The WSU men’s basketball team advanced to the Horizon League Tournament (HLT) semi-finals last weekend by beating the Green Bay Phoenix 87-72. Their next game will be against the Milwaukee Panthers, a team that WSU has not beaten this season.
This situation strikingly resembles last season’s team when they were swept by NKU and then matched up with them for a third time in the HLT, ultimately falling to NKU and ending their season.
Unlike last season’s trio of games with NKU, Wright State played Milwaukee very close. Their first matchup was a 66-61 loss at Milwaukee, and their second game was a 74-73 loss at the Nutter Center, where Grant Benzinger just missed a last second buzzer beater that would have given WSU the win.
The six seeded Milwaukee Panthers will be no pushover, but WSU has every reason to believe they can win this game and continue their season.
One thing WSU will hope to do is get ahead early. In their previous two matchups this season, Milwaukee has outscored Wright State 77-62 in the first half. If WSU can get the lead going into halftime, they can capitalize on their excellent second half play. The Raiders have never lost this season when they have had a halftime lead (16-0 record).
WSU will also look to contain Milwaukee’s B&B tandem of Brock Stull and Brett Prahl. In their two games against WSU, Stull and Prahl have combined for a whopping 53 points, including eight three-pointers from Stull.
That three point shot will be an area of concern for WSU tonight. The Panthers have shot over 50 percent from the three point line against Wright State, and have sunk 19 three’s in just two games against WSU.
WSU will have their hands full, but will be helped by their depth from the bench. They’ve outscored Milwaukee 32-27 in bench points during their previous two games, and WSU’s bench has been on fire of late. In their quarterfinal game against Green Bay, Everett Winchester contributed 15 points off the bench in just 18 minutes, and true freshman Jaylon Hall added 10 points off the bench as well.
If WSU beats Milwaukee, they will advance to their first conference final since 2016, and their first under Scott Nagy. They would face either the fourth seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies or the surprise team of the tournament in Cleveland State, who knocked off the number one seed NKU Norse in the quarterfinals.
Tonight’s semi final against Milwaukee is on at 9:30 PM and can be seen on ESPNU or the Watch ESPN app.
