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Home stretch key for Raiders in tight league

With 5 league games left, WSU trying to improve Horizon tourney position.

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 1:02 AM Thursday, February 9, 2012

FAIRBORN — Wright State men’s basketball coach Billy Donlon hasn’t gone as far as writing scenarios on the locker room board, but in gatherings with his team this week he has hammered home a point.

An important three-game home stretch that begins Friday, he said, is key for the team’s standing and possible Horizon League tournament first-round home game.

The Raiders (11-14, 6-7) enter the weekend in seventh place with five conference games remaining. The league’s top two seeds earn two byes into the conference tournament semifinals while teams seeded 3-6 host seeds 7-10 in the first round.

WSU will host three straight games against eighth-place Wisconsin-Green Bay on Friday, third-place UW-Milwaukee on Sunday and fifth-place Detroit on Wednesday while hoping to climb into a position to host a first-round league tournament game on the Tuesday after the regular season wraps up.

“I discuss with them that the league is very, very tight,” Donlon said of the standings that show 2.5 games separating third place from eighth. “We felt a lot better about ourselves after winning two home games (before losing two on the road last week), and we’re in the same situation.

“We have to take care of our business at home.”

Each of the teams visiting WSU in the next week defeated the Raiders earlier this season, part of WSU’s 2-5 road record in league games with wins against ninth-place Illinois-Chicago and last-place Loyola.

“Three through eight is wide open,” Donlon said. “Certainly, when you start talking about home games for the first round of the tournament, that’s significant. Being able to play at home on that Tuesday is pretty significant.”

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-7389 or knagel@coxinc.com.