Men's Basketball | 11/21/2017 8:40:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (1-1 Overall) return to the court to host third-ranked Bellarmine (3-0 Overall) on Tuesday night before making a trip to Lewis (1-2 Overall) on Saturday.

STORYLINES
After an impressive 25-point win over 24th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 12th, Wayne State will have another tough task as third-ranked Bellarmine visits the Matthaei before hitting the road for a matchup against another GLVC power, Lewis.  WSU showed great ball control in both games during the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge, turning the ball over just 13 times for the weekend.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 2-4 in the all-time series against Bellarmine, with both wins coming at home (2005 and 2009).  The Knights have won the last three meetings, including a 2012 meeting when BU was ranked fourth in the country.  Lewis leads the all-time series 6-5 against Wayne State.  The teams began playing in 1986 and have met every year since 2009.  The Warriors are 1-5 in Romeoville.  Head coach David Greer is 4-5 against the Flyers.  Wayne State won last season's meeting 74-70 in overtime in Detroit.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Bellarmine is 3-0 to begin the season after going 32-4 last year and winning the NCAA Midwest Region title.  The Knights fell in the Final Four to Fairmont State to end the 2016-17 campaign.  Head coach Scott Davenport is in his 13th season with BU.  Seven players are averaging at least eight points per game, led by Adam Eberhard at 13.0 and Ben Weyer with 10.3.  Bellarmine has wins over Saginaw Valley State, Northwood and Indiana Southeast.

Lewis began the season 1-2, including an 80-47 win over Saginaw Valley State.  The Flyers will meet Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 before hosting the Warriors.  Head coach Scott Trost is in his 12th season.  Delaney Blaylock is the team's leading scorer through three games at 20.3  points per contest, while Cristen Wilson is scoring 19.7 points per night.  Wilson is also the team's top rebounder at 7.3 boards per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State concluded the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge with a 90-65 win over 24th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan.  All five starters finished with at least 10 points as WSU scored 90 points for the first time since Dec. 7, 2013, in a 90-85 win over Ohio Dominican.  The 62.7 (37-for-59) percent shooting performance by the Warriors was the best since the Nov. 12, 2016, contest against Alderson Broaddus when the Warriors shot 63.8 percent (30-for-47).  WSU collected 34 of its 90 points in the paint or nearly 40 percent.  Chuck Key tallied a game-high 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with his six rebounds.

GLIAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Wayne State University men's basketball program was selected to finished second in the GLIAC South Division by the conference coaches.  The Warriors received 58 points and four first-place votes.  In addition, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore were voted to the Preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team.  The 58 points and four first-place votes were the third most overall in the 12-team league.  Ferris State was tabbed as the favorite to win the North Division (66 points / 11 first-place votes), while Ashland (63 points / 8 first-place votes) edged WSU for the top spot in the South Division.

A NICE ADDITION
Latin Davis, Jr. looks to be fitting in with his new teammates after transferring from Youngstown State.  He is fourth in the GLIAC with five assists per game and scored 13 points vs. KWC.  He is fourth nationally with a 10.00 assist to turnover ratio.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA stat release, Wayne State ranks second in turnovers per game (6.5), fewest turnovers (13) and assist to turnover ratio (2.31).  In addition, the Warriors are eighth in fewest fouls (33) and 29th in three-point field goal percentage (.433).

CHUCK'S BIG DAY
One of the better players in the league and region, started slow in the exhibition at Detroit and the season-opener against Alderson Broaddus.  However, he showed why he is WSU's go-to guy with 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting against KWC on Nov. 12.  The undersized Warriors will need Key to find his way to the free throw line more often as he has yet to attempt a shot from the charity stripe.

MOST IMPROVED TEAMS
Wayne State was one of the most improved teams in the country last season, adding nine wins to its 2015-16 win total and subtracting eight losses.

REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Three of the top 10 teams in the Midwest Region will be competed inside the Matthaei during the season-opening weekend on Nov. 11-12.  According to the D2SIDA Preseason Regional Poll, Kentucky Wesleyan was seventh, Wayne State was ninth and Lake Superior State was tied-for-10th.  WSU's next opponent Bellarmine is ranked third nationally and holds the top spot in the region entering the 2017-18 season.

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
WSU's non-conference schedule could be the toughest of any GLIAC program.  After an exhibition win at DI Detroit Mercy, the Warriors hosted two strong in-region opponents in Alderson Broaddus and Kentucky Wesleyan before welcoming Bellarmine, who is ranked third nationally to begin the season.  The early portion of the non-GLIAC schedule concludes with a trip to Lewis on Nov. 25th.

COACHING MILESTONE
With the win on Dec. 3, 2016, over Hillsdale, David Greer became the winningest coach in the 99 years of Wayne State men's basketball.  He passed his predecessor Ron Hammye's mark of 212 victories, which he collected in his 13 seasons (1988-01). 

WINNING STREAKS
The longest winning-streak in program history is 17 games done on two occasions in 1955-56 and 1994. Other streaks of note include 14, 12, and the nine-game winning streak for the 2016-17 team is one of four of that length in program history and the longest since 1998-99.

RETURNING CORE
The returning trio of Ronald Booth, Chuck Key and Marcus Moore scored 60 percent of the points last season.

20-POINT WINS
WSU collected six 20-point victories during the 2016-17 season, including a 23-point win over Northwood on Jan. 26th and a 24-point win against Lake Superior State on Jan. 28th.  The Warriors added to that total with their 90-65 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 12th.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game in 2018 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast/CN 900.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.  WSU alum Kendall LeSure, who played at Wayne State from 2000-04 and scored 1,068 points during his career, joins Kevin for home games.