Wisconsin road trip begins in Milwaukee on Friday night

The Horizon League-leading Wright State men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of games in Wisconsin this weekend, beginning with a visit to Milwaukee on Friday night, slated for 8 p.m. EST tipoff. The Raiders (18-4 overall, 8-1 HL) have won 11 of their last 12 games overall and have taken the last three meetings against the Panthers, including earlier this season inside the Nutter Center. Milwaukee enters the matchup with a 10-11 overall record and a 5-4 mark in the Horizon, but are 7-3 at home this season.

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Last time out, Wright State led for all but the opening 17 seconds on the way to a 95-63 home victory over Northern Kentucky in front of over 6,200 fans inside the Nutter Center and across the country on ESPNU last Friday night. The Raiders shot 61 percent from the floor as a team and connected at a 55 percent clip from three-point range for the night while holding Northern Kentucky to just 31 percent shooting in the first half and a final mark of 39 percent from the floor. A season-high six Wright State players scored in double figures, combining to score 93 of the Raiders' 95 points, led by double-doubles from Tanner Holden and Loudon Love. Holden tallied game-highs with his 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Love recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds of his own as the only two players with double-digit rebounding efforts. The efforts were the eighth double-double of the season for Love and the fourth for Holden in his freshman campaign.

PANTHER TRACKS
Friday will be the second matchup of the season and 63rd meeting all-time between Wright State and Milwaukee, with the Raiders leading the series 32-30. The Raiders have won eight of the last 12 matchups overall over the last five-plus seasons, including three straight. Wright State saw five players finish with double-digit scoring nights in a 82-70 win back on Dec. 30. The first meeting came back on Jan. 17, 1977 in Milwaukee, a 75-66 Panther win. Scott Nagy is 6-2 against the Panthers.

MILWAUKEE MUSINGS
DeAndre Abram posted his ninth career double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds at Youngstown State Jan. 23. He was joined by Josh Thomas, who recorded the first double-double of his MKE career with 15 points and 11 rebounds. That marked the first time for double-doubles by Milwaukee teammates in the same game in nearly four years, going back to a game on Feb. 11, 2016 against Oakland in which three players accomplished the feat.

Te'Jon Lucas finished with a new career-high and the first 30-point game of his career when he netted 31 against Green Bay Jan. 11. The 30-point effort was the first for a Panther since DeAndre Abram went for 31 against Detroit Mercy last January, a span of 29 games. Te'Jon Lucas (31) and Darius Roy (23) combined for 54 points against the Phoenix Jan. 11, the most for a pair of MKE teammates in quite some time. With the two combining for 28 straight points (Lucas 17/Roy 11) during the second half the contest.

LEADERS ON THE HORIZON
The Raiders are 8-1 to start #HLMBB play and have been dominant so far this season. In HL play they rank tops in scoring, rebounding, 3-point field goal percentage and blocks. Nationally, WSU is ninth in the country in scoring offense with 81.5 points per game and seventh in rebounds per game at 41.5.

LOVE TO SEE IT
Loudon Love has been a force during HL play this season as he is the only player to rank top-6 in scoring (17.1) and top-5 in rebounds (11.2). The junior is leading the League with 5.3 offensive boards per game and is tied for the most double-doubles (5) and 20-point performances (4) during the first half of League play.

ON A NATIONAL SCALE
Entering the weekend, Wright State is second nationally among NCAA Division I programs in total rebounds with 913 total boards. The Raiders are averaging 41.50 rebounds per game, a mark that is No. 7 nationally. Their 13.36 offensive rebounds per game average is No. 14 nationally and the 28.14 defensive rebounds is 34th in the country. The Raiders are No. 9 nationally in scoring offense (81.5) – a mark that is second in the Horizon to Green Bay (81.9). Wright State's 499 free throw attempts are also the ninth-most in the NCAA this season, while the 329 free throws made are the 33rd-most nationally. Individually, Loudon Love's 4.18 offensive rebounds per game average is No. 4 in the country. Overall, Wright State is inside the top 55 in 14 different statistical categories as a team (six inside the Top 15) and in the Top 100 nationally in 23 statistical categories.

COACHES POWERING FORWARD FOR AUTISM
The Wright State coaches are joining staffs across the country in raising autism awareness as part of the Coaches Powering Forward for Autism initiative by wearing blue puzzle piece pins on their suit jackets this weekend. The puzzle ribbon was adopted in 1999 as the universal sign of autism awareness and reflects the complexity of the autism spectrum.

Autism Speaks Coaches Powering Forward was created in 2014 after NCAA Coaches Pat Skerry and Tom Herrion embarked on a mission to raise awareness of autism. Since starting six years ago, more than 4,400 Autism Speaks puzzle piece pins have been provided to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism during the February weekend games.

Wisconsin road trip begins in Milwaukee on Friday night

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Players Mentioned

Tanner Holden

Loudon Love

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