Men’s Basketball | Photo by Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University (WSU) Men’s Basketball held its top-four spot in Horizon League (HL) this week, after a loss to the Northern Kentucky Norse (NKU) and a win on the road over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (OAK).
With this week’s games, the Raiders sit at third in the HL with a 13-6 record and will look to secure a top-four spot in order to have a bye through the first round of the postseason.
“We’ve got a tough road stretch here, we’re going to play some good basketball teams,” Grant Basile, a center for WSU, said. “We’re just trying to think about each game.”
Inconsistent play
The Raiders have looked incredibly inconsistent throughout the year, and that has never been more evident than in this week’s performances against NKU and OAK.
On one hand, the Raiders beat a power-five school in North Carolina State and have looked great twice against OAK, shooting about 47% from the field or higher in all of those games.
But on the flipside, WSU looked sloppy in national TV appearances versus the Cleveland State Vikings and the ninth-place Milwaukee Panthers, with 26 turnovers against the Vikings and shooting 29% against the Panthers.
In this week’s games, The Raiders were down by 15 points after the first 12 minutes of play against fifth-place NKU but were up by 10 after the same amount of time against second-place OAK.
“They played harder than us on certain ends, and we were just making, or not making shots,” Tim Finke, a guard for WSU, said after the NKU game.
Even after some miracle shots from WSU at the end of the first and end of the second half, the Norse still controlled the game from start to finish.
“We were lucky to be down 12 at the half,” Basile said after the loss to NKU. “When you start a game like that, it makes it tough to come back.”
Big Man Basile
Grant Basile has been putting in a League MVP level performance for WSU in recent games, averaging 21.5 points per game and 8.25 rebounds per game in his last four performances.
For a team like the Raiders who emphasize shots in the paint and defensive play, Basile has been a focal point for WSU’s attack all year, and his size helps him dominate other centers on offense and defense.
“We’ve been getting good looks,” Basile said. “We’ve just got to focus on defense and taking care of the basketball better.”
While shooters like Trey Calvin and Tanner Holden have been shooting from range the most for WSU, Basile has shown that he can also shoot from range when needed, hitting 29 3-pointers so far this year.
The big man has shown that he is the premier center in the Horizon League, dominating other centers in the paint, especially in recent games, but also surprising opponents from range.
