STORYLINES
Wayne State has won back-to-back games for the first time this season and have been a problem for teams in the GLIAC the second time through the schedule.  WSU will travel to the U.P. to meet Northern Michigan on Thursday night before playing at Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon.

THE SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series vs. Northern Michigan, 41-38, including an 13-21 mark on the road.  The Warriors and Wildcats met on Jan. 15th earlier this season in Detroit and NMU won that contest 88-78.  The teams have split the last four meetings.  Wayne State had won three straight in Marquette until a 58-55 setback on January 4, 2020.

Wayne State leads 55-37 in the all-time series against Michigan Tech.  The Warriors are 18-23 vs. the Huskies on the road.  MTU won the season's first match-up inside the Wayne State Fieldhouse, 62-51, and have won six of the last seven games in the series.  WSU's last win in Houghton was in 2017.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Northern Michigan is 12-11 overall with an 8-8 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 14.8 points per game.  Junior guard Justin Brookens has come on strong as of late and is scoring 11.9 points per game to go with 2.8 assists per night.  Graduate student forward John Kerr is scoring 11.7 points per night and is one of the better shooters in the league at 57 percent.  Kerr is also the team's top rebounder at 7.2 boards per contest.  Freshman guard Brian Parzych leads the team with 2.9 assists per night.  As a team, the Wildcats are scoring 78.2 points per game and allowing 71.3 points per outing.  NMU is shooting 45 percent from the floor, 37 percent from behind the arc and 71 percent at the charity stripe.

Michigan Tech enters the week at 17-5 overall and 13-3 in GLIAC games.  Head coach Josh Buettner is in his first season leading the program and has the Huskies in second place within striking distance of top-seed Ferris State.  MTU has won seven straight, including road wins over Davenport (84-72) and Grand Valley State (75-67) last week.  Senior guard Owen White was the GLIAC Player of the Year last season and is averaging 17.0 points per night, while shooting nearly 50 percent (142-of-290) from the floor.  Freshman guard Adam Hobson is pouring in an average of 12.6 points per contest, while junior guard Eric Carl is adding 12.1 points per game.  Senior forward Trent Bell is the reigning GLIAC North Division Player of the Week and is pulling down 8.8 boards per game to go with 11.2 points per contest.  Junior guard Carter Johnston is dishing out 4.4 helpers per night.  As a team, the Huskies are scoring 73.6 points per game and allowing 64.8 points per contest, while shooting 48 percent from the floor, 38 percent from three-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line.

LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors improved their home record to 5-5 with a 72-67 win over Parkside on Feb. 12th.  The teams were tied 32-32 at halftime, but WSU did enough in the second half to collect its second straight win.  Avery Lewis notched his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Ray Williams finished with 15 points and six boards, while Brailen Neely and David Hughes both had 11 points.  Antonio Marshall added 10 points.

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES
All five starters scored in double figures in the win over Parkside last Saturday.  It is the first time WSU had five score at least 10 points since Feb. 6, 2021.  Prior to that WSU had done it against Davenport on Jan, 16, 2021.

A HELPING HAND
Brailen Neely is moving up the charts within the program's record book in several statistical categories.  With his four assists vs. Parkside on Feb. 12th, he moved into fourth place all-time with 369 assists.  Next up on the list is Darrell Evans with 377 assists.  Grady Wicker had 405 career helpers and Art Johnson is the program's all-time assists leader at 434.

ROAD WOES
The Warriors are 0-9 on the road this season, and are looking for the first road victory since a 64-60 triumph at Ashland on Feb. 16, 2021.

FIRST HALF WARRIORS
WSU has led at halftime in nine games this season, including a five-point lead at Northwood on Feb. 7th, but the Warriors are 3-6 in those contests.  In addition, Wayne State has led in 16 of the 18 games this season.  Furthermore, the Green & Gold have given up four double-digit leads.

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 DUO
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 career-point plateau.

With a jumper at the 3:30 mark of the first half at Northwood on Feb. 7th, Neely surpassed the 1,000-point mark, while wearing the Green & Gold.  He is the 21st player in program history to do so.

In addition, Darian Owens-White is fast approaching the milestone for WSU games and needs 15 points to join the club.  

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.  

FAN POLICY
Capacity will be capped at 50 percent for home WSU basketball games moving forward.  Masks must be worn indoors and social distancing must be followed whenever possible.  In addition, proof of appropriate vaccination will be required.

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.