STORYLINES
Wayne State will look to build on the momentum gained from a 65-57 win over Northwood last Saturday when its hosts Saginaw Valley State on Saturday at 1:00 PM to conclude the 2021 portion of the GLIAC schedule.

THE SERIES
The Warriors trail 43-38 in the all-time series vs. Saginaw Valley State, but are 22-17 in home games.  Wayne State won the two regular-season meetings last year in Detroit, but the Cardinals had the last laugh with a 76-74 triumph in the GLIAC playoffs in a contest played in Hammond, Ind.  Prior to the two wins last season, SVSU had won five straight and nine of 11.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SVSU is off to a fast start at 7-3 overall, including a 2-1 GLIAC record.  The Cardinals bested Western Michigan 80-63 on Nov. 18th and won at Grand Valley State on Dec. 2nd.  Recently, SVSU lost at Davenport and beat Northwood in overtime.  Head coach Randy Baruth is in his 10th season leading the program.  Senior guard Delano Smith is one of the more prolific scorers in the region and leads the team with 18.1 points per game.  Senior guard Darnell Hoskins, Jr. is shooting over 44 percent from long range and scoring 12.3 points per night, while sophomore guard Maurice Barnett (11.4 PPG) and senior forward Tyler Witz (11.0) are both averaging at least 10 points per game.  Witz (6.9 RPG) is the team's top rebounder, while Smith leads the roster with 3.4 assists per game.  As a team, Saginaw Valley is scoring 81.4 points per game and allowing 73.1 points per night.  The Cards are shooting 49 percent from the floor, 37 percent from behind the arc and 71 percent at the charity stripe.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State topped Northwood 65-57 last Saturday for its first league win of the season.  The Warriors led by as many as 10 in the first half, but the Timberwolves trimmed the home lead to two, 42-40, with just over 13 minutes to play.  An 8-0 NU run trimmed WSU's lead to 57-55 at the 2:15 mark.  However, the Warriors responded with a 6-0 spurt, taking a 63-55 advantage with 23 seconds left.  Three Warriors finished with at least 10 points paced by Brailen Neely and Avery Lewis who both had 16 points.  Darian Owens-White chipped in with 11 points.  Both Neely and Tyree Martin pulled down nine rebounds.  Martin also swatted away five shots.

WINNING DOWN LOW
Wayne State went 0-for-10 on three-point attempts vs. Northwood, breaking a streak of 35 games with a made triple.  The Green & Gold went 0-for-10 vs. Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 23, 2020.  WSU last won without making a long-range shot on Jan. 11, 2018, vs. SVSU (74-57).

On the other side of the coin, Wayne State grabbed 51 rebounds compared to Northwood's 34 and turned 20 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.

FIRST HALF WARRIORS
WSU led at halftime in both games during the first week of conference play (33-31 at DU and 33-23 at GVSU), but were unable to hold onto those advantages.  The Warriors were able to hold onto a first-half lead (33-26) to win against Northwood.  In addition, Wayne State has led in five of the six games this season.

HOME GLIAC OPENERS
Wayne State is 9-2 in the first home GLIAC game of the season during the past 11 seasons, including last Saturday's victory over Northwood.

WAYNE STATE FIELDHOUSE
Wayne State opened its brand new basketball fieldhouse against Michigan in an exhibition contest on Nov. 5th in front of a sold out crowd.  The night featured several special moments including a pre-game ceremony that featured basketball alumni (Bob Holmes and Shareta Brown) and coaches (Ron Hammye, David Greer and Carrie Lohr), University president Dr. M. Roy Wilson, and Detroit Pistons Vice Chair Arn Tellem.  Halftime featured a performance from Spyder Turner.  Several community and University leaders were on hand, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and the WSU Board of Governors.

1,000-POINT SCORER
Brailen Neely entered this season with 993 career points combined between his time at Oakland and now as a Warrior.  With 21 points at Ashland on Nov. 12, he surpassed the 1,000-point plateau, which includes 795 points for the Green & Gold.

2021 POSTSEASON AWARDS
Last season, Darian Owens-White was a First Team All-Midwest District and a First Team All-GLIAC honoree, while Brailen Neely was a Second Team All-Region and a First Team All-GLIAC selection.  Owens-White was the first Wayne State student-athlete to be voted to the NABC All-District First Team since Tony Goins in 1998-99.  Avery Lewis earned Second Team All-GLIAC recognition, while also being a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.  It was the first time WSU had two First Team All-GLIAC selections since Mike Hollingsworth and Bryan Smothers collected the awards following the 2010-11 season.

TYREE'S BLOCK PARTY
Newcomer Tyree Martin blocked five shots last Saturday.  It is the most rejections since Antonio Marshall had five on Jan. 26, 2021, vs. Ashland.

NEW SHOT CALLER
Wayne State has a new man in the first chair for the first time since the 2000-01 season in interim head coach E.J. Haralson.  This comes after the program's winningest coach David Greer announced his retirement on Nov. 17th.

FRESHMAN BIG MAN
Freshman forward David Hughes has been impressive when on the court this season.  He totaled six points and nine rebounds vs. Hillsdale and then grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds at Grand Valley State.  Hughes has 33 rebounds and 12 points with two steals in 74 minutes of action through five games played (did not play at Ashland in the season opener).

DANCING IN MARCH
The Green & Gold played in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history a year ago, and for the first time since 2013.  Head coach David Greer guided Wayne State to the national tournament on five occasions (2004, 2005, 2011, 2013 and 2021).  The last time WSU won a game in the NCAAs was in 2005 when the Warriors topped Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 56-55, in Findlay, Ohio.

GLIAC CHAMPS
The Green & Gold won its eighth GLIAC championship last year and its first outright GLIAC regular-season title since the 1998-99 season.  Following that 1998-99 season, WSU topped Saginaw Valley State, Gannon and Michigan Tech to win the tournament title.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every Wayne State contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game, will be available to stream pay-per-view via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.