Defense on the upswing as Wright State opens Horizon League play

Wright State’s wins the last few years were usually earned by strong defensive play. When coach Scott Nagy took over the program earlier this year, he installed a different playing style that has led to the Raiders taking far more shots than they did during Billy Donlon’s tenure.

But don’t let the high scores of Wright State’s games make you think offense is the bigger focus. Nagy said defense is still a big part of the team’s identity, and it’s the reason why the Raiders are on a three-game winning streak entering Horizon League play.

“That’s really all I care about, playing good defense,” Nagy said. “I think the offense kind of takes care of itself. When you’re better defensively, you tend to be better offensively.”

Wright State earned road wins over Kent State and Murray State last week to finish nonconference play with a 9-4 record. The Raiders play their first two Horizon League games on the road this week — against Oakland on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday.

Nagy attributes the team’s recent wins to improved defensive play. The Raiders limited Kent State to a season-low 63 points on Dec. 18 and held Murray State to its second-lowest point total (62) last Thursday.

Before the current winning streak, the Raiders had a three-game losing streak during which they allowed an average of 78.6 points.

The Raiders lead the Horizon League in 3-point shooting defense (32.2 percent) and rank second in scoring defense (69.5 points per game) and field-goal defense (42.1).

“Our players’ focus tended to be on offense early in the season,” Nagy said. “They were probably excited that they could take some shots that maybe last year they couldn’t. But the fact of the matter is, we’re just as focused defensively as the previous staff was. That’s the most important thing to us. We’re just a little more free offensively.”

“We have slowed down a little bit, and we’re taking better shots. All those things are helping us play better defense.”

Increased production from beyond the arc in recent games has helped, too. The Raiders have made 41.7 percent of 3-pointers during their winning streak. In back-to-back losses against Penn State and Loyola earlier this month, they shot 25.6 percent from 3-point range.

Wright State leads the league in 3-point shooting (40.1 percent) and 3-pointers made (121).

Nagy said the team isn’t rushing to shoot as fast as it did in the first month of the season.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of slowing down a little bit,” Nagy said. “We’re not trying to walk the ball up the floor, but we’re playing just a little bit slower, which has helped our offense and I think has helped our defense too. We’re taking more time to get good shots.”

Wright State will try to keep the improved defense and shooting going as league play starts. The Raiders are one of four teams in the league to win at least nine non-conference games. Oakland enters Thursday’s game with a 10-3 record, the best of any Horizon League team.


THURSDAY’S GAME

Wright State at Oakland, 7 p.m., 106.5

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