Cleveland State at Wright State: What to know about Thursday’s game

Who: Cleveland State (8-20, 3-12) at Wright State (16-11, 10-4)

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

TV: ESPN+

Radio: 106.5-FM

Series: Wright State leads 38-34

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 61-33 in his third year at Wright State and 471-273 in 24 years overall. Dennis Felton is 20-43 in his second year Cleveland State and 204-188 in 13 seasons overall, including stops at Western Kentucky and Georgia.

Probable Wright State starters

Mark Hughes, 6-4, Sr., G, 9.6

Cole Gentry, 5-10, Jr., G, 12.5

Alan Vest, 6-3, Sr., G, 4.8

Loudon Love, 6-9, So., F, 15.2

Parker Ernsthausen, 6-11, Sr., C, 4.7

Probable Cleveland State starters

Stefan Kenic, 6-9, So., F, 9.5

Tyree Appleby, 6-1, So., G, 17.2

Dontel Highsmith, 6-2, Sr., G, 4.1

Jaalam Hill, 6-7, Jr., F, 10.3

David Payne, 6-5, Sr., F, 0.3

About Wright State: The Raiders have climbed to 143rd in the NET rankings (NCAA Evaluation Tool), second in the league behind Northern Kentucky at 110th. The schedule is favorable the rest of the way since their last four opponents are outside the top 200: Cleveland State (294th), Youngstown State (259th), Green Bay (216th) and Milwaukee (298th). … They're second in the league and 50th nationally (out of 351 teams) in foul shooting at 74.2 percent. Milwaukee is first in the conference at 74.7. They're 66th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.9 and 89th in rebound margin at plus-3.3. … The Raiders lead the league in home attendance with an average of 3,938. A crowd of 6,233 was a huge factor in an 81-77 win Friday over NKU, fueling a rally from a 16-point deficit. Nagy called the support "great" and said: "If we could just get it like that every night — obviously we have to win in order to make it like that. But those people coming out and experiencing a great college basketball game will, hopefully, bring them back."

About Cleveland State: The Vikings, who are 0-11 on the road, finished the home portion of their schedule with an 89-86 win over IUPUI. They shot a season-high 59.3 percent from the field, and Appleby had 26 points and 11 rebounds. … They were blitzed at home by Wright State, 89-66, in the first meeting. Loudon Love had 23 points and Bill Wampler 21 to lead the Raiders. …They're a high-volume 3-point shooting team. They're in the top-20 nationally in attempts and makes while shooting 36.6 percent, which is 56th. It's no secret why they're in last place in the league. They're 325th in scoring defense, giving up 78 points per game, and 319th in rebound margin at minus-3.9.

Coming up: The Raiders finish their regular-season home schedule against YSU at 3 p.m. Sunday, then play at Green Bay on Thursday, Feb. 28, and Milwaukee on March 1.

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