Raiders set to tipoff NCAA action Friday afternoon

PHILADELPHIA - The 13th-seeded Wright State men's basketball team tips off its fifth NCAA Championship appearance on Friday when the Raiders face No. 3 Virginia at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Friday's game is set for a 1:50 p.m. tipoff and fans can follow the action several ways - watching on TBS, via live stats or by tuning in to the Wright State Radio Network - 101.5 FM 'The Fridge' and WING 1410 AM - in the Dayton metro area and nationally on the Varsity App. Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have all the play-by-play on the radio feed.

FRIDAY: WATCH ON TBS | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | LISTEN TO THE WRIGHT STATE RADIO NETWORK ON THE VARSITY NETWORK | GAME NOTES

LAST TIME OUT
Kellen Pickett blocked a potential game-tying layup in the closing moments as Wright State erased a 12-point second-half deficit, defeating the Detroit Mercy 66-63 to capture the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Championship on March 10 inside Corteva Coliseum and punch their ticket back to the NCAA Tournament.

BACK IN THE DANCE
Wright State is making its fifth Division I NCAA tournament appearance, and first since 2022 when the Raiders defeated Bryant in the First Four for their first D-I tournament win before falling to No. 1 Arizona in the first round in a game that had a seven-point margin in the second half. The 1983 NCAA Division II national champions, the Raiders also made the NCAA Division I tournament in 1993, 2007 and 2018 tournaments in addition to the 2022 Dance.

SEEDING HISTORY
Wright State has how earned a No. 14 seed three in its five NCAA appearances, also receiving the seed in both the 2007 and 2018 tournaments. The 2007 squad won 25 games and the 2018 team had 23 victories.

RAIDER FIRST
The 2025-26 Raiders are the first Wright State team in program history to win the Horizon League outright regular season and tournament titles in the same season.

KEPT THE TREND GOING
Wright State is the third straight Horizon League team to complete the regular season and tournament title sweep, joining Oakland (2024) and Robert Morris (2025).

GIVE ME 20
Wright State reached the 20-win mark this season for the 15th time in its Division I history, reaching the mark for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The Raiders won 20-plus games in seven of eight seasons from 2012-2020.

(NO) HISTORY WITH VIRGINIA
Wright State and Virginia will meet on the hardwood for the first time on Friday, marking the 280th different opponent in Raider history. It is also the fourth first-time matchup this season for Wright State.

COMMONALITIES WITH THE COMMONWEALTH
Wright State has three common opponents with Virginia on the schedule this season, with both squads facing Marshall, Butler and Cal. The Raiders lost all three games, including a two-point loss at Marshall and a 10-point defeat at Butler, while Virginia grabbed wins over Marshall and Cal, losing to Butler at the Greenbrier Tip-Off.

BALLIN' IN THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE
Wright State is set to play in Philadelphia on Friday for just the second time in program history. The Raiders only other trip to the city came on February 11, 1995 against LaSalle - in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) game, no less.

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Players Mentioned

Kellen Pickett

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