Less than a year after UW-Milwaukee won the Horizon League title and the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Wright State’s floor, the two teams meet again tonight in Milwaukee with a different cast of characters.
All five of Wright State’s starters from that contest played last March have graduated and left the program. Milwaukee is also without several of its key players from that game as well.
With both teams relying on newer players, Wright State head coach Billy Donlon does not think the revenge factor will play a key role in Tuesday’s rematch.
“We won’t talk about it, it is just a different year,” Donlon said. “They have a lot of guys not out there either. It is just two new teams that are trying to find their way and that will be the focus.”
After WSU lost the 2013 Horizon League title to Valpo, the return trip had a much different feel.
“There was no doubt last year’s game at Valpo, our guys were hungry for blood,” Donlon said. “Last year, I didn’t have a choice. Those guys overran me. The way they were talking and I would walk in and hear things, and I would respect it as a competitor. Last year at Valpo, it was a significant game to them.”
Milwaukee no longer has its leader from last year Jordan Aaron who won the league’s tournament MVP. Without Aaron, the Panthers only have two players averaging in double figures. Steve McWhorter is leading the squad averaging 14.6 points a game. Matt Tiby is the team’s second leading scorer at 11.6 points a game to go with his team-leading 7.6 boards a game.
The Panthers’ third-leading scorer is Northern Illinois transfer Akeem Springs who joined the team after sitting out a year.
Milwaukee has struggled to start the season after finding out in the offseason that it will be illegible to participate in the Horizon League Championships along with the NCAA Tournament for an APR violation.
The Panthers snapped a six-game losing streak winning their first conference game of the year defeating Youngstown State 77-62 last Wednesday.
Wright State’s history in Milwaukee is not kind. The Raiders snapped a 14-game losing streak in Milwaukee two years ago marking WSU’s first 21st-century win on the road against the Panthers. The Panthers won last year’s meeting in Milwaukee.
Donlon was unable to come up with an explanation as to why the program has historically struggled at Milwaukee, while WSU has been relatively successful in the same span in the Nutter Center.
“I think the more you talk about things like that, the more it becomes a reality,” Donlon said. “I know that we’re going to treat it like every other road game we play. But I don’t think (the players) know about the history at Milwaukee. I certainly don’t talk about it.
“We talk about how difficult any Horizon League game is and when you’re on the road, you have to bring a little more energy.”
The Raiders will be once again without the services of forwards JT Yoho and Steven Davis.
The Raiders hope to return to .500 within conference play after losing back-to-back home games for the first time in two years.
