STORYLINES
After winning four straight games, the Warriors sit in first place in the GLIAC South Division and second place overall.  Wayne State is in the midst of a four-game road trip which continues with a pair of match-ups at Parkside on Friday (4:00 PM ET) and Saturday (4:00 PM ET) before finishing the road swing at Ashland on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 7-11 in the all-time series versus Parkside.  The Rangers have won three of the last five meetings, but WSU took the most recent contest in Detroit (64-51), while UWP won its home game last season, 76-73, in overtime.  The Warriors are 2-7 in Wisconsin, while head coach David Greer is 3-4 vs. Parkside, including an 0-3 mark on the road.  The teams have split the four match-ups as GLIAC counterparts in a series that began in 1971.

The Warriors have a 33-28 advantage over Ashland in the all-time series.  Wayne State is 12-17 on the road in the series, which dates back to 1922.  Coach Greer is 20-16 (9-9 on the road) vs. Ashland in his 19-plus seasons with the Warriors.  Earlier this season, WSU stifled the Eagles inside the Matthaei with a comeback victory on Jan. 26th, winning 58-50.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS 
Parkside is 7-4 in the league and has won five of its last six games.  The Rangers are coming off of a split at Ashland and will begin a three-game home stand on Friday.  Head coach Luke Reigel is in his 18th season at the helm.  Redshirt senior guard Tray Croft is the team's leading scorer at 15.3 points per game to go with a team-best 3.7 assist per night and 5.1 rebounds per contest.  Sophomore guard Solomon Oraegbu is averaging 13.4 points and 5.3 boards per game.  Freshman forward Colin O'Rourke is one of the better long-range shooters in the GLIAC at nearly 49 percent, while redshirt junior forward Brandon Hau is tied for the team lead with 5.3 rebounds per night.  As a team, Parkside is scoring 69.9 points per game and allowing 64.9 points per contest.  The Rangers are shooting 46 percent from the floor, 38 percent from behind the arc and 76 percent at the free throw line.

Ashland is 7-5 overall and 7-4 in the league following a split with Parkside and a sweep at Davenport.  Head coach John Ellenwood is in his 12th season leading the Eagles.  Sophomore guard Brandon Haraway is leading the team in scoring with 14.0 points per game, while collecting 5.5 boards per contest.  Redshirt senior guard Bo Furcron is averaging 12.7 points per night.  Aaron Thompson is the team's top rebounder at 7.0 rebounds per contest.  As a team, AU is scoring 64.3 points per game, while allowing 61.8 points per night.  The Eagles are shooting 43 percent from the floor, 38 percent from behind the arc and 71 percent at the charity stripe.

LAST TIME OUT 
Wayne State won its fourth straight game, 62-59, on Tuesday evening at Grand Valley State.  The Warriors trailed by as many as nine, but were able to come back and win, holding GVSU to 33 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-7 from behind the arc.  It was WSU's first win in Allendale since Feb. 1, 2014 (69-64 / OT).  The contest featured nine ties and five lead changes.

Darian Owens-White led the way with 18 points and extended his free throw streak to 43 straight.  Brailen Neely chipped in with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.  Ray Williams, Jr. connected on three very important three-pointers to finish with 13 points.  Antonio Marshall pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.

CLEANING THE GLASS
The Warriors have excelled rebounding the basketball so far this season.  WSU ranks third in the league in rebounding margin per game (+2.6), winning the rebounding battle in six of the 10 games.  In addition, Wayne State ranks second in the GLIAC in total rebounds per game at 37.5.

SUCCESS AT THE LINE
The Warriors went 25-of-26 (.962) against Davenport on January 16th from the charity stripe.  That percentage is the second-best single-game performance at the free throw line with at least 15 made over the last 20 seasons.  WSU finished 20-of-22 (.909) at the line on February 6th vs. Purdue Northwest.

In addition, Darian Owens-White has made 43 straight free throws, which is a program record.  He is shooting .949 at the free throw line, which is the best mark in the conference.

SPREADING IT AROUND
In the win over Davenport on January 16th, all five starters scored in double figures.  It was the first time that has happened since December 7, 2019.  The Warriors accomplished the feat again on February 6th against the Pride.

GLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK X2
Junior Darian Owens-White was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on January 19th.  It was the first weekly honor of his career.

In just his third and fourth games back after a 22-month hiatus due to an injury, redshirt junior Darian Owens-White found his scoring touch.

Owens-White tallied 55 points in the two home court victories over Davenport.  For the week, he was 15-of-32 (47 percent) from the floor, including 9-of-14 (64 percent) from beyond the arc.  Owens-White was a stellar 16-of-17 (94 percent) from the charity stripe, while adding nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
  
Owens-White was selected GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on February 8th after helping the Warriors to a home sweep of Purdue Northwest.

In the sweep of the Pride, Owens-White totaled 46 points on 15-of-38 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.  He was 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, while contributing 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals. 

MATTHAEI MOMENTUM
Wayne State is 5-0 this season inside the Matthaei, which is double the amount of home court wins from last season.  Below are home records for the last six campaigns, prior to this year:

2019-20:  2-9
2018-19:  6-7
2017-18:  10-5
2016-17:  9-3
2015-16:  4-9
2014-15:  4-8

BENCH SCORING
It was a welcome sight to see WSU's bench carrying the weight in the season-opening win with 28 points, which is 10 more than the Warriors received in any game last year from non-starters. 

The Green & Gold followed that with 17 points off the bench during the January 16th contest vs. the Panthers.

The bench contributed 18 points in the January 22nd three-point setback at Northwood.

On average, the Warriors are getting 12.4 points per game from their bench this season compared to 5.5 points per contest during the 2019-20 season.

NCAA STAT RANKINGS
The Warriors rank in the top 50 in several statistical categories.  WSU is 18th in both free throw percentage (.775) and fewest turnovers per game (10.9), 21st in three-point field goal percentage (.394). 24th in defensive rebounds per game (28.2), 33rd in assist/turnover ratio (1.23), 41st in scoring defense (68.9), 43rd in turnover margin (+2.1), 49th in winning percentage (.700) and 50th in both scoring margin (+5.3) and total rebounds per game (37.5).

Darian Owens-White ranks eighth nationally in free throw percentage (.949), 28th in free throws made (56), 28th in minutes per game (36:25), 37th in total field goal attempts (172) and 40th in points per game (19.9).  Brailen Neely ranks 13th in steals per game (2.60), 20th in steals (26) and 27th in minutes per game (36:32)

GREER BACK FOR 20TH SEASON
Head coach David Greer is in his 20th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench.  Greer is the all-time leader in both wins and seasons.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every home game can be viewed live on Warrior All-Access for free this season.  Simply log on to WSUAthletics.com and click the video camera icon at the bottom of the home page to see the streaming schedule or watch past games.  In addition, that video camera icon can be found on the schedule page next to each game.

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.