If Wright State had its way over the weekend, the Raiders would be back in the Miami Valley getting ready to open Horizon League Championship play in the Nutter Center Tuesday night. But after a loss to Illinois-Chicago Saturday afternoon, the Raiders are hoping not to return home for as long as possible.
After losing to UIC Saturday afternoon, the Raiders stayed in Chicago to prepare for a rematch against the Flames Tuesday evening back at UIC Pavilion. In Saturday’s regular season finale, home court advantage for Tuesday’s game was on the line. For Tuesday’s rematch, the entire season is on the line.
The winner of Tuesday’s game advances to the Horizon League quarterfinals versus Oakland in a game played at the ARC in Valparaiso, Ind.
The Raiders enter Tuesday’s first round game as the No. 7 seed; UIC is the No. 6 seed.
Wright State head coach Billy Donlon and his squad is glad to press the reset button on a dreadful finish to the regular season. The Raiders lost a program record nine in a row to close out the regular season.
“You feel like you can take a breath and ultimately the guys feel like there is no one in the league we can’t beat,” Donlon said. “It is about advancing. It is about the mental approach to the game. If we can find a way to win, it is just getting that feeling of winning again and I think you if you can do it one time, you can string some wins together.”
The odds of going far in the Horizon League Championship have been slim for No. 7-seeded teams in the past. Since the league reformatted its conference championship in 2003, the No. 7 seed is 3-9 in first round games. The No. 7 seed has never advanced to the Horizon League title game.
Adding to the challenge, the Raiders are going to need to find a way to close a 15-point gap as the Raiders lost to UIC 61-46 Saturday. Donlon said that it is less about X’s and O’s and more about playing with toughness in Tuesday’s rematch.
“This game is going to be about the mentality for physicality,” Donlon said. “That is why they have beaten us both times. If you look at free throw attempts, our lack of free throw attempts. UIC had a much greater mentality for physicality.”
During the Raiders’ nine game losing streak, the squad was without forwards Steven Davis and JT Yoho for most of that streak. Yoho and Davis returned Saturday, but were not 100 percent. Davis and Yoho are still questionable on whether they will play in Tuesday’s rematch.
Donlon said on Sunday that it was a risk to play the two, but thought the two guys could help the team bring the first round of the Horizon League Championship back to Fairborn. Both players missed yesterday’s practice in Chicago.
“It was a risk we took,” Donlon said. “Clearly JT was rusty. I thought he did some good things. It was a tough choice to bring them back or bring them back Tuesday. We knew full well that if we brought them back Saturday, they may not be able to compete on Tuesday.”
Davis missed over two months of play with a foot injury he suffered against Ohio State on Dec. 27.
“He is definitely in pain,” Donlon said. “He has an injury, it is not he is just hurt. He gave us great energy. He dove on the floor for a loose ball, he made two baskets, got fouled on one. In 10 minutes, he did a lot of damage.”
Yoho was the Raiders’ leading scorer Saturday with nine points. Yoho is more likely to play in Tuesday’s game than Davis according to Donlon.
Many key players for Wright State are playing in their first Division I postseason tournament. The experience will be new for players like Joe Thomasson, Michael Karena, Grant Benzinger and Justin Mitchell.
Donlon said that he tried to play more possession basketball in the regular season to prepare his young players for the postseason.
“Teams that play fast typically don’t have success when it comes to tournament basketball,” Donlon said. “I know it is more enjoyable to watch.
“When I played basketball (at UNC-Wilmington), I played it at a pretty good level,” Donlon added. “I played Division I at a high level in a really good league with: Richmond, George Mason, Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth. Really good programs. As a player, I would rather play fast than grind it out. But in winning, the other team can stop you and slow you down. I think that will be our message is that every possession is critical.”
