DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (5-13 overall, 4-9 GLIAC) aims to find the win column on the road at Lake Superior State (11-8 overall, 7-6 GLIAC) and Ferris State (16-8 overall, 8-6 GLIAC). 

STORYLINES
Wayne State will make its first GLIAC road trip this week since Jan. 10-12.  WSU will visit Lake Superior State on Thursday and Ferris State on Saturday.  The Warriors fell to LSSU on Dec. 1st and topped Ferris State on Nov. 29th.

THE SERIES
Wayne State leads 45-28 in the all-time series vs. Lake Superior State.  The teams began playing in 1969 and met as GLIAC counterparts beginning in 1976.  WSU is 18-17 on the road in the series and head coach David Greer is 13-12 (4-7 on the road) against LSSU.  Earlier this season, the Lakers prevailed 89-65 in Detroit.  LSSU has won seven of the previous 10 contests.

The Warriors trail 40-46 in the all-time series against Ferris State.  Wayne State won for the first time since 2014 on Nov. 29th, 90-89, inside the Matthaei.  Coach Greer is 13-13 (4-9 in road games) vs. the Bulldogs.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Superior State enters the week at 11-8 overall with a 7-6 GLIAC mark.  The Lakers are currently tied for the fifth seed.  LSSU beat Saginaw Valley State, 87-72, to avoid a three-game losing streak.  Head coach Steve Hettinga is in his 12th season with the program.   Junior guard Malek Adams is the team's leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, while sophomore forward Rog Stein ranks second in the league at 8.0 rebounds per game.  As a team, the Lakers are scoring 82.6 points per night and allowing 77.9 points per contest.

The defending National Champion Ferris State Bulldogs lost four straight games from Nov. 20th until Dec. 1st, including a game at Wayne State.  However, since then, FSU is 11-3 and sits in fourth place in the GLIAC.  Head coach Andy Bronkema is in his sixth season with the program.  Two-sport standout and senior guard DeShaun Thrower is the team's leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, while D'Angelo Hughes is scoring 12.7 points per night.  Sophomore forward Jaylin McFadden (11.0 PPG), senior forward Markese Mayfield and junior center Cole Walker (10.0 PPG) are all averaging at least 10 points per outing.  Mayfield is the team's top rebounder (7.2), while Thrower (3.8 APG) and Hughes (3.8 APG) are tied for the team lead in assists.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State fell 84-75 to Davenport on Feb. 2nd.  The Warriors trailed 38-36 at halftime, but the Panthers out-scored WSU 46-39 in the second stanza to win their 10th league game of the season.  Javon Henderson tallied a career-best and a WSU season-high 36 points on 14-of-18 shooting, while pulling down nine rebounds and blocking four shots.  Henderson accounted for nearly half of WSU's offensive output, while Darian Owens-White finished with 19 points and Latin Davis, Jr. chipped in with 11 points.  The 36 points for Henderson matches the eighth-most in program history and is the most for a Wayne State player since Kris Krzyminski scored 38 points versus Hillsdale (Dec. 9, 2006).

HENDERSON'S CONTRIBUTION
Javon Henderson has grown into a standout player during his final collegiate campaign.  He posted four double-doubles in January, the first four of his career.  He totaled 61 points, 49 rebounds and four blocks in his first 10 games.  Over the last eight games, he is averaging 18.5 points per game (148 total points), 10 boards per contest (80 total rebounds) and 2.5 blocks per night (20 total blocks).
 

He notched a 31-point and 14-rebound performance at Purdue Northwest (Jan. 10th) and followed that with 15 points and 13 rebounds at Parkside (Jan. 12th).  He posted a pair of double-doubles in late January, first at Central State, where he tallied 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.  He followed with 11 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and four steals vs. Ashland on Jan. 26th.

CLOSE CALLS
Wayne State snapped a four-game losing streak on Jan. 23 at Central State.  During the dry spell, the Warriors played three overtime games and another came down to the final possession.  WSU lost the four games by a total of 14 points.  The trend continued on Jan. 26th, as the Warriors fell on a last-second jumper against Ashland.  Wayne State has lost seven games by four points or less this season, including the three aforementioned  overtime contests.

TOUGH SCHEDULE
Wayne State has played eight (#1 Bellarmine,  #2 Lewis, #2 Ashland, #4 Davenport, #5 Northern Michigan, #7 Davenport, #8 Ohio Dominican and #9 Grand Valley State) of the top 10 teams in the Midwest region (at the time of the meeting).  However, WSU's remaining schedule ranks 183rd (.507 winning percentage) and 79th in terms of cumulative opposition (.549 winning percentage).

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Darian Owens-White ranks sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.486) and 32nd in minutes per game (36:15).  Latin Davis, Jr. ranks 30th in minutes per game (36:21).  Javon Henderson ranks 39th with 3.06 offensive rebounds per game.

SHARP SHOOTER
Sophomore Darian Owens-White is quickly becoming one of the most lethal long-range shooters in the league and nation.  He has made 49 percent of his three-point attempts this season.  He currently ranks third in the league and sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.486), and is third in program history in career three-point percentage (.440 / 59-of-134).  Additionally, his 59 made triples ranks 31st.

HEAD COACH LONGEVITY
Head coach David Greer is in his 18th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench.  He equals the school record for years as head men's basketball coach in 2018-19, joining Newman Ertell (1929-48) and Joel Mason (1948-66) at 18 years on the WSU bench. 

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game in 2019 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast/CN 900.  Sean Baligian (play-by-play), Rod Beard (analyst) and Joe Abramson (sideline) will call the action.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Former Warrior standouts Ian Larkin and Mike Lewis will serve as analysts during home broadcasts during the 2018-19 season.  Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.