GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University men's basketball team (9-9 overall, 6-6 GLIAC) picked up a much-needed win at Ferris State on Saturday and snapped a season-long three-game losing streak.  That 75-73 victory in Big Rapids marked the Warriors' first on the Bulldogs' floor since 2011, snapping a skid of 12 consecutive losses at FSU.

Davenport has won three of its last four games, including a 72-69 defeat of No. 6 Michigan Tech on Jan. 29.  Most recently though, the Panthers came up short, 77-63, against 10th-ranked Northern Michigan last Saturday.  DU has an 8-2 mark at home as opposed to a 4-6 record away from home.

Playing as well as anyone in the country, Grand Valley State has won eight games in a row and 10 of its last 11.  The Lakers' only three losses were by one at home against Saginaw Valley State (81-80), by two, also at home, vs. Malone (57-55) and by 12 at Northern Michigan (72-60).

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State and Davenport have met 17 times in the all-time ledger with the Warriors out in front 10-7.  WSU has won six of the last seven against DU, including four straight overall and three in a row in Detroit.

Grand Valley State has won 18 more games than Wayne State in the all-time series (57-39) and has defeated the Green and Gold eight times in the last 12 meetings.  When playing in Detroit, the Lakers have outscored the Warriors in four of the previous five showdowns.

SCOUTING DAVENPORT
Davenport is paced by the GLIAC's top scorer in junior Ken Walker at 22.3 points per game, good for ninth in all of Division II.  Among the best in the nation, Walker is also slotted eighth in field goal attempts (337), 11th in total points (446), 16th in three-pointers made per game (3.05), 18th in field goals made (149), 18th in triples attempted (161), 20th in total treys made (61), and 24th in free throw percentage (89.7).

The now four-time GLIAC Player of the Week is one of three Panthers averaging at least 10 points per contest.  The other two are sophomore Dylan Smith (10.5) and redshirt junior Curtis Jackson (10.1).  Walker is the only player on the team to have started all 20 games.

On the glass, Davenport boasts two of the league's top 10 rebounders in Smith (6.9 per game, seventh) and redshirt junior Aiden Ritt (6.5 per game, ninth).  Just like the last time these two teams met, Jackson is the conference's top assist man with 5.4 per effort, good for 21st in the country.

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
Only two players have started all 20 games for Grand Valley State, seniors Jalen Charity (13.5 points per game, second on the team) and Mason Docks (3.4 assists per contest, tied-for-first on the team with redshirt senior Trevor Smith, Jr.).  Docks has been taking care of business on both ends of the court as he ranks fifth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.24), 11th in total steals (52) and 15th in steals per effort (2.6).  The team's floor general also averages 8.7 points per outing.  Not to mention, Smith, Jr. is the best in the country when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.19.

Charity is one of three Lakers tallying double-digit points per game along with graduate student Ethan Alderink (14.3 PPG) and redshirt senior Trevor Smith, Jr. (12.9 PPG).  On the glass, redshirt junior Shamus Thompson (7.2 RPG, fifth in the conference) has been the most effective.

As a team, GVSU is eighth in fewest turnovers per game (10.2), 12th in field goal percentage defense (39.6), 12th in free throws made per game (18.9), 13th in turnover margin (4.9), 21st in scoring defense (65.8), 22nd in scoring margin (+12.9), 24th in steals per game (9.7), 34th in bench points per game (30.2), and 37th in rebounds per game (39.5).

IRON SHARPENS IRON
Wayne State's current strength of schedule is good for 64th (170-132, .563 winning percentage) in the country.  The Warriors' remaining slate is even more difficult with a .611 winning percentage (96-61), which sits at 47th nationally.  WSU's composite ranking is No. 35 out of 298 schools with an overall record of 266-193, good for a .580 winning percentage.

GLIAC STANDINGS
With eight games to play in the regular season, Wayne State enters this week as part of a three-way tie-for-fourth at 6-6 along with Davenport and Ferris State.  The Warriors beat the Bulldogs in both of their regular-season matchups, and will look to sweep the season series against the Panthers on Thursday night.  The top four teams in the final standings will host a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal date before the highest remaining seed following those four contests hosts the semifinals and finals.

WARRIOR SPORTS NETWORK
Every men's basketball contest will air on the Warrior Sports Network with veteran play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brechmacher calling the action for the 10th consecutive season.  He will be joined on the home broadcasts by former WSU basketball student-athletes Andy Dold, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore on a rotating basis.  Veteran Detroit broadcaster Tony Ortiz will handle the sideline reporting duties for a majority of the home games on the Warrior Sports Network as well.