Less than 24 hours after Wright State’s devastating home loss against Cleveland State Wednesday, first place Green Bay lost in a stunning upset 69-66 to Oakland. Green Bay’s loss has created a logjam at the top of the Horizon League’s standings.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, they are not apart of the logjam.
Had Wright State won Wednesday’s tight contest, the Raiders would be among a group of four teams with 3-1 records. Instead, the Raiders are a game behind the pack that includes Cleveland State, Valpo and Detroit.
The Raiders have an opportunity to knock off one of the remaining one-loss teams in the Horizon League Saturday when Wright State hosts Valpo at 7 p.m.
Wright State won both matchups last season, but Valpo is an improved team off to a strong start to the season. The Crusaders entered league play with the Horizon League’s best nonconference record at 13-2.
The Crusaders go into tomorrow’s game looking for their first conference road win after losing their Horizon League road opener at Oakland on Jan. 2. Since then, Valpo has won three in a row with all three games at home.
A win for WSU is important as it begins a three-game road trip after Saturday’s game.
Wright State is expecting a large home crowd for its only Saturday home game of the season. The Raiders’ largest crowd of the season was their season opener against Belmont when the squad welcomed a crowd of 5,437 for a dramatic win.
Saturday’s crowd is expected to surpass that figure. When WSU has attracted crowds of over 6,000, the Raiders have lost four in a row.
Valpo leads the league in field goal percentage at 46.7 percent while holding opponents at 37.7 percent.
Saturday’s contest could be a challenge for the Raiders off the glass. Valpo leads the Horizon League and is 15th nationally in rebounding margin. Meanwhile, WSU is last in the league in rebounding margin.
In Wednesday’s game against Cleveland State, the Raiders were outrebounded 32-21 and allowed CSU to pick up 11 offensive boards. The offensive rebounding was a difference that Vikings head coach Gary Waters pointed out in his postgame press conference Wednesday.
“That was paramount for us in that game,” Waters said. “With them playing inside of you, you have hit shots and obviously we didn’t hit a lot of shots, but you got the offensive rebound and that was a key factor.”
Wright State showed more zone defense Wednesday than any other contest this year. WSU had success with the zone, except for the final minute when Andre Yates hit the eventual game-winner on a wide-open 3 pointer.
“We mixed up some zone, and some triangle and 2 and some man and even some different coverage’s in man,” WSU guard Kendall Griffin said. “I felt we did a good pretty good job. There was a stretch where they didn’t score for three-four minutes.”
One challenge for WSU will be limiting Valpo down low. The Crusaders play two forwards, Vashil Fernandez and Alec Peters, in the blocks. Fernandez is an inch taller than Peters standing 6-foot-9. Peters is among league leaders in scoring averaging over 18 points a game.
While many expected Valpo to play well inside, its guard play has been the Crusaders’ biggest surprise. Freshman Tevonn Walker and junior Darien Walker (no relation) are both averaging in double figures. This is Darien Walker’s first year in the Horizon League after transferring to Valpo.
With a large crowd expected, WSU will be giving away t-shirts to the first 5,000 fans. There will also be a contest on who has the best green setup for students. The winner receives a free 50-inch Sony television. Also, buses will run from The Woods and Hamilton Hall to the Nutter Center beginning at 6 p.m.
