The Raiders fell, 105-77, to a mid-pack Mountain West Conference foe Friday night. It was on the road before a raucous crowd of 4,802 — the first road opener for Nagy’s squad in six years — but the defense crumbled despite major attention being placed on that facet of the game throughout the preseason.
The 105 points equaled the most the program has allowed since Miami’s 105-86 win in 1995-96.
Southern Utah also reached that figure despite losing, 109-105, in 1990-91.
The Raiders have given up 100 points only 13 times in their Division-I history (since 1987), and most of them came when they were playing a frenetic style under coach Ralph Underhill.
But the way Nagy sees it, sloppy ball-handling, which led to 15 turnovers, was a major culprit in the thrashing.
“A lot of it, honestly, was bad offense on our part. And I blame myself for that,” Nagy said.
“We spent so much time and energy on the defensive end — which, by the score, you wouldn’t know it. But we had seven times where we turned the ball over, and it turned into a layup for them. That’s 14 points. It’s hard to overcome that.”
The Raiders led by as many as 11 in the first half, but the Rams rallied for a 45-42 lead at the break.
After getting outscored, 9-0, to start the second half, it quickly turned into a point parade.
“Offensively, we weren’t very good. And, with the players we have, us assuming we’ll score no matter what and not giving them a better thought process, it’s my fault,” Nagy said.
The Rams made 42 of 66 shots for 63.6%, becoming the first team in Nagy’s eight years at Wright State to top 60%.
The previous best was Milwaukee’s 59.2% in a 74-73 win at the Nutter Center in 2017-18.
It was the highest clip since Evansville shot 66.7% in an 86-78 home win in 2014-15.
“It’s been my concern about our team — how tough we are. That’s what’s got to change,” Nagy said.
“We really don’t have an enforcer. Probably nobody on our team is that guy you wouldn’t want to fight in a dark alley — like, oh, we wouldn’t want to meet HIM. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be a tough team by doing it collectively.”
What he’s looking for specifically is getting “loose balls, blocking out — we hardly put a body on anybody. Actually setting a ball screen and not slipping out of it before the collision. Going to the offensive glass relentlessly.”
Colorado State racked up a staggering 37 assists on 42 baskets. Perhaps scorekeepers were in a generous mood because the Raiders hadn’t allowed more than 26 in a game since at least 2006-07 (online stats on the school website only go back that far).
In that period, there had been only 10 previous games where they allowed even 20.
Wright State had 30 last season in a one-sided win over Weber State.
The program record is 34 twice — against Northeastern Illinois in 1978-79 and Marion in 1985-86.
“Every school is different. Some of them hand them out like candy, and some are hard to get. I don’t pay much attention to that,” Nagy said.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Toledo at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 1410, 101.5
Wright State
Most opponent points
Division I era (since 1987)
Wright St. 116, U.S. International 113 Jan. 20 1990
Central Michigan 112, Wright St. 85 Dec. 8 1990
Kent St. 108, Wright St. 95 Feb. 7 1990
Wright St. 113, U.S. International 107 Dec. 16 1989
Milwaukee 106, Wright St. 89 Feb. 28 1991
Colorado St. 105, Wright St. 77 Nov. 10 2023
Miami (Ohio) 105, Wright St. 86 Dec. 27 1995
Wright St. 109, Southern Utah 105 Feb. 9 1991
Toledo 103, Wright St. 66 Dec. 22 2003
Mount St. Mary’s 102, Wright St. 100 Jan. 31 1989
Davidson 102, Wright St. 97, 2 OTs Nov. 9 2022
Xavier 101, Wright St. 84 Feb. 3 1988
Ohio State 100, Wright St. 55 Dec. 27 2014
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