Team: Wright State Raiders
Conference: Horizon
Current Record: 17-4
Coach: Scott Nagy
Coach Profile: Nagy is coming off another great season at Wright State and a second straight Horizon League regular-season title. He’s now 91-43 since joining Wright State in 2016 and elevated the Raiders to a consistent Horizon League contender year-in and year-out. Nagy was previously the head coach at South Dakota State from 1995 to 2016.
What Makes Them Special?
The Raiders are top 60 in the country in both offensive and defensive efficiency. That’s far and away the best in the Horizon and it’s not even close! There’s no other team in the Horizon that’s even in the top 200 in the country in both offense and defense. That may speak more to a down year for the Horizon league, but it’s a league where Wright State is no question the best team in the conference.
Offensively, they’re top 50 in the country in 3-Point percentage (34th) and 2-Point percentage (41st). Defensively, they’re 16th in 3-Point defense and 22nd in 2-Point defense. The Raiders are also 25th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage.
When you combine high-efficiency offense and defense and create a large number of extra possessions with that rebounding, you can get some blowouts and dominating performances. The Raiders have won 10 of their 17 games by 20 points or more! That stat should get more credit. The ability to blow out teams and really dominate is one of those signs of elite teams.
At 6’8 and 260 lbs., senior center Loudon Love is a force down low and the go-to-guy on offense. He’s the returning conference player of the year and averaging a double-double this season (16.7 pts, 10.2 rebs). Sophomores Tanner Holden and Grant Basile are the secondary options, but at 6’6 and 6’9, the Raiders have really good size. Both Holden and Basile were part of the Horizon all-freshmen team last year and represent the future of this program after Love graduates.
The Raiders are rolling on offense, defense and on the boards. They’ve won nine games in a row and each of those wins has been by at least nine points. This should be the team coming out of the Horizon in March, they are clearly the best team.
Wright State Raiders 2020-21 Player Stats
