Sports Shorts | The Wright State Guardian
ESPN and WWSU106.9 Sports Broadcaster Shea Neal contributed to this article.
Looking ahead through the weekend of February 5th, Men’s Basketball will go on the road against UIC, Women’s Basketball will take on the number one Milwaukee at the Nutter Center, and Volleyball takes Oakland away.
I’ve got my own opinions about how the games will go, but it never hurts to have another sports nerd help me out. These are my takes and WWSU’s Shea Neal’s takes on how the weekend of February 5th looks for Raider Athletics.
Men’s Basketball VS UIC: Both Shea and Noah call a Raider 2-0
Noah: With Jaylon Hall (I believe) back in action playing defense for Wright State after his concussion last Friday, it just seems like one more hurdle that the Flames have to jump over in order to challenge this Raider side.
UIC just lost their last three games where WSU has won their last five, as well as just how scary the offensive side of this Raider squad is right now. Grant Basile and Loudon Love in the paint who both had career-high games last weekend, and if UIC puts too many guys to guard them, they still have the distance shooters to worry about.
It seems like Tanner Holden, Trey Calvin, Tim Finke, James Manns, and even Basile are hitting nearly every three-pointer they shoot, and if this team gets hot early into the game, the UIC defense is going to shatter.
Shea: I agree with Noah that while Wright State is away this team has been playing so well recently, especially with Loudon and Basile both playing in the paint.
The hot streak this team is on mixed with UIC’s losing streak just gives the Raiders too much of an edge over the Flames, and with how dominant Loudon and Grant have been playing UIC will just get overwhelmed on defense in both days.
Their distance shooters are also playing incredibly well right now, with Basile even able to reliably put shots in from distance. In rebounds as well, this team has one of the highest rebounds per game in the country, which will just compound for more points against UIC.
Women’s BB showdown with #1 Milwaukee: Both Shea and Noah say 1-1 split but on different days.
Noah: With Wright State playing at home, but with Milwaukee hungry for a win, I think we’re going to see a 1-1 split, with Milwaukee taking Friday and WSU taking Saturday’s game. Both the men’s and women’s sides seem to play similarly at home, where Friday they sometimes seem not ready but Saturday they come to play.
Even though Milwaukee did lose their last two games against Northern Kentucky, I think that will only motivate them more to play hard against the Raiders, where the Raiders’ last games versus 0-16 IPFW haven’t helped to prepare them against the potentially best team in the league.
Shea: I do think we’re going to see a 1-1 split as well, but WSU will take Friday with Milwaukee punching back on Saturday. The Panthers have lost two straight and WSU seems to have their confidence back with Angel Baker playing in form (and scoring her 1000th career point last weekend).
If Milwaukee loses on Friday, I definitely see them playing angry on Saturday because that loss on Friday would make both teams 12-3 in the league, so the winner most likely takes home a HL title, and with players like Megan Walstead for the Panthers, this team can be almost impossible to deal with.
Volleyball versus Oakland: Will we see two more sweeps?
Noah: This Wright State side is playing too well right now. They’re rated number one in the preseason and just swept both the second and third teams twice. I’d have to be close to crazy to predict anything other than a 2-0 for Wright State coming into these games. The Grizzlies are 4-0 though, so i don’t know if WSU will continue their games as dominant as they have been (without dropping a set).
Just with how good every piece of the puzzle seems to be for this team with Jenna Story, Lainey Stephenson and their entire attack, this team is the team to beat this year, no question in my mind. I probably will be proven wrong about this as the team sweeps their 6th game in a row, but maybe they’ll drop a set.
Shea: I’ve learned my lesson the hard way already with this team, so I won’t be doubting them anymore. I think we’re going to see a 3-0 in both games just like Northern Kentucky and Milwaukee just due to how outstanding their attack is.
With players like Celia Powers, Nyssa Baker, Teddie Sauer, Megan Alders, and many more on the team, their attack is so solid that for any team they face it has to be so difficult to prepare for Wright State.
Their defense with Jenna Story and serving with Ellee Ruskaup is on another level as well, even their coaching staff with Coach Matters is just doing so well right now.
