Series: UIC leads 21-17.
Probable starting lineups
Wright State | Year | Pos. | Ht. | PPG |
Todd Brown | Sr. | G | 6-5 | 14.0 |
V. Duggins | Jr. | G | 6-3 | 12.5 |
N'Gai Evans | Jr. | G | 6-1 | 7.2 |
Ronnie Thomas | Sr. | C | 6-9 | 5.1 |
C. Cooperwood | Sr. | F | 6-7 | 8.7 |
U Illinois-Chicago | Year | Pos. | Ht. | PPG |
Zavion Neely | So. | G | 6-1 | 13.3 |
S. Stewart | Sr. | G | 6-4 | 4.0 |
Robo Kreps | Jr. | G | 6-0 | 16.5 |
Jeremy Buttell | Sr. | F | 6-7 | 8.6 |
Brad Birton | Jr. | F | 6-7 | 5.8 |
About the Flames
UIC won its opener, then lost its next six games, most of them without suspended point guard Spencer Stewart. Since Stewart has returned, the Flames are 4-4. “Their team is a little like ours last year (when Vaughn Duggins was hurt, then John David Gardner),” said WSU coach Brad Brownell. “Spencer Stewart wasn’t playing at the beginning of the season and they didn’t look good. All of the sudden, they get him back and put him in the starting lineup and get in a little rhythm, and they look good.” Also, UIC is playing without inside players Troi Boyd, Robert Eppinnger and Jelani Poston. The first two left school, and Poston is out with grade problems...In beating Detroit on Thursday, UIC shot only 28.1 percent from the field (16-of-57) but made 25 of 31 free throws to only 9 of 14 for Detroit. Robo Kreps was 18-of-18 from the line, so he’s not the one to foul...Detroit also out-rebounded the Flames, 43-36, but the Titans also committed 23 turnovers...
About the Raiders
In coach Brad Brownell’s three previous seasons at WSU, the Raiders were 15-5 in one-possession games decided by 3 points or less. This season, they have lost all three games decided by that margin, all on the road. Against UIC, Brownell is 5-1, but two of those victories were by a point and two other games went to overtime, each side winning. Last season at UIC, the Raiders lost in overtime after a buzzer-beating 3-point shot tied the game in regulation...”I don’t know if there’s something I can point to,” Brownell said. “We’ve been playing teams tough, but we’ve been losing. We’ve got to find a way to win.” Said junior point guard N’Gai Evans, “It was just a bad shooting night for us as a collective unit.”
FYI
So far this season, nine of the 10 Horizon League teams have winning records at home (Cleveland State is 4-4) and seven of the teams have losing records on the road (the winners are Butler and Green Bay at 3-2 and Loyola at 4-2. Wright State is 1-5). Those figures do not count neutral-court games. WSU’s last winning road season was 2007-08 when the Raiders went 7-6. A year ago, they were 5-9.
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