Wright State head coach Billy Donlon always wants to win for the Horizon League. When his Raiders travel to Bowling Green State Wednesday, they will be representing more than just Wright State.
The Horizon League has a natural rivalry with the Mid-American Conference. Not only do the two conference overlap geographically, they battle in the RPI standings as well. Last year, the MAC finished two spots ahead of the Horizon League in the RPI. The previous season, the Horizon League finished above the MAC.
These conferences are both hoping to earn a second bid into the NCAA Tournament in addition to the one their postseason tournament champs earn. With the top-six conferences earning the majority of the at-large bids, there are only a handful of extra bids available for conferences like the Horizon League and MAC.
Bowling Green is the first of two matchups versus the MAC this year for Wright State with the second coming next week versus Miami.
“Every game we play, we want to win for our league after winning for ourselves,” Donlon said, “but I have been here for eight years and seven of those years, we have been higher than the MAC. I don’t think you can worry about that. I have great respect for Bowling Green and great respect for Miami. I think our fans really appreciate these games.”
Wednesday’s game marks the first of six in a row away from the Nutter Center for Wright State. Playing on the road will be a good way for Donlon to evaluate how the team has adjusted to playing in a new up-tempo system.
In the first two games, Donlon liked what he saw out of his squad in adjusting to the system.
“I am really proud with the effort, especially on Friday (against Belmont),” Donlon said. “We had to handle some adversity with having a guy go down in the middle of the game. That is always a challenge for your guys. And then Sunday was a hard game.”
Bowling Green comes into Wednesday’s game with a 1-0 record after having a solid win on the road against Drake. Tomorrow marks the home opener for new BGSU coach Chris Jans.
“Chris is a very good coach and to be fair, there are some really good players there,” Donlon said. “(Richaun) Holmes would be a First-Team in the Horizon League… They have a veteran squad and what they have done is bought into the system. You can tell that right away. They are physical and can shoot.”
Clark scored 16 points in just 21 minutes played in BGSU’s win over Drake. BGSU is a deep squad as 11 players played double-digits in minutes versus Drake.
Wright State starts the road trip 2-0 after home wins over Belmont and Ohio Dominican.
Projected Starters:
Wright State (2-0)
Center - Michael Karena
Forward - Steven Davis
Guards - Joe Thomasson, Reggie Arceneaux, Chrishawn Hopkins
Bowling Green (1-0)
Center - Richaun Holmes
Forward - Spencer Parker
Guards - Anthony Henderson, David Joseph, Chauncey Orr
All-time series:
Bowling Green leads the all-time series against Wright State 7-6. The Raiders won last year's matchup in the Nutter Center 46-43. Donlon is 1-1 against the Falcons as head coach at WSU.
Last time out:
It wasn't pretty but the Raiders beat Ohio Dominican by 12 in a contest that was within five for most of the first 35 minutes of the contest. The Raiders needed an 18-6 run to close out the contest. Hopkins scored 25 in the contest. Combined with his 21-point effort versus Belmont last Friday, Hopkins earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors.
Predictions:
Justin Boggs, Sports Editor of The Guardian: Bowling Green 71 - Wright State 65. This is a toss-up to me. I certainly don't think this game with resemble the offensive struggle the two teams had last year. I think the energy of Jans playing his first home game in a packed Stroh Center will be the difference in Wednesday's matinee.
