DETROIT -- Coming off an emphatic win over Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, the Wayne State University men's basketball team (8-8 overall, 2-5 GLIAC) will host two of the league's finest this week in 13th-ranked Ferris State and Lake Superior State.  The Warriors will tip off against the Bulldogs on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. before facing the Lakers on Saturday at 3 p.m.

STORYLINES
Wayne State snapped a three-game skid thanks to a commanding home court victory over Saginaw Valley State 79-58 on January 20th inside the Fieldhouse.  The Warriors will wrap-up their three-game home swing this Thursday and Saturday with two of the top three teams in the GLIAC standings, 13th-ranked Ferris State and Lake Superior State.

Ferris State, the league's preseason favorite, has won two games in a row and nine of its last 10 since falling 84-80 at Purdue Northwest back on Dec. 7 in the conference opener.  The Bulldogs other GLIAC defeat was a 75-71 decision at Northern Michigan on Jan. 13, the top team in the league standings at 8-0.

Lake Superior State has been in the win column for three straight contests and four of its last six.  Each of the Lakers' last three losses came by five points or less including a one-point margin (72-71) at Northern Michigan on January 11.  With that being said, LSSU is 2-4 in its last six true road outings.

THE SERIES
Ferris State leads the all-time series against Wayne State 54-41 and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings.  However, both of those Warrior victories came in Detroit including 70-68 on February 27, 2021, and 90-89 on November 29, 2018.  Wayne State holds a 47-35 edge on Lake Superior State including a 28-13 mark at home.  The Lakers have defeated the Warriors in eight of the last 10 meetings.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Eleventh-year head coach Andy Bronkema has another talented squad this season in No. 13 Ferris State.  Individually, four Bulldogs put up at least 10 points per game including Ethan Erickson (14.2), Dolapo Olayinka (11.9), Ben Davidson (11.4) and DeSean Munson (10.8).  Olayinka is the team's top rebounder (5.7 RPG), while Amari Lee is dishing out 4.2 assists per contest.  As a team, FSU is among the top 10 in the country in several categories including assist-to-turnover ratio (1st - 2.05), assists per game (2nd - 22.4), bench points per game (4th - 42.4), scoring margin (5th - +19.1), three-point percentage (6th - 40.6), fast-break points (7th - 18.1), blocks per game (9th - 5.0) and field goal percentage (10th - 51.0).

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Lake Superior State and 17th-year head coach Steve Hettinga boast the top scoring defense in the GLIAC surrendering just 64.8 points per game.  That number is good for 13th in the country where the Lakers are also fourth in three-point percentage (41.8), 11th in three-pointers per game (10.6), 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54) and 17th in field goal percentage defense (40.3).  Individually, like FSU, LSSU is paced by a quartet of scorers averaging double figures.  Those four are Kingsley Perkins (13.9), Tyson Edmondson (13.1), Xander Okerlund (10.9) and Devin Womack (10.5).  Perkins is third in the league in rebounds per game (7.0) and Womack has been averaging 3.5 assists per contest, which is tied-for-eighth in the conference.

LAST TIME OUT - VS. SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
After SVSU scored six of the first eight points, the Warriors answered back by scoring 10 of the next 12 points for an early 12-8 advantage about 5:30 into the contest.  Senior guard Ray Williams, Jr. started the spurt with a jumper and finished the run with a triple.  WSU's margin ranged between two and four points for the next four minutes, until a steal and fast-break dunk by freshman guard Rob Lee, Jr.  Another jumper by Williams, Jr. extended the lead to eight (20-12) with 9:37 left.

Following four consecutive points by the Cardinals, Wayne State responded with seven straight points for a 27-16 lead with just over four minutes remaining before intermission.  Sophomore center Matt Coffey started and ended the run with buckets, while sophomore guard Carmelo Harris drained a triple in between.

WSU led 31-20 with 1:55 left in the opening stanza, but Saginaw Valley State tallied the final eight points before intermission to pull within three (31-28) at the break.

Coffey led the Warriors with nine points at halftime, while SVSU's Freddie McIntosh had a game-best 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Williams, Jr. started the second half with a triple, and following a lay-up by McIntosh, sophomore guard Tamario Adley connected from beyond the arc.

Over the next five minutes, the Warriors turned a 37-31 lead into a 53-37 advantage by out-scoring the Cardinals 16-6.  Harris contributed six points, while both Adley and junior Colin Golson, Jr. chipped in with four points apiece.

A minute later, sophomore center Kareem Aburashed made a three-pointer off a feed from freshman Jordan Briggs to extend the margin to 17 (56-39) with just over 11 minutes remaining.

Wayne State's lead would never be less than 14 the rest of the game.  After Saginaw Valley State cut its deficit to 14 (58-44) for the final time, WSU tallied the next nine points for a 67-44 advantage with 7:19 remaining.

Over the final seven minutes, SVSU out-scored the Warriors 14-12 but Wayne State finished with the 21-point victory to end a five-game losing streak against the Cardinals.

Adley led five WSU players in double figures with 17 points.  He also dished out a game-best seven assists.  Coffey contributed 13 points, while both Harris and Williams, Jr. tallied 12 points apiece.  Aburashed grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  Both Golson, Jr. and Williams, Jr. finished at +21.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Wayne State's leading scorer and tied-for-10th in the GLIAC when it comes to points per game is Carmelo Harris at 14.1 points per contest.  Harris is one of five Warriors putting up at least 8.1 points per outing, along with Ray Williams, Jr. (10.4 PPG), Matt Coffey (9.4), Colin Golson, Jr. (8.9) and Tamario Adley (8.1).  Williams, Jr. is bringing down a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest (seventh in the GLIAC) while Golson, Jr. (5.3) also averages at least five per game.  Assist wise, Adley is on top of the squad with 2.9 per performance and Harris has an average of 2.1.  Offensive efficiency wise, Wayne State boasts one of the top two in the league at each of the three major categories.  Coffey is second in field goal percentage (.645), Kareem Aburashed is on top for three-point field goal percentage (.609) and Harris ranks first in free throw percentage (.919).

LIVE ON WDTK
All men's basketball contests (both home and away) will air live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Fans can also listen to the audio online at PatriotDetroit.com.  This is the 22nd consecutive season WSU basketball has been aired on 1400 AM.

Kevin Brechmacher is in his eighth season calling the WSU men's games on WDTK.  He will be joined on the broadcast of home games by either Chuck Key (2014-18), Marcus Moore (2014-18) or Andy Dold (1998-2002), all former Warriors.

In addition, every men's basketball GLIAC contest will be televised on FloSports (flohoops.com) per the GLIAC agreement with FloSports.  In addition, all home non-conference games for the men will also be on FloHoops.