STORYLINES
Wayne State will host Michigan Tech on Thursday night and Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon.  The Warriors will attempt to end a three-game losing streak.

THE SERIES
Wayne State leads 55-36 in the all-time series against Michigan Tech.  The Warriors are 34-11 vs. the Huskies at home.  The teams did not meet last season, but MTU has won five of the last six contests.  WSU won in Detroit on Jan. 5, 2019 (67-54).  WSU also leads the all-time series vs. Northern Michigan, 41-37, including a 27-15 mark at home.  The Warriors and Wildcats last met on Jan. 4, 2020, in Marquette, where NMU won 58-55.  Wayne State had won three of four prior to that meeting.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Michigan Tech enters the week at 9-3 overall and 5-1 in GLIAC games.  Head coach Josh Buettner is in his first season with the program and has the Huskies off to a fast start.  MTU has won three straight, including wins over Parkside (59-53) and Purdue Northwest (83-55) last week in Houghton.  Senior guard Owen White was the GLIAC Player of the Year last season and is averaging 16.8 points per night, while shooting over 50 percent (77-of-150) from the floor.  Junior guard Eric Carl is adding 12.8 points per game and freshman guard Adam Hobson is pouring in an average of 12.3 points per contest.  Senior forward Trent Bell is one of the better big men in the conference and is pulling down 7.5 boards per game to go with 9.3 points per contest.  Junior guard Carter Johnston is dishing out 4.1 helpers per night.  As a team, the Huskies are scoring 74.6 points per game and allowing 66.7 points per contest, while shooting 49 percent from the floor, 39 percent from three-point range and 72 percent from the free throw line.

Northern Michigan is 6-7 overall with a 2-4 GLIAC record.  Head coach Matt Majkrzak is in his third season with the team.  The Wildcats are led by senior guard Max Bjorklund, who is averaging 16.4 points per game.  Graduate student forward John Kerr is scoring 11.1 points per night and is one of the better shooters in the league at 59 percent.  Kerr is also the team's top rebounder at 6.2 boards per contest.  Freshman guard Brian Parzych leads the team with 3.4 assists per night.  As a team, the Wildcats are scoring 77.5 points per game and allowing 69 points per outing.  NMU is shooting 44 percent from the floor, 36 percent from behind the arc and 70 percent at the charity stripe.

LAST TIME OUT
WSU was blitzed by a hot-shooting Ferris State team on Monday, 104-73.  The Warriors trailed by two midway through the opening half (29-27 / 8:06), but FSU led 51-36 at halftime.  The Bulldogs held onto the momentum over the second 20 minutes.  Brailen Neely scored a game-high 24 points, while Darian Owens-White had 13 points and Kylin Grant finished with 10 points.  Neely also dished out a game-best seven assists.  The Bulldogs went 15-of-29 from behind the arc, while WSU was just 4-of-17 on its three-point attempts.

WINNING DOWN LOW
Wayne State went 0-for-10 on three-point attempts vs. Northwood on Dec. 11, 2021, 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 win previously without making a long-range shot was 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 has led at halftime in five games this season, including a two-point lead at LSSU on Jan. 8th, but the Warriors are 1-4 in those contests.  In addition, Wayne State has led in eight of the nine games this season.

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 vs. Northwood and had four swats vs. SVSU.  The five blocks are the most rejections since Antonio Marshall had five on Jan. 26, 2021, vs. Ashland.  Martin ranks fourth in the GLIAC with 1.3 blocks per game.

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 10 rebounds at Grand Valley State.  Hughes set season-highs with seven points and 11 rebounds vs. Saginaw Valley.  For the season, he has 50 rebounds and 26 points in 119 minutes of action through eight games played (did not play at Ashland in the season opener), while shooting 77 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe.

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.  Former student-athlete and volunteer coach Andy Dold will join Brechmacher on Thursday, while former Warrior Chuck Key will provide commentary on Saturday.

FAN POLICY
Due to University policies, fans will not be permitted to attend home athletic events for the month of January.  Stay tuned to WSUAthletics.com for updates.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game, will be available to stream pay-per-view via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.  Season ticket holders will have free access to the broadcasts.