Wright State vs. IUPUI: What you need to know about Friday, Saturday games

Wright State forward James Manns connects for three over Youngstown State forward Naz Bohannon during a Horizon League game at the Nutter Center in Fairborn Jan. 9, 2021. Wright State won 93-55. Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard

Wright State forward James Manns connects for three over Youngstown State forward Naz Bohannon during a Horizon League game at the Nutter Center in Fairborn Jan. 9, 2021. Wright State won 93-55. Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard

Who: Wright State (9-4, 7-3) at IUPUI (3-4, 2-4)

When: Noon Friday; Noon, Saturday

TV/Radio: ESPN3/106.5

Series: Wright State leads 15-3.

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 100-47 in his fifth year at Wright State and 510-287 in his 26th year overall. Byron Rimm II is 10-29 in his second year at IUPUI and 192-272 in 16 years overall, including a 10-year stint at Prairie View A&M.

Probable Wright State starters

Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.

Loudon Love 6-8 Sr. C 14.6

Grant Basile 6-9 So. F 12.4

Tanner Holden 6-6 So. G 17.1

Tim Finke 6-6 So G 10.2

Trey Calvin 6-0 So. G 9.8

Probable IUPUI starters

Elyjah Goss 6-7 Sr. F 8.1

Marcus Burk 6-3 Sr. G 17.9

Jaylen Minnett 6-1 Sr. G 13.5

Nathan McClure 6-4 So. G 2.3

Mike DePersia 5-11 So. G 4.0

About Wright State: The Raiders have had three straight 1-1 weekends. After each split, they’ve dropped one spot in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major Top 25, going from 15th to 18th. … They’re 14th nationally in rebounding margin at plus-9.4 per game. “We’ve been a good rebounding team. We were last year (plus-2.9), and we may be a little better this year,” Nagy said. It’s been a group effort. Love leads the way with a Horizon League-best 10.4 per game, while Holden averages 7.9, Basile 6.8 and Finke 6.5. … Love also leads the league in field-goal shooting at 57.4%. … The Raiders lead the conference in scoring (79.23) and scoring defense (64.77). They’ve outscored foes by 14.46 points per game. Milwaukee is a distant second in the league in scoring margin at 3.89 per game.

Still No. 1: The Raiders are the top conference team in the NET rankings at No. 85. Cleveland State is next at 151, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne at 192 and Milwaukee at 195. The other eight schools are between 218 and 302 out of 347 D-I teams.

About IUPUI: The Jaguars, picked last in the league preseason poll, had never won at Northern Kentucky in four years in the conference until pulling off a sweep last weekend (75-69 and 65-63). Burk, a second-team all-league pick in 2019-20 and a preseason first-team all-league selection, had a combined 50 points, while Minnett had 18 points and four assists in each game. … Goss made the HL all-defensive team last season, averaging a league-high 11.5 rebounds while recording 33 blocks. He averaged a double-double in conference games (10.1 points and 13.3 rebounds). He’s averaging 10.1 boards and probably will battle Love all year for the rebounding title. … The Jags finished 7-25 last season and last in the league at 3-15. They lost both games with Wright State, including a 106-66 road thrashing on Senior Day. They were competitive in 2018-19, going 18-17 overall and 10-8 in the league, but coach Jason Gardner resigned in the offseason after a DUI. He’s now the North Central High School coach in Indiana.

Next game: After playing IUPUI at noon Saturday, Wright State hosts Robert Morris on Friday and Saturday. The Jan. 29 game vs. RMU was moved to a 9 p.m. tip and will be televised on ESPNU. The Jan. 30 game will tip off at 7 p.m..

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