DETROIT -- With six games remaining in the regular season, the Wayne State University men's basketball program (11-8 Overall, 9-5 GLIAC) will look to continue its momentum as the Warriors travel Grand Valley State (11-11 Overall, 6-8 GLIAC) on Thursday night before hosting Purdue Northwest (1-21 Overall, 1-13 GLIAC).

STORYLINES
Wayne State brings a three-game winning streak into the home stretch of the regular season.  The Warriors play Grand Valley State inside the DeltaPlex on Thursday night before hosting Purdue Northwest on Saturday afternoon.  With six games to play, WSU is tied for the fourth seed in the GLIAC standings and has its sights set on a home playoff game.  The top four seeds will host the first round of the GLIAC Tournament at the end of the month.

THE SERIES
WSU trails 33-48 in the all-time series against GVSU, including a 13-25 mark in road games.  However, the Warriors have won the last two meetings, including the season's first matchup (76-73 in Detroit on Nov. 30th).  Head coach David Greer is 12-12 versus the Lakers.  

In the first-ever meeting against the newly formed Purdue Northwest squad, WSU won 73-66 on Dec. 2nd in Indiana.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
GVSU enters the week at 11-11 overall and 6-8 in the league standings, which is good for the seventh seed.  The Lakers dropped both games last week in the Upper Peninsula vs. Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.  Thursday's contest begins a four-game home stand.  Head coach Ric Wesley is in his 14th season with the program.  Sophomore guard Hunter Hale leads the roster with 13.6 points per game, while freshman forward Jake Van Tubbergen (10.9 PPG) and senior guard Myles Miller (10.4 PPG) are both averaging in double figures.  Van Tubbergen is GVSU's top rebounder at 6.2 boards per night and Miller is dishing out a team-best 3.0 assists per game.  The Lakers are the best rebounding team in the league with 40.2 boards per game and a rebounding margin of +7.9.  

Still finding its footing in its new league and within the NCAA, Purdue Northwest is 1-21 overall and 1-13 in the league.  Head coach Matt Bush in his second season with the Pride.  Senior center Torrance Johnson is the team's leading scorer (13.8 PPG) and rebounder (7.4 RPG).  PNW is allowing 83.5 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State edged Tiffin on Saturday afternoon and needed overtime to secure its third straight win, 71-68.  It was the first OT contest of the season for Wayne State.  The Warriors scored the first seven points of the extra session and held off a late rally by the Dragons to secure the victory.  A layup by Chuck Key with 9.8 seconds left tied the game at 55-55.  Key sent the game to overtime with a block on Alex Brown's potential game-winning layup on the final play of regulation.  Marcus Moore paced WSU with 20 points, while also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out six assists.  Ronald Booth finished with 16 points and George Spencer tallied 14.  Key notched his fifth career double-double (second of the season) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

STARTING FIVE
Wayne State has introduced the same starting five in all 19 games this season.  The quintet have all scored in double-digits on four occasions - Kentucky Wesleyan, the league-opening win over Grand Valley State, the loss at Ferris State and against Northern Michigan.  Four of the five accomplished the feat on five occasions, including each of the last two contests.  The five Warriors have scored 1,152 of the 1,288 total points WSU has scored this season, or 89 percent.

PLAYOFF MAGIC NUMBERS
Wayne State's magic number to secure a spot in the GLIAC Tournament is three and the magic number to clinch a home game to begin the playoffs is seven.  A "magic number" represents the total of WSU plus losses by the rival teams after.

DEFENSE WINNING GAMES
Wayne State is second in the GLIAC and 23rd nationally in scoring defense, allowing 67.5 points per game.  The Warriors had allowed more than 73 points in a game just once this season, prior to both Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan surpassing the mark.  WSU has been especially stingy against the three-pointer, as opponents are shooting just 31.5 percent, which is the 18th best three-point defense in Division II.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FREEBIES
During the three-game winning streak, the Warriors are shooting 89 percent from the free throw line (50-for-56).  George Spencer has made 31 consecutive free throws dating back to the Jan. 11th game vs. Saginaw Valley State, including a 7-for-7 performance against Davenport to help him match his career-high of 23 points.  Ronald Booth has made 31 of his last 33 attempts from the charity stripe.  Booth ranks second in the league with a .855 free throw percentage, while Spencer would rank fourth at .841 but does not qualify due to per game minimums.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA stat release, Wayne State ranks 12th in fewest turnovers (223), 18th in defending the three-pointer (.315), 23rd in scoring defense (67.5 PPG) and 47th in free-throw percentage (.751).  To date, WSU has played the 93rd toughest schedule (out of 312 schools) with an opponent's winning percentage of .528 (163-146).  That strength of schedule ranks third in the GLIAC.

900 CLUB
A trio of Warriors have surpassed the 900-point plateau this season, with senior Ronald Booth leading the way.  Booth is 17th in career scoring with 1,072 career points and became the 18th player in WSU history with 1,000 points in January.  He is the fourth under Coach Greer joining Bryan Smothers (1,175), Kendall LeSure (1,068) and Ian Larkin (1,022) to accomplish the feat.  Senior Chuck Key has 954 points, while classmate Marcus Moore has 917 career points.

ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
A couple of Warriors are in the top 70 in terms of active career leaders within Division II.  Marcus Moore ranks 35th in steals (136) and 36th in assists (344), while Ronald Booth is 70th with his 15.3 points per game average.

KEY HOME STAND
Wayne State ended its key four-game home stand with two victories after dropping the first two contests to Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.  The Warriors topped Davenport on Jan. 27th to end a three-game losing streak before avenging a 22-point loss at Ashland in December with a 69-60 victory on Feb. 1st.  Four of the Green & Gold's final six games are on the road.  Currently, WSU is tied-for-fourth in the GLIAC standings at 9-5.  The top eight teams advance to the postseason and the top four seeds will host a opening round game.

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 1,221 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]).

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.  

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.