DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (4-11 overall, 1-10 GLIAC) will host Lake Superior State (8-11 overall, 5-6 GLIAC) on Thursday night and 11th-ranked Ferris State (20-3 overall, 9-3 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon.

STORYLINES
Wayne State hosts Lake Superior State on Thursday night and Ferris State on Saturday afternoon to conclude a four-game home stand.  The Warriors will aim to end their eight-game losing streak and collect their first home win of the season.

THE SERIES
The Green & Gold leads 45-30 (27-11 at home) in the all-time series vs. Lake Superior State.  The Lakers have won four of the last five meetings with Wayne State last winning on Jan. 6, 2018, in Detroit.  The Warriors lost in Sault Ste. Marie earlier this season on Dec. 7th (67-63).  Coach Greer is 13-14 (9-5 at home) against LSSU.

Wayne State trails 40-48 against Ferris State in the all-time series, but do lead 23-17 in games played inside the Matthaei.  The teams first met in 1966 and FSU has a 39-31 lead in GLIAC contests in the series.  The Bulldogs won the season's first matchup in Big Rapids, 96-86.  FSU has captured eight of the last nine meetings with WSU's last victory coming on Nov. 29, 2018, in Detroit.  Head coach David Greer is 13-15 (8-3 at home) all-time versus Ferris State.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Superior State enters the week at 8-11 overall, including a 5-6 mark in league contests.  LSSU has won back-to-back games over Purdue Northwest (72-59) and Parkside (75-66), after dropping the five previous games.  Head coach Steve Hettinga is in 13th season leading the men's basketball program and is the program's all-time winningest coach.  Senior forward Ke'Montrece Collins is the squad's top scorer (14.9 PPG) and rebounder (7.0 RPG).  Freshman guard Nigel Colvin is also averaging in double-figures (10.1 PPG).  Sophomore guard Justin Fischer leads the roster with 3.9 helpers per contest.  As a team, LSSU is scoring 72.2 points per game and allowing 75.5 points per contest.

Ferris State comes into this week ranked 11th in the country and is 20-3 overall, including a 9-2 mark in the GLIAC.  The Bulldogs have back-to-back games after falling at Michigan Tech (102-90) on Jan. 18th.  FSU will compete at Ashland on Thursday night before heading to Detroit.  Head coach Andy Bronkema is in his fifth season leading the program.  Junior guard Walt Kelser leads the roster in scoring (18.1 PPG), while junior forward Dorian Aluyi (11.8 PPG) and senior center Cole Walker (10.0 PPG) are both averaging in double figures.  Aluyi is the top rebounder on the squad at 6.8 boards per night, while Walker is pulling down 5.7 rebounds per game.  Walker is shooting nearly 45 percent from behind the arc, which ranks fifth in the conference.  Senior guard D'angelo Hughes leads the team in assists (4.8 APG).  As a team, Ferris State leads the league at 88.7 points per contest, while allowing 74.7 points per game.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
Cold shooting against Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 23rd allowed the Cardinals to win 71-57.  The Warriors missed all 10 of their three-point attempts were never able to hold a lead.  Brailen Neely led the way with 21 points along with seven assists, while James Gordon finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

WSU led 37-32 at halftime on Jan. 25th vs. Northwood, but the Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 41-34 in the second half to win 73-71.  WSU had opportunities to level the score but missed free throws would haunt WSU as NU escaped with a two-point victory.  James Gordon posted a career-best 26 points along with 11 rebounds to lead Wayne State.  Brailen Neely finished with 20 points and 10 assists, while Antonio Marshall chipped in with 13 points and four steals.

CLOSE GAMES
In 12 of the 15 games this season, Wayne State was leading, tied or trailed by less than four points with under five minutes to play.  The Warriors are 1-4 in games decided by three points or fewer, including a pair of overtime games.  The three games that do not meet those standards were Michigan Tech, Purdue Northwest and Saginaw Valley State.

KARIM VS. THE BULLDOGS
Over the last three meetings between WSU and Ferris State, Karim Murray is averaging 24.3 PPG (73 points) and 7.7 RPG (23 rebounds).  In 109 minutes of action, Murray is 27-of-49 (55%) from the floor and 19-of-24 (79%) from the foul line with eight assists, four steals and a block.

TORCHING THE NET 
On Jan. 11th vs. 18th-ranked Grand Valley State, Brailen Neely recorded his second 30-plus point effort of the season finishing with 32 points.  Neely had 33 points in the GLIAC opener at Ferris State last month.  Last year (2018-19), Javon Henderson had two 30-point outings (31 at Purdue Northwest and 36 vs. Davenport).  The last time prior to Henderson, a Warrior had at least two 30+-games in a season was 2006-07 when Kris Krzyminski had four such affairs.  Krzyminski tallied 34 and 41 points against Gannon, 32 vs. Clarion and 38 against Hillsdale.

ASSIST RECORDS
Brailen Neely's 17 assists at Purdue Northwest on Jan. 18th is the most in program history.  He surpassed a 15-assist performance from Darrell Evans on Feb. 17, 2005, vs. Ashland.  Evans also had the second-highest mark of 13 vs. Findlay (2/14/05) along with Grady Wicker against Northwood (2/9/80).  Neely has 114 helpers this season, which is ranks 19th all-time.  The season record is 232 by Evans in 2004-05.  Additionally, Neely is currently averaging 7.6 assists per contest to lead the league.  That would be the high mark in program history if the season ended today.

ON TOP
The Warriors lead the GLIAC in opponent field goal percentage (.406), rank second in blocks per game (4.3 BPG), third in rebounds per game (37.7), fourth in opponent three-point percentage (.326) and fifth in field goal percentage (.448).

GREER BACK FOR 19TH SEASON
Head coach David Greer is in his 19th season as the top man on the Warriors' bench.  He equaled the school record for years as head men's basketball coach last season, joining Newman Ertell (1929-48) and Joel Mason (1948-66) at 18 years on the WSU bench.  The win at Hillsdale on Nov. 27, 2019, was his 250th at Wayne State.  Thursday's game vs. Lake Superior State will be his 500th at Wayne State.

NEW BASKETBALL ARENA 
In May of 2019, it was announced that WSU Athletics and the Detroit Pistons would be partnering to construct a $25 million basketball arena on the west side of the athletic campus.

The approved plan includes construction of a 70,000 square-foot arena near the intersection of Warren and Trumbull avenues with seating capacity for approximately 3,000 fans, office space and locker room areas for both WSU's men's and women's basketball teams, a concessions area and other ancillary spaces.  The arena will be ready for play in the 2021-2022 basketball season.

The Pistons G-League team will also call the new facility home.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every home women's and men's basketball game can be seen live on Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.  A 24-hour pass is $5.95, while a monthly re-occurring subscription is $9.95 and a yearly pass is $69.95.  Every game is archived in the on-demand section.  All home football, volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball games will be available on the channel.

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Former Warrior standout Mike Lewis will serve as an analyst for home broadcasts during the 2019-20 season.  Fans can also stream the action online at PatriotDetroit.com.