Raiders open 2019-20 season Tuesday night

The Wright State men's basketball team lifts the lid on its 2019-2020 campaign Tuesday night inside the Nutter Center as the Raiders host Central State in a 7 p.m. tipoff.

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The Raiders return eight players from last season's squad that finished 21-14 overall and recorded a 13-5 conference record on the way to a Horizon League regular season title. Head coach Scott Nagy claimed his second consecutive Horizon League Coach of the Year honor, while Loudon Love was named an All-Horizon League First Team member and Bill Wampler was an All-Horizon League Second Team honoree.

In mid-October, Wright State captured 28 first-place votes and finished with 350 total points as the Raiders claimed the top place in the Horizon League preseason poll for the second-straight season. Love was named first team All-Conference and Wampler was selected to the second team heading into the season.

STARTING STRONG
Dating back over the last 10 seasons, Wright State holds a 9-1 mark in home openers inside the Nutter Center. The Raiders' lone loss in that stretch came in November 2017 against Murray State. Over the same time span, Wright State has a 6-4 record in season-opening games. Three of the four losses came in back-to-back-to-back campaigns that saw the Raiders begin seasons on the road at Washington ('09-10), at Indiana ('10-11) and at Ohio State ('11-12).

Since earning an 88-86 victory in the Nutter Center's first game against Tennessee State on December 1, 1990, Wright State holds a 23-5 record in home openers inside the Nutter Center.

NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN
Wright State and Central State have met on the hardwood 22 times, but have not faced off in just under 28 years. The last time the Raiders and Marauders played each other was December 20, 1991 – a 112-66 Wright State victory. Wright State leads the all-time series 15-7 overall, with nearly all of the prior meetings coming in the 1970's and 1980's during the Raiders' time competing in the NCAA Division II ranks. Wright State has won four of the five matchups since becoming a Division I program before the 1987-88 campaign.

• Wright State won the first meeting, 62-60, on February 22, 1975 at home.
                • Of their 22 meetings, the Raiders and Marauders played each other on a neutral court on
                11 different occasions.
                • The series is tied at 1-1 in games contested inside the Nutter Center. Central State earned
                a 94-91 win in February 1991 during the inaugural season of the new facility before the
                Raiders ran away with the Dec. 1991 matchup (112-66) in the last meeting prior to Tuesday

LIFE CHANGES
While Wright State returns eight players this season, the Raiders did lose several pieces from last season's roster. Mark Hughes graduated after starting all 35 games in 2018-19, averaging 30.4 minutes per night and scoring at a 9.3 ppg clip from his guard position. Also lost to graduation was Parker Ernsthausen, who started 31 games and averaged nearly 25 minutes a night in the paint.

In total, the Raiders lost six players from last season's roster and replaced those with seven newcomers on the 2019-20 squad (five freshmen, two transfers).

Players Mentioned

Parker Ernsthausen

Mark Hughes

Loudon Love

Bill Wampler

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