Raiders set for Oakland, national audience Friday

Friday, February 18

Rochester, MI

9:00 PM

Wright State University

Oakland

Photo by: Joseph Craven

2/17/2022 11:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Watch on ESPN2 Follow Live Stats Listen on WONE 980 AM

DAYTON - The Wright State men's basketball team heads north for its final regular season road trip this weekend in Michigan, beginning the weekend with a nationally televised 9 p.m. contest at Oakland Friday night on ESPN2.

Fans can follow the action several ways - via live stats, by watching on ESPN2 or by tuning in on WONE 980 AM. Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have all the play-by-play on the radio.

FRIDAY: WATCH ON ESPN2 | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | LISTEN ON WONE 980 AM | GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT
A late-game push wasn't enough for Wright State on Sunday as the Raiders fell 75-71 to Northern Kentucky. The final two minutes featured a combined 26 points, including 16 from Wright State, as the Raiders hit four three-pointers behind full court pressure and putting NKU on the free throw line, but the Raider rally came up just short. Grant Basile finished with a game-high 25 points, connecting on nine of his 15 shot attempts with a trio of three-pointers, as he narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds, also the best of the afternoon. Trey Calvin also connected on three three-point baskets as part of his 13-point afternoon, adding six rebounds and a career-best five steals. Tanner Holden was the third Raider in double figures, chipping in 13 points as well.

OAKLAND ORIGINALS
Oakland is 18-8 overall with an 11-4 Horizon League record and has won its last two games. The Golden Grizzlies are 8-0 at home this season. Wright State won the first meeting 75-64 back on Feb. 5 as the Raiders closed the night on a 22-7 run over the final 9:25, holding Oakland scoreless from the floor at 0-of-10 with seven turnovers. Trey Calvin finished with a game-high 23 points. Wright State and Oakland have previously met 25 times, with the Raiders leading the series 17-8. The teams first met back on Nov. 29, 1977 – a Raider victory – and the teams also met in Jan. 1979 and Dec. 1979 but then didn't face each other again until Dec. 2000. Wright State also handed Oakland a loss in the Golden Grizzlies' first-ever Horizon League contest, played Jan. 2, 2014 inside the Nutter Center.

GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland is 18-8 overall with an 11-4 Horizon League record to date. The Golden Grizzlies are 8-0 at home this season with four regular season home contests remaining. Oakland was only 5-4 at home in 2020-21, dropping its last three regular season home games before a home victory in the opening round of the Horizon League tournament last March. Jalen Moore is averaging 8.2 assists per game and has totaled 197 assists this season, both ranked second in the nation. During, Horizon League play Moore has averaged 8.9 assists per game to go along with 15.2 points. He has 10 double-digit assist games this season and is second behind teammate Jamal Cain for the Horizon League-lead with nine double-doubles. Jamal Cain is averaging 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, one of only two players in the country to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Tanner Holden (80% FT) has made 150 free throws (No. 1 in the country) on 188 total attempts (No. 3 nationally), through Wednesday's games. Holden's 536 total points scored is No. 8 in the country, while his 19.9 points per game average is No. 25 nationally. Grant Basile's rebound work is also among the best in the nation: ranking 21st nationally with 235 total rebounds, No. 35 nationally in total rebounds/game average with his 8.8 boards per contest and No. 43 in the country with his 6.15 defensive rebounds/game average.

PUTTING IN THE TIME
Wright State features four players inside the top 15 in the Horizon League in average minutes per game - Tim Finke (4th, 35.34), Tanner Holden (6th, 34.87), Trey Calvin (9th, 33.52) and Grant Basile (14th, 32.31). Friday night's opponent, Oakland, also has four players inside the top 15, with Jalen Moore's 38.34 minutes per game average leading the HL. No other team has more than one player in the top 15.

TWENTY-SOMETHINGS
Tanner Holden has scored 20 or more points a Horizon League-best 16 times entering this weekend, while he's also added a 30-point game to his résumé. Teammate Grant Basile also has a 30-plus point performance under his belt to go along with 11 games with 20 or more points. Basile and Holden are two of only four players League wide to have double-digit 20-plus point performances.

OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Wright State is the No. 2 scoring offense during Horizon League play at 76.9 points per game as they are shooting a League-best 48.3 percent from the field. The Raiders boast two players in the top 5 in scoring during HL play, as Tanner Holden is averaging 19.6 points against HL opponents, while Grant Basile is totaling 18.1 points along with 8.3 boards per game.