Men's Basketball | 11/10/2017 9:10:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (0-0) will officially begin the 2017-18 season this weekend by hosting the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge.  The Warriors will host Alderson Broaddus (0-0) on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and 24th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan (1-1) on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
The Warriors are participating in the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge for the fourth consecutive season and WSU will be hosting for the second time.  Wayne State was tabbed as the second best team in the GLIAC South Division in the preseason coaches poll.  The 100th season of basketball at Wayne State has the makings of a special one as WSU has been a team on the rise the past few seasons and it has all been leading to the 2017-18 campaign.  Wayne State was one of the most improved teams in all of Division II last season, adding nine victories from its 2015-16 win total.

THE SERIES
The Green & Gold have won three of the four meetings against Alderson Broaddus, including a 79-59 victory last season in Owensboro, Ky.  WSU has never beaten Kentucky Wesleyan in four attempts.  The Panthers won last season's meeting 71-54 on their home court.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Greg Zimmerman returns to Alderson Broaddus for his 17th season as head coach of the Battlers where he has led ABU to a record of 359-129 (.736).  Returnees for the Battlers include, sophomore guard Malik Bocook, who averaged 15.9 points per game and 9.9 rebounds a game on his way to being named the G-MAC Freshman of the Year.  In addition, he was named to the All-G-MAC First Team and the D2 Bulletin Freshman All-American team.  Also returning to the roster are seniors Chavez Harper (6.7 PPG / 5.8 RPG), Sam Sanders (9.9 PPG) and Mike Mitchell (7.9 PPG).  The Battlers were predicted to finish fourth in the G-MAC preseason coaches poll.  

Kentucky Wesleyan, the 2016-17 G-MAC regular season and tournament champions, have nine returnees in 2017-18.  The Panthers posted a 28-3 record last season, with all three losses coming on neutral courts.  Kentucky Wesleyan will look to protect its 48 home-game winning streak at the Owensboro Sportscenter which is the third longest in program history.  KWC program standouts Ken-Jah Bosley (Israel) and Jordan Jacks (Finland) have each graduated and moved on to the professional ranks.  Head coach Happy Osborne is in his fourth season with the program.  The Panthers were predicted to finish second in the G-MAC preseason coaches poll.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State met Detroit Mercy for its only exhibition of the season on Nov. 4th and the Warriors won for the second consecutive season, 79-77.  Ronald Booth led all scorers with 27 points, while Latin Davis, Jr. added 21 in the winning effort.  WSU held the Titans to 34.5 percent shooting in the second half, while the Warriors posted a 50 percent shooting performance to outscore UDM 48-40 over the final 20 minutes.  More importantly, all proceeds from ticket sales (over $5,000) will be donated to Detroit Public Schools K-5 with Michigan First Credit Union contributing a matching donation for all tickets sold.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Wayne State University men's basketball program has been selected to finished second in the GLIAC South Division by the conference coaches.  The Warriors received 58 points and four first-place votes.  In addition, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore were voted to the Preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team.  The 58 points and four first-place votes were the third most overall in the 12-team league.  Ferris State was tabbed as the favorite to win the North Division (66 points / 11 first-place votes), while Ashland (63 points / 8 first-place votes) edged WSU for the top spot in the South Division.

MOST IMPROVED TEAMS
Wayne State was one of the most improved teams in the country last season, adding nine wins to its 2015-16 win total and subtracting eight losses.

REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Three of the top 10 teams in the Midwest Region will be competing inside the Matthaei this weekend.  According to the D2SIDA Preseason Regional Poll, Kentucky Wesleyan is seventh, Wayne State is ninth and Lake Superior State is tied-for-10th.  WSU's next opponent Bellarmine is ranked third nationally and holds the top spot in the region entering the 2017-18 season.

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
WSU's non-conference schedule could be the toughest of any GLIAC program.  After an exhibition win at DI Detroit Mercy, the Warriors host two strong in-region opponents in Alderson Broaddus and Kentucky Wesleyan before welcoming Bellarmine, who is ranked third nationally to begin the season.  The early portion of the non-GLIAC schedule concludes with a trip to Lewis on Nov. 25th.

COACHING MILESTONE
With the win on Dec. 3rd over Hillsdale last season, 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). 

WINNING STREAKS
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, and the nine-game winning streak for the 2016-17 team is one of four of that length in program history and the longest since 1998-99.

RETURNING CORE
The returning trio of Ronald Booth, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore scored 60 percent of the points last season.

20-POINT WINS
WSU collected six 20-point victories during the 2016-17 season, including a 23-point win over Northwood on Jan. 26th and a 24-point win against Lake Superior State on Jan. 28th.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game in 2018 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast/CN 900.

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