Sunday was supposed to be a time of celebration for Wright State. Not only was it Senior Day, but it was a chance to take the Horizon League regular season championship outright and the No. 1 seed that came with it. The Raiders had already clinched a share of the crown after beating back a pesky IU Indy squad on Thursday.
Robert Morris, however, had other plans. And much like the first contest in Moon Township, the Colonials imposed their will, and as a result, Wright State remains a single win away from taking the top spot in the Horizon League.
The good news for the Raiders is that the final two match-ups are against a pair of teams they’ve defeated before: Purdue Fort Wayne and rival Northern Kentucky. That said, both will be on the road, and the Mastodons and Norse will give Wright State everything they have. And should the Raiders falter to close things out and get swept, the Colonials, should they win out, could snatch the top seed away from them.
And it’s that part of the equation where Wright State players are eager to get the results they need in the end and leave no doubt.
“We try not to be satisfied,” said freshman Michael Cooper. “Obviously, we want to win it (the regular season title) outright. Right now, we clinched a share, so (we’re) definitely not satisfied.”
Michael Imariagbe echoed those sentiments: “We’ve got to be laser-focused. Can’t have any more slip-ups. As of right now, I feel like we’ve got to go take every game and it’s like right there. So, that’s really it. Discipline. It’s the biggest thing.”
Power Outage
One of the keys to the Raiders’ overall success this season has been their ability to find multiple scoring options. While that worked in the win over the Jaguars, with five Wright State players scoring double digits, that formula didn’t pan out against the Colonials, outside of Cooper’s 19 points in the loss.
In both contests, however, an even bigger problem loomed: Three-point shooting. In recent games the Raiders seemed to have no problem shooting at will from beyond the arc. But last week, particularly the second half, treys came at a premium. And in the RMU game, a couple of extra triples could have come in handy to shave away the Colonial advantage.
Wright State only connected on three total three-pointers across the two match-ups, which includes a single trey against IU Indy. While that didn’t matter against the Jags, who notched a paltry 20% from beyond the arc, it mattered much more against Robert Morris. And for the Raiders to finally get over the hump and take the regular season crown outright, they’ll need to get this issue addressed. Otherwise, the post-season could be a problem for them.
Homecoming Night
When Wright State last faced Purdue Fort Wayne, the star of the evening in the Nutter Center was freshman Kellen Pickett. With the return match-up in Fort Wayne, Pickett, a graduate of nearby Blackhawk Christian, has even more of an incentive to shine in front of the hometown crowd. That, however, will take a backseat in the pursuit of the end result, which is a win and, ultimately, a championship.
“I try to view every game the same,” Pickett after the initial win over the Mastodons. “Obviously that’s Fort Wayne. That’s my city. You just come to play.”
No Sharing
As it stands before the final games of the season, the Raiders already cliched a share of the regular season championship. But to Sargent, that was little comfort after the loss to the Colonials, and he’s looking for Wright State to bounce back and leave no doubt who the top team in the Horizon League is at the end of the day.
“We want great,” Sargent said after the loss on Sunday. “We’re trying to have great days and trying to stay process-based, because you can easily get wrapped up, and we’re kind of learning this, in all the circumstantial narratives…and you just can’t. You’ve got to know it, be aware of it, and then you’ve got to wash it. And you’ve got to find a way to understand this, let this hurt…and just take one great day at a time.
“Everybody resurges here in terms of motivation,” Sargent continued. “So you’ve got to be intrinsically motivated by things that aren’t based on circumstance. And I believe we have that. That’s why we’ve been where we are for over 50 days in first place, but there’s still a lot to learn. We’ve not arrived at all. We can play so much more consistent basketball, and it’s about time we do it.”
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