Men's Basketball | 1/4/2017 8:40:00 AM

DETROIT -- The first-place Wayne State University men's basketball program (8-1, 5-0) will look to begin 2017 the same way it finished 2016 - winning.  The Warriors enter the new year with an eight-game winning streak, the program's longest since 2011.  Wayne State will need to handle the top two teams in the GLIAC South Division if it wants to remain unbeaten in league contests.  WSU will travel to Walsh (9-3, 3-3 GLIAC) on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup and then to Findlay (10-3, 4-2 GLIAC) on Saturday to conclude the road trip.

STORYLINES
The Warriors will return to the court after a 20-day break looking to continue what was a special start to the 2016-17 season.  Wayne State has won eight consecutive games, including three by 20 points or more.  WSU will close out its schedule against the GLIAC South Division this week, facing the top two teams in the division - Walsh on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Findlay on Saturday at 3 p.m.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 2-4 in the all-time series against Walsh.  The Warriors won games on Jan. 31, 2015, at home and Jan. 30, 2016, at Walsh.  WSU is 1-2 in North Canton, Ohio, in the series.

WSU trails 17-29 in the all-time series against Findlay.  The Warriors have lost five straight, including an overtime loss on Feb. 2, 2015, in Detroit.  Head coach David Greer is 8-26 vs. the Oilers, including a 3-20 mark on the road.  The teams have met twice recently in the GLIAC Tournament, with each side winning once.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Walsh enters this week's schedule at 9-3 overall and 3-3 in league games.  The Cavaliers alternated wins and losses throughout December.  Head coach Jeff Young is in his 11th season and is the winningest coach in program history with 273 victories.  Senior guard Zac Carter is the team's leading scorer at 23.0 points per game, which ranks second in the league.  In addition, he has been named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on two occasions (Nov. 28th & Dec. 20th).  His teammate, senior forward Trey Fletcher is third in the GLIAC in scoring at 20.3 points per night and also ranks fifth in the league with 7.8 rebounds per game.  Fletcher was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on Dec. 5th.  As a team, Walsh is scoring 85.3 points per game and is allowing 72.7 points per contest.

Findlay is in first place in the GLIAC South Division at 10-3 overall and 4-2 in league matchups.  The Oilers have won five straight games and have scored over 100 points in three of their last four games entering this week.  Head coach Charlie Ernst is in his sixth season with UF and has an overall record of 116-43.  Junior guard Martyce Kimbrough ranks fifth in the conference at 18.1 points per game, while junior forward Taren Sullivan is averaging 18.1 points per contest and leads the squad with 6.4 rebounds per night.  As a team, Findlay is averaging 88.8 points per game and is allowing 69.5 points per contest.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State raced past Ohio Dominican, 82-59, on Dec. 15th inside the Matthaei for its eighth straight win.  The Warriors have won eight straight contests for the first time since 2011-12.  The 8-1 start is also the best start since that same 2011-12 squad.  WSU ended the calendar year in first place atop the GLIAC.  It did not start well for WSU, as the visitors tallied the first five points of the game.  Marcus Moore tied the game at 5-5 with a fast break dunk at the 13:53 mark.  A 9-0 run capped by a Clark Bishop jumper gave the Green & Gold a 14-7 advantage with 10:30 left to play in the first half.  A conventional three-point play from ODU's Shemar Waugh at the five-minute mark tied the game at 22-22.  However, the Warriors would end the half on an 11-0 run to take a 33-22 lead into the locker rooms.  Similar to the start of the opening period, the Panthers scored the first five points of the second half to trim WSU's lead to 33-27 two-and-a-half minutes into the stanza.  The Warriors quickly regained their double-digit lead, 39-29, on a layup from George Spencer with 16:48 remaining.  Spencer continued his career night with another bucket at the 12:13 mark to give the home side a 46-35 lead.    ODU pulled within nine, 48-39, with 11:37 left to play but that would be as close as the Panthers would come the rest of the night.  A triple from Spencer put WSU up 57-39 at the 7:36 mark and a highlight reel sequence from Chuck Key pretty much ended any threat of a comeback.  The junior forward followed a missed jumper with a tip-dunk and swatted away an Ohio Dominican shot attempt on the very next play.

COACHING MILESTONE
With the win on Dec. 3rd over Hillsdale, David Greer became the winningest coach in the 99 years of Wayne State men's basketball.  He passed his predecessor Ron Hammye's mark of 212 victories, which he collected in his 13 seasons (1988-01).  

FAST STARTS
After beginning the 2014-15 season 0-4 and the 2015-16 campaign 0-5, the Warriors are off to a fast start at 8-1 (also won at Detroit Mercy in an exhibition matchup). Wayne State began the 2013-14 season 5-1, 2012-13 season 5-1, 2011-12 season 8-1, and the 2010-11 season 9-1.

WINNING STREAKS
The longest current winning streaks in Division II is 12 games by four programs.  There is an 11-game winning streak and five teams that have won 10 consecutive contests.  Three teams have won nine straight and WSU is one of two programs to have a current eight-game winning streak.  

The longest winning-streak in program history is 17 games done on two occasions in 1955-56 and 1994. Other streaks of note include 14, 12, 9 and this current rally is one of six other eight game winning-streaks in school history.

ROAD WOES
With wins over Tiffin and Ashland to improve to 2-1 on the road, Wayne State is off to a good start in overcoming what has been a hurdle in past seasons, winning on the road. Over the past 16 seasons under head coach David Greer, Wayne State has just four winning road records.  In total, WSU is 72-120 (.375) away from the Matthaei in true road games.  Compared to WSU's 133-66 (.668) record inside the Matthaei.

CAN THEY KEEP IT UP?
The solid shooting by the Green & Gold has obviously powered its 8-1 start but WSU is on a historic pace in terms of the program's record book.  Currently, Wayne State is shooting at a .484 clip, which would be the highest since the 1993-94 team shot nearly 52 percent.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA stats release, WSU ranks sixth in scoring defense (62.8), 22nd in winning percentage (.889), 26th in fewest turnovers (118), 30th in turnover margin (+3.9), 37th in turnovers forced (17.0 per game), and 40th in opponents field goal percentage (.409).  Ronald Booth ranks 40th nationally in minutes per game (35:33) and 41st in steals per game (2.22).

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game beginning in 2017 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  The crew of Sean Baligian, Rod Beard, Joe Abramson and Tony Ortiz will call the action. 

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on the radio on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Fans can also stream the action online newstalk1400.us.  Joining Kevin for home games will be WSU alum Kendall LeSure, who played at Wayne State from 2000-04 and scored 1,068 points during his career.