On Tuesday afternoon, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander announced that Wright State will compete in a MTE ran by the University of Illinois. This will replace their original plans of playing in Nashville for the Music City Shootout.
Wright State will play the likes of Illinois, NC A&T, and Ohio from November 25th until November 27th. The games on the 27th might be pushed back to the 28th due to Illinois’ football schedule.
The Raiders will have a first-time opponent in the Fighting Illini. Illinois finished 30th in the KenPom rankings last year, and return the likes of All Big-Ten Second Team player Ayo Dosunmu, All-Freshman Team player Kofi Cockburn, and longtime stronghold of the program, Giorgi Bezhanishvili. The Illini finished in fourth of the Big Ten last season, their best finish since 2010-11.
Wright State will also play the Ohio Bobcats, who they are 2-9 against all-time. This is the first matchup between the two since a dominating 82-54 win by Ohio at the Nutter Center in December of 2011.
The Bobcats return their top two scorers from last season in Jason Preston (16.8) and Ben Vander Plas (15.7). Ohio finished in seventh place during their 2019-20 MAC campaign.
For the third time ever, Wright State will face NC A&T. This season is the Aggies last year in the MEAC, where they finished second last season. This season, NC A&T brings in two SEC transfers.
Wright State and NC A&T had a home and home series during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. They split the series.
Due to the Raiders trip to Urbana-Champaign, they won’t participate in the Music City Shootout in Nashville. They would’ve played Georgia State, Towson, and Valparaiso.
This new opportunity gives new Raider, Tim Finke, a chance to play in his hometown of Urbana-Champaign.
