College Basketball Preview: Miami at Wright State

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Nutter Center

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, ESPN3

Radio: 106.5-FM, 980-AM

Probable Wright State starters

Mark Alstork 6-5; Jr.; G; 30.0

Justin Mitchell 6-4; Jr.; G; 9.0

Grant Benzinger 6-3; Jr.; G; 3.0

Mike La Tulip 6-1; Sr.; G; 10.0

Steven Davis 6-8; Sr.; F; 26.0

Probable Miami starters

Rod Mills 6-7; Jr.; F; 6.0

Logan McLain 6-9; Jr.; F; 8.0

Jake Wright 6-4; So.; G; 13.0

Michael Weathers 6-2; Fr.; G; 21.0

Abdoulaye Harouna 6-5; Jr.; G; 9.0

Series history: Miami leads 19-12

Coaches: Scott Nagy is 1-0 at Wright State and 411-240 in 22 seasons overall. John Cooper is in his fifth year at Miami and has gone 13-20, 13-19, 13-18 and 9-22 the last four seasons. He's 91-131 in seven seasons, including three at Tennessee State.

About Wright State: The Raiders picked up an impressive road win at Southern Illinois, prevailing 85-81 Friday over a team that finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Alstork, the Horizon League player of the week, had 30 points and Davis 26. Nagy didn't go deep into his bench, playing only Mark Hughes, Parker Ernsthausen and Ryan Custer, who had a combined five points. The Raiders had a 41-25 rebounding advantage, and that was a weak spot last season. Opponents had a plus-3.4 rebounding edge. The Raiders hit 10-of-19 three-pointers with Alstork going 4-for-7 and Davis 3-for-4. The Horizon League went 9-3 on college basketball's opening weekend.

About Miami: The Redhawks returned six lettermen from a team that finished 13-20 last season. They were picked to finish last in the six-team MAC East Division in a vote of the coaches. They lost their two double-figure scorers from last season, Eric Washington and Geovonie McKnight. Harouna and Mills are the top returning scorers at 5.4 and 5.3 points per game, respectively.

The RedHawks won their season opener against Division III Muskingum, 84-57. They trailed, 10-5, and led by just four early in the second half, but they took control with a 22-4 run. They had 10 blocks and 10 steals. Weathers had 21 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Coming up: The Raiders will play six straight at the Nutter Center, their longest stretch of home games since also playing since in 1993-94. They host Toledo at 7 p.m. Saturday, followed by a visit from Ohio Dominican and then three games in the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.

The RedHawks host the Tarkett Sports Classic this weekend, playing Delaware at 7 p.m. Friday, Austin Peay at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Northern Kentucky at 2 p.m. Sunday.

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