Wright State
continued from C1
“It’s the toughest schedule as a coach I’ve ever had for sure. And we’re not done with it.”
The Raiders also played Toledo at home, handing the Rockets their only loss in eight games. And they still have road games at Kent State, which is 7-1, and against 22nd-ranked Mississippi State.
They host rival Miami (4-4) at 7 p.m. today. And Nagy, who is in his third year with the Raiders and 24th year overall, is less concerned with the record and more intent on making sure his players don’t lose belief in themselves through this stretch.
“If you go through that, does it hurt the players’ confidence? Do they question themselves? I think we have an old enough team that it shouldn’t happen,” he said. “We played Indiana State really hard (in a 69-63 loss Saturday). We just missed a lot of easy shots. It’s the first time we’ve played hard enough on the road to win the game and understood how hard you have to play. I felt good about that.”
One difference in the schedule this year is the Raiders didn’t have their holiday tournament like the last two seasons, giving them two fewer home games.
“You look around the country, and teams win most of their non-conference home games and lose most of their non-conference road games. That’s just the way it works. And all of our road games have been tough ones. But still, if we’re going to be a championship team, we have to go win some of those games,” Nagy said.
The Raiders were 4-4 last season before rallying to a 25-10 record. But point guard Cole Gentry became eligible in the 10th game and provided a lift, while Nagy has fewer options this year and rotated just seven players at Indiana State.
Along with losing Hall, freshman forward Grant Basile, who was expected to provide inside depth, is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery.
Freshman guard Skyelar Potter also missed practice this week after learning of the death of his stepmother over the weekend, but he’s expected to be available for Miami.
“It can be done,” Nagy said of playing with a thin bench. “You just have to play slower, a little more methodical.”
But demanding high minutes from so many starters can be taxing.
“It’s hard for (6-9 center) Loudon Love at 280 pounds to play 35 minutes a game. We’d like to get the rotation to eight if we could,” Nagy said.
Despite the rocky start, Gentry believes the Raiders can catch fire like last season.
“Nobody is thrilled to be 4-4, but we’re taking stuff from every game and we’re learning,” he said. “It can be done. We showed that last year. But it doesn’t just happen. We’ve got to make the changes.
“Everybody is still together and nobody is down. We’ve just got to keep improving and take the necessary steps to get where we want to be.”
TODAY’S GAME: MIAMI AT WRIGHT STATE
7 p.m., ESPN3, 106.5-FM, 980-AM
■ RECORDS: Miami (4-4); Wright State (4-4)
■ SERIES RECORD: Miami leads 20-13
■ COACHES: Scott Nagy is 49-26 in his third year at Wright State and 459-266 in 24 years overall. Jack Owens, a former Purdue assistant, is 20-22 in his second year at Miami. PROBABLE STARTERS WRIGHT STATE HT. Mark Hughes 6-4 Cole Gentry 5-10 Loudon Love 6-9 Bill Wampler 6-6 Parker Ernsthausen 6-11 MIAMI
Jalen Adaway Dalonte Brown
Aleks Abrams
Darrian Ringo Abdoulaye Harouna 6-5 6-7 6-8 6-2 6-5 Sr. Jr. So. Jr. Sr. So. So. Sr. Sr. Sr. G G F F C G F F G G 10.1 13.4 15.0 15.3 5.0 7.5 15.8 2.9 5.9 4.8 ■ The Raiders are coming off a 69-63 loss at Indiana State. They’re 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road and at neutral sites . ... They’re shooting 43.4 percent from the field but hitting 38.5 on 3-pointers. Hughes is 18-of-39 (46.2 percent), Gentry 17-of-38 (44.7) and Wampler 18-of48 (38.5) . ... Wampler (seventh) and Love (ninth) are in the top 10 in the Horizon League in scoring, and Love is first in rebounding (10.1) and fourth in fieldgoal percentage (55.7). He has four straight doubledoubles and five this season, which is the ninth-most in the nation . ... Skyelar Potter, a 6-3 freshman guard, has made an instant impact, averaging 6.8 points (fifth on the team) and 6.3 rebounds (second) . ... The Raiders don’t have a deep bench, playing seven players against Indiana State . ... They have a plus-3.8 rebounding margin.
■ The RedHawks went 16-18 last season, their most wins in seven years, and played in the postseason CBI. They were picked to finish second in the MidAmerican Conference East Division and are coming off an 88-57 win over Wilberforce. They have lopsided losses to Butler and Xavier with a 30-point win over Army . ... Sophomore guard Nike Sabande, who was the MAC freshman of the year last season, started the first seven games but came off the bench against Wilberforce and had 16 points. He’s averaging a team-high 16.9 points and scored 15.1 per game last season . ... Ringo was a thirdteam all-league pick last season when he set the single-season school record for assists with 236 (a 6.9 average). He has a team-high 47 assists and 23 steals with 16 turnovers this year . ... Brown made the league all-freshman team last season, and junior forward Bam Bowman is the team’s third-leading scorer with a 9.4 average . ... The RedHawks have a plus-7.6 rebound margin per game.
■ The Raiders play their second straight MAC foe when they visit Kent State at 4 p.m. Saturday. Miami hosts Purdue Fort Wayne at 2.
— DOUG HARRIS