Men's Basketball 1/10/2018 5:17:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Basketball Hosts SVSU, Travels To Northwood

Warriors look to continue momentum from last week.

STORYLINES
Wayne State moved within a game of the top spot in the GLIAC with the win over previously conference unbeaten Lake Superior State last Saturday. With the league schedule one-third complete, the Warriors are tied-for-fourth at 5-2, while LSSU, Ferris State and Northern Michigan are all at 6-1.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 35-37 in the all-time series against SVSU. The Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cardinals with a 57-53 triumph at the Matthaei last February in the regular-season finale. Coach Greer is 12-11 vs. Saginaw Valley, including a 7-4 mark in Midtown Detroit. WSU has a 19-15 record all-time at home against SVSU. In the last meeting, Wayne State did not allow a point in the final 4:45 to rally from a 53-45 deficit by scoring the game's final 12 points.

The Green & Gold have a 41-28 edge in the all-time series with Northwood, including wins in four of the last five meetings. The Warriors are 15-17 at the Bennett Center/Riepma Arena and snapped a six-game losing streak at NU with last February's 77-68 victory. Coach Greer has compiled a 14-11 record vs. the Timberwolves during his tenure at WSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Saginaw Valley is 2-1 in league play since starting the conference season with four consecutive losses. Mike Wells, Jr. leads SVSU in scoring at 10.7 PPG, while DJ Hoskins is next at 10.6 PPG. Hoskins has team-high totals of 29 steals and 24 triples. Sebastiano Lamonato is the team leader in rebounds with 67, with Malik Garner dishing out a team-high 61 assists. Eight players average at least 16 minutes per contest.

Northwood has lost 10 of its last 11 games heading into Thursday's game at Davenport. NU's lone win was an 81-68 victory over future GLIAC member Wisconsin-Parkside on Dec. 19. Trey McBride is averaging a team-best 10.9 PPG and has a team-high 23 steals. Zach Allread leads the squad with 63 rebounds, while Nick Spitzley has made a team-high 24 triples. Nate Georgeton is one of three NU players with at least 20 assists (32).

LAST TIME OUT
Less than 48 hours after having a 16-point second half lead evaporate into an 86-80 setback at No. 10 Ferris State, Wayne State never trailed in the final 15:30 against Lake Superior State. Ronald Booth connected on a pull-up jumper and made the foul shot to give the hosts a 61-58 lead. Marcus Moore was fouled with 12.2 seconds remaining. Despite missing two foul shots with 1:21 on the clock, Moore sank both free throws pushing Wayne State's advantage to three (63-60). LSSU missed two three-point attempts in the waning seconds. Booth had a team-high 17 points, while also leading the squad with three steals. Chuck Key contributed 16 points.

STARTING FIVE
Wayne State has introduced the same starting five in all 12 games this season. The quintet have all scored in double-digits on three occasions - Kentucky Wesleyan, the league-opening win over Grand Valley State, and the loss at Ferris State. Four of the five accomplished the feat at Purdue Northwest and at Davenport.

DEFENSE WINNING GAMES
Wayne State ranks third in the GLIAC in scoring defense, allowing 67.5 points per game. The Warriors have allowed more than 73 points in a game just once this season. After limiting Ferris State to 33 points in the first 21:30 minutes, the Bulldogs exploded for 53 points over the final 18:30 minutes.

RAINING THREES
Ronald Booth's six triples at Purdue Northwest on Dec. 2nd, tied for the fourth most in a game in program history. Hall of Famer Kris Krzyminski set the record with 11 in 2006. He also has the second most (7), which he and Kendall LeSure (2003) both accomplished. Booth joins six others to connect on six three-pointers. Booth ranks eighth all-time with 122 career three-pointers. He needs 19 more triples to move into the top five.

HISTORICAL VICTORY
Earlier this season, the men's basketball program won its 800th game (76-73 over GVSU) as Wayne State University (1956-present). In the 100 years of basketball, WSU has won 1,220 games (first 60 as Detroit Junior College [1918-23], 120 as College of the City of Detroit/CCD [1924-34], and 235 as Wayne University [1934-56]).

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA stat release, Wayne State ranks 20th in both fewest turnovers (140) and three-point defense (30.5%), 30th in scoring defense (67.5 PPG), 37th in fewest fouls (214), and 46th in turnovers per game (11.7).

WSU has played five teams that already have double-digit win totals (Bellarmine at 13-0, Ferris State at 16-1, Ashland and Lake Superior at 12-3, and Alderson Broaddus at 10-4). Just one of WSU's losses is against a team currently under .500 (Lewis is at 7-8). To date, WSU has played the 35th toughest schedule (out of 312 schools) with an opponents winning percentage of .586 (78-55).

RELYING ON THE STARTERS
All five WSU starters have scored at least 116 points this season, while the bench has combined for 90 points.

MAKING FREE THROWS COUNT
Wayne State entered 2018 ranked ninth in the GLIAC in free throw percentage at .694 (109-of-157). In both games last week, the Warriors made over 80 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. WSU went 17-of-20 (85 percent) at Ferris State, and made 13-of-16 (83 percent) vs. Lake Superior.

800-CLUB
A trio of Warriors have surpassed the 800-point plateau this season, with senior Ronald Booth leading the way. Booth is 24th in career scoring with 962 career points and needs 38 points to become the 18th player in WSU history with 1,000 points, and the fourth under Coach Greer joining Bryan Smothers (1,175), Kendall LeSure (1,068) and Ian Larkin (1,022).

Senior Chuck Key has 854 points, while classmate Marcus Moore has 833 career points, just five behind former teammate Michael Lewis, who is in 38th place all-time.

MOST IMPROVED TEAMS
Wayne State was one of the most improved teams in the country last season, adding nine wins from its 2015-16 total and subtracting eight losses. WSU has a 7-5 mark this year with Thursday's game being number 13 out of 25, and the Warriors are on pace for another 16 win season.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game in 2018 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast/CN 900. Sean Baligian (play-by-play), Rod Beard (analyst) and Joe Abramson (sideline) will call the action.

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, joins Brechmacher for home games.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Ian Larkin: F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore

#11 Bryan Smothers: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#20 Michael Lewis: F; 6' 3"; Graduate Student

#3 Ronald Booth: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#23 Chuck Key: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#4 Marcus Moore: G; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Ian Larkin
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Sophomore
: F

#11 Bryan Smothers
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#20 Michael Lewis
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student
: F

#3 Ronald Booth
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#23 Chuck Key
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#4 Marcus Moore
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G