Men's Basketball | 1/18/2017 11:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball program (9-4, 6-3 GLIAC) will look to right the ship after losing three straight games against Grand Valley State (10-6, 6-3 GLIAC) on Thursday night and Ferris State (13-3, 7-2 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon.

STORYLINES
A three-game losing streak has knocked Wayne State out of the first-place spot in the GLIAC but the Warriors have a great opportunity to regain momentum this week.  Wayne State is currently tied-for-second in the North Division with Grand Valley State and Lake Superior State, while sitting a game behind Ferris State.  WSU travels to GVSU on Thursday  (8 p.m.) and then to first-place FSU on Saturday (3 p.m.).

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 31-47 in the all-time series against Grand Valley State.  The teams began playing in 1971 and the Lakers won 14 of the first 16 meetings.  GVSU has won the last three matchups after WSU won five straight.  The Warriors are 13-24 in Allendale and head coach David Greer is 10-11 in his time at WSU in the series.

The Warriors trail the all-time series with Ferris State, 39-43.  The teams began playing in 1966.  The Bulldogs have won four of the previous six contests.  WSU is 15-25 in Big Rapids and Coach Greer is 12-10 at FSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Grand Valley State is 10-6 overall (6-3 GLIAC) and had won three in a row before falling to Lake Superior State on Saturday.  Head coach Ric Wesley is in his 13th season and has the second most wins in program history (265).  Senior guard Luke Ryskamp is the team's leading scorer at 12.8 points per game, while senior forward Trevin Alexander is averaging 10.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per night.  Junior center Drake Baar is shooting 61 percent from the floor and is averaging 10.3 points per contest.  As a team, GVSU is scoring 76.7 points per game and allowing 64.9.

Ferris State sits in the top spot in the GLIAC at 13-3 overall and 7-2 in the league.  The Bulldogs have won eight straight dating back to a loss at Walsh on Dec. 8, 2016.  Sophomore center Zach Hankins leads FSU with 15.2 points and 9.7 boards per night, while shooting 68.9 percent from the field.  Senior guard Quentin Ruff is averaging 13.5 points and junior guard Peter Firlik is scoring 11.7 points per night.  Head coach Andy Bronkema is in his fourth season leading the program.  As a team, FSU is scoring 87.3 points per game, while allowing 71.4.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State dropped its third straight contest, 75-71, on Saturday vs. Northern Michigan.  WSU was unable to hold onto a 40-38 halftime lead as NMU outscored the Warriors 37-31 in the second half to secure the win despite a 24-9 offensive rebounding advantage for WSU.  Naba Echols beat the first-half buzzer to make the halftime score 40-38 in favor Wayne State.  The game remained deadlocked at the six-minute mark, 59-59, after a Michael Lewis basket.  Ronald Booth gave the Warriors a three-point lead with a three-pointer on the next possession.  A 9-0 run by the Wildcats gave the visitors a 68-62 lead with 1:55 left to play.  Booth hit a jumper and then a triple to cut NMU's lead to 72-70 at the 21 second mark.  The Wildcats did enough at the charity stripe down the stretch to collect the 75-71 victory.  Four Warriors finished with 10 or more points led by a season-high 20 from Lewis.  Chuck Key and Moore both scored 16 points, while Booth added 15.  Lewis and Key both notched double-doubles as the two forwards grabbed 11 rebounds each.

COACHING MILESTONE
With the win on Dec. 3rd 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 this year's team is one of four in program history and the longest since the 1998-99 season.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA stats release, WSU ranks ninth in fewest turnovers (154), 12th in scoring defense (64.5), 28th in fewest fouls (237), 35th in opponent field goal percentage (.412), 40th in turnovers per game (11.8) and 43rd in turnover margin (+3.0).  Ronald Booth is 36th nationally with 2.08 steals per game.

NORTH VS. SOUTH
This week will be the second week of GLIAC divisional play.  After the 15 GLIAC programs completed its out-of-division play, the GLIAC North Division had a 32-24 (.625) record against the GLIAC South Division.  Six of the eight North members have a winning conference record, while Findlay was the only South team with a winning mark in league games at the start of divisional play.

ELITE DEFENSE
Wayne State is allowing 64.5 points per game this season, which is the best mark in the league and is the third-best mark in the last 59 years.  The 1982-83 team allowed 63.0 points per night, while the 2011-12 squad allowed 63.3 points per contest.  Opponents are shooting .412 against WSU this season, which is the best performance since the 2001-02 team limited opponents to a .408 shooting percentage, which is the best in school history.

KEY ROAD TRIP
If the Warriors want to keep the top of the GLIAC in their sights, this week's road trip vs. second-place GVSU and first-place FSU is key before playing four of its next five games inside the Matthaei. 

WHO WILL LEAD THE WARRIORS?
For the first time this season, four Warriors are averaging more than 10 points a night.  Ronald Booth leads WSU in scoring at 15.5 points, while Chuck Key is averaging 13.2 points per contest.  Marcus Moore is scoring 12.6 points per night and Michael Lewis has joined the club after a recent surge and is averaging 10.5 points per game.

MARGIN OF ERROR
The margin of defeat during the last three games has been six, five and four points and Wayne State has led at halftime in each of the three games.  

REBOUNDING ADVANTAGE
WSU has won the rebounding advantage in seven of the 13 games this season, including a 24-9 offensive rebounding advantage vs. Northern Michigan on Saturday.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every home men's basketball game beginning in 2017 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  The crew of Sean Baligian, Rod Beard, Joe Abramson and Tony Ortiz will call the action. 

LIVE ON WDTK
Kevin Brechmacher will call every contest live on the radio on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM).  Fans can also stream the action online newstalk1400.us.  Joining Kevin for home games will be WSU alum Kendall LeSure, who played at Wayne State from 2000-04 and scored 1,068 points during his career.