If that seems a bit odd to fans, it strikes the combatants mostly the same way — even though the Big Ten and ACC do it, too (the SEC and Big 12 don’t).
“It’s tricky,” Raiders first-year coach Clint Sargent admitted of jumping in and out of league play. “I was a little uncomfortable going into (the 88-79 win over Marshall last week). With league games, there’s a different level of intensity. There’s a different focus and familiarity. That dynamic is why you lean on your older guys with their experience and maturity.”
The Raiders (7-5, 1-1) host Youngstown State (6-5, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The Penguins replaced coach Jerrod Calhoun, who left for Utah State after a run of five straight winning seasons, with former assistant Ethan Faulkner.
They’re the early league co-leaders with Milwaukee, beating Robert Morris, 72-58, on the road and Oakland, 66-50, at home.
The Penguins were picked sixth in the HL preseason poll, one spot behind the Raiders. But widespread transfers have made preseason rankings less reliable than ever.
YSU picked up an impact transfer in 6-foot-6 fifth-year player Nico Galette, who was a first-team All-Northeast Conference pick from Sacred Heart.
He’s second on the team in scoring with a 13.6 average and first in rebounding at 6.9 per game.
Third-leading scorer Juwan Maxey, a 6-1 junior guard averaging 9.5 points, spent two years at a junior college before arriving this year. And leading scorer E.J. Farmer, a 6-5 senior averaging 14.6 points, transferred from Toledo last season.
The Raiders also have pulled off a surprise. They likely would have been picked higher if their league-mates had known about Jack Doumbia (10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds per game).
After facing YSU, Wright State travels to Eastern Michigan for its final non-league game Saturday before an eight-day break for Christmas.
All HL teams will play 17 consecutive conference games starting Dec. 29.
“There’s just so many dips and turns while trying to keep your team focused during a season,” Sargent said. “This is another little wrinkle. But I have no doubt our guys will do it correctly.”
The Raiders went into the week with the league’s highest ranking in the NET (125th out of 364 team) and Kenpom rankings (131st).
The Penguins were 228th and 219th in those computer standings.
“I really like where we’re at,” junior point guard Keaton Norris said. “I think our record doesn’t quite show how well we’ve been playing, especially in Myrtle Beach. We went 1-2 there, but I thought we played really well in all three games.
“We’re moving in the right direction for sure.”
Norris doesn’t believe the players will have a problem navigating its two games this week, even though a trip to Ypsilanti, Mich., to play EMU hardly gets the juices flowing.
“Obviously, I feel like in league games, there’s a little more urgency. They all matter a ton, especially down the stretch,” he said.
“But every game matters, so you can never take one lightly. Every game’s an opportunity to get better, no matter if it’s in league or non-league. It’s the same approach no matter who the opponent is.”
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Youngstown State at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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