But the Horizon League’s ban on spectators (that includes family members, too) means they don’t have to worry about opposing crowds, either, and playing on the road seems to narrow their focus and make them more business-like.
“It is different, for sure,” Nagy said of away games. “We get on a bus, and everybody goes to sleep. We go to the hotel, and everybody goes to their room and stays in their room. You come down to pick up your meal or to watch film and then go back to your room.
“(Travel) is a little more difficult, but there’s still a bonding where it feels like you against everybody else when you’re on the road.”
The lack of a home-court advantage has surfaced this season. The Raiders are 5-3 in the Nutter Center after going 14-2, 15-2 and 14-2 the previous three seasons.
But Nagy may take comfort in knowing six of their final 10 regular-season games are on the road. They play at IUPUI on Friday and Saturday. Both games start at noon.
And he’s settled on a starting lineup that puts stress on opponents, playing 6-foot-8 senior Loudon Love at the 5 and 6-9 sophomore Grant Basile at the 4. They also have size at wing with 6-6 Tanner Holden and 6-5 Tim Finke, while 6-0 Trey Calvin runs the point.
“Sometimes, it’s a little tough for us to match up defensively, but it’s also tough for teams to match up with us,” Nagy said.
Basile has turned into a legitimate stretch 4, able lure defenders outside because of his range.
He’s third on the team in scoring at 12.4 per game and has gone 9 of 19 on 3′s. Last year, he was 3 of 21.
Love has been as steady as ever, averaging 14.6 points and a league-best 10.4 boards. He’s scored in double figures each game this season.
“In order to play those two together, we need Grant to be able to do that,” Nagy said. “He’s worked hard at it, and he’s shooting the ball well. And it puts a lot of pressure on the defense, for sure.”
Love and Basile are first and second in the league in blocks with 22 and 21, respectively.
But Basile, who averages 6.8 rebounds, still can be a source of frustration for Nagy — maybe because the Wisconsin native has such a high ceiling.
“He’s one of those players who frustrates the heck out of me. Then, I look at the end of the game, and I can’t believe his stats. He shoots a good percentage. He’s a good rebounder. He’s scored more points than I would have expected,” Nagy said.
“He can play on the perimeter, and he can post. He’s pretty versatile. We’d like him to get better on the glass, get more rebounds. And we’d like him to play better defense, just like everyone else.”
Nagy is right about the effect the taller lineup is having on opponents.
The Raiders are eighth nationally in field-goal-percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 37.6%.
“The one thing we’re doing is we are guarding. We’re playing great defensively,” he said.
“Our ‘bigs’ are protecting the rim. We’re doing a good job of not fouling a lot and putting people on the free-throw line. I’m very pleased with that. It’d be nice if we’d shoot the ball better. I’d like to shoot better from 3 (they’re hitting 34.2%). Our offense is a little up and down, but our defense will keep us in it.”
Win some, lose some: The Raiders (9-4, 7-3) have already equaled last year’s loss total in the league when the went 15-3 and were outright champs. But their scores would suggest they’re the conference’s best team — despite trailing Cleveland State (9-4, 9-1) by two games.
They’ve had three straight weekend splits, dominating one game but falling in painful fashion in the other.
They outscored Oakland by a combined 161-132, Youngstown State 165-129 and Cleveland State 149-115.
“It’d be nice if we could balance out some of these scores,” Nagy said. “It’s just so unfortunate we lost two games at the buzzer, but we did. They all count the same.”
Hack-fest: The Raiders flirted with school records by going 38 of 48 on foul shots against CSU on Saturday. The all-time marks came in the same game, a 43-of-52 effort against U.S. International on Nov. 28, 1987.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Wright State at IUPUI, Noon, ESPN3, 106.5
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