 win over Division III Guilford College. Loyer had 30 points, going 6 of 8 on 3′s. Mennenga had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. … Since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2014-15, the Wildcats’ average finish is fourth. They’ve won two regular-season titles (2015 and ‘22) and one tourney crown (2018). Throw out a 13-9 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, and they’ve averaged 22 wins since 2017-18. … Loyer was fifth in the A-10 in scoring last season, second in 3-point shooting (43.8%), fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.6) and 12th in assists (3.3). He played three years at Michigan State before transferring. He once hit six 3′s in a game for the Spartans. Those two teams met in the first round of the NCAA last season with Loyer finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in the 74-73 defeat. … Mennenga was 10th in the A-10 in field-goal shooting (51.9%). He’s from New Zealand and played for the country’s senior national team in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup. … Back-up guard Connor Kochera averaged 10.9 points for William & Mary last season and is a former Colonial Athletic Association rookie of the year.
Next game: The Raiders play at Louisville at 1 p.m. Saturday before returning home to face Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
About the Author