In the history of the league, which traces its roots to 1979, no team has gone winless. Green Bay went 3-29 last season, and a few others have had paltry win totals through the years, but all have managed to avoid that dreaded 0-fer.
The Titans weren’t expected to be as abysmal as they are, having been picked ninth in the preseason poll.
But they lost the HL’s all-time leading scorer in Antoine Davis and returned just one starter in guard Jayden Stone, who missed the second half of last season.
He’s leading the league in scoring this year with a 20.3 average.
They’re next-to-last at No. 361 in the NET ratings, just ahead of Mississippi Valley State (0-22).
They’ve had a couple of near misses, losing in double OT at Robert Morris and by one at Ole Miss. And Wright State coach Scott Nagy actually feels empathy in seeing the Titans’ travails.
In his 21-year stint at South Dakota State, he had to lead the program in its transition from Division II to D-I. And it wasn’t pretty.
He endured six straight losing seasons with the Jackrabbits, going 7-24 in 2006-07. That included a 105-50 loss to Kent State.
“I’ve been in some pretty bad spots as a coach. And even when you get in close games, it’s hard to convince your team you can win it because you just haven’t seen it,” he said.
“You end up doing (self-destructive) things. That’s what happens when you’re having tough seasons.”
Green Bay and Oakland sit atop the standings at 10-3, while Youngstown State is 9-4. The Phoenix has already swept Detroit, but Oakland and YSU both finish their seasons against the Titans.
Nagy, who said he can’t remember having faced a winless team so late in the season, insisted the Raiders are giving the Titans ample respect.
“You get prepared for them like you do every other game. They’ve been in some games this year,” he said.
While Nagy would argue that Thursday’s outcome isn’t a foregone conclusion, he’d agree that Trey Calvin reaching 2,000 points for his career is a lock.
The fifth-year point guard needs just six points to join Bill Edwards as the only other Raiders in the 2,000 club. Edwards had 2,303 from 1989-93.
Nagy was impressed with Calvin’s all-around performance at Northern Kentucky on Sunday. He scored 21 points and had the upper hand in his matchup with all-league guard Marques Warrick, who had 20 points but went 6 of 17 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3.
“He guarded the best player all day. (Warrick) had to take 17 shots to get 20 points.To me, it was reminiscent of last year when Trey guarded Davis up at Detroit,” said Nagy,
Both players had 34 points in Wright State’s 84-72 road win over the Titans, but Calvin went 12 of 18 from the field, 4 of 6 on 3′s and 6 of 6 on foul shots, while Davis went 13 of 33 overall.
“Sometimes, it gets overlooked — like oh, Trey scored 21 again. But he has to handle the ball, see all that pressure, guard their best player and hit big shots. He was phenomenal.”
Davis went on to win his second straight HL player of the award last season.
Calvin, the preseason POY, is certainly one of the top candidates this year.
“Most times, it’s whoever scores the most points,” Nagy said. “I don’t pay attention to it, and I don’t think Trey does, either.
“He’s definitely one of the best players, if not THE best. I’ve coached few guys who put the time in that he does. He’s in a gym all the time.”
He’s second in the league in scoring with a 20.1 average, while Green Bay’s Noah Reynolds is third at 19.3.
Reynolds, a junior guard who transferred in the offseason from Wyoming, is averging a league-best 4.6 assists, and Calvin is fourth at 4.1.
In conference games only, Reynolds is first in scoring at 20.8, Warrick second at 20.7 and Calvin third at 19.3.
The voters likely will be swayed by which team has the higher finish.
“They should be. To the victor go the spoils,” Nagy said.
“That’s the way it works. It’d be great if Trey got it. But it’s just about how our team finishes. That’s the most important thing.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Detroit Mercy at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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