Well, sort of.
Having talked before the game about the need for more “emotional stability,” he said: “I thought our emotions were OK. When they had swings, we didn’t panic.
“I thought our emotions were better. That’s one improvement. But your emotions can be great, and if you’re giving up layups, it doesn’t matter what your emotions are.”
The Raiders have one of the top offenses in the nation — they’re 55th in scoring with an 81.6 average and 20th in field-goal shooting at 50.4% — and guard Trey Calvin, who scored 34 against the Hilltoppers, has been the best player on the floor each game.
But Nagy has had a successful 29-year run mostly because of his emphasis on defense, and the Raiders are 4-6 because they’re getting torched by opponents.
They allowed the Hilltoppers to shoot 55.6% and score 51 points in the second half. And while Nagy has repeatedly pushed for more effort and toughness — fixable deficiencies — he’s starting to realize his insistence on sticking with man-to-man defense could be the issue.
Opponents are scoring a whopping 80 points per game. That’s by far the most through 10 games in Nagy’s eight years and the highest average at Wright State since the 1993-94 team allowed 81.6 while starting 2-8.
“Maybe we’re physically not capable (of doing that),” he said. “That could be a possibility — that we’re physically either not strong enough or quick enough.
“At some point, I’ve got to be able to make that change. That’s on me. That’s why I tell the players it’s my fault, not theirs.”
Wright State has played a taxing schedule so far with seven of their 10 opponents in the top half of the NET rankings: Colorado State is 16th, Hofstra 84th, Toledo 92nd, Davidson 106th, Indiana 123rd, Western Kentucky 147th and Louisiana 159th.
But the Raiders, who are 157th, have given up at least 82 points in half of their games with a high of 105 against CSU.
Nagy has won 663 career games while rarely straying from man-to-man defense, but he sounds open to making a change.
“It could be strategy,” he said of the Raiders’ shortcomings, “and if it’s strategy, then that’s definitely on me.”
The Raiders are 3-6 in the non-league season (they’ve played one Horizon League game against IUPUI) and have two more left against Miami on Tuesday and Division-III Muskingum on Dec. 22.
They’ve often had clunky starts under Nagy — and then tend to catch fire against more comparable teams in the conference.
But the Raiders on pace for their highest point average in 31 years, and they don’t want to squander that kind of firepower because their defense let them down.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Miami at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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