Numbers don't always tell the whole story

[wsu97]

RAIDER CONNECTION

Numbers don't always tell the whole story
By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

FAIRBORN | You can get some crazy-looking numbers early in a basketball season.

For instance, look at the RPI, that index used by the NCAA to determine the best teams.

Last Tuesday, Wright State played at Northern Illinois, just another mid-major school trying to make a name for itself in Division I basketball.

The Huskies entered that game with WSU ranked the No. 2 team in the nation — behind only Duke — in the RPI. Much of that ranking came from playing a schedule — to that date — ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The RPI consists of three parts — team winning percentage (25 percent), average opponents' winning percentage (50 percent) and average opponents' opponents' winning percentage (25 percent).

Northern Illinois' record at the time was 3-1 with a victory over DePaul in the top 50 of the RPI and a loss to Missouri State, another top 50 team.

However, even after beating the Raiders by 20 points, NIU dropped to No. 18 in the nation. Beating Wright State (ranked 180 this week) just didn't help the Huskies' RPI.

It would help Wright State if the Raiders could come up with some big victories. Entering Saturday's game with Belmont, WSU was judged to have the nation's 24th toughest schedule to date, while Belmont had played the 31st toughest schedule.

Don't look for those numbers to be quite so high at the end of the season.

• Jaron Taylor was asked about his 3-point shot with 6:11 to play that put WSU ahead for the first time in the second half against Belmont Saturday, and he started off by talking about the big 3-point shot Tyrone Scott made just before that and the nice pass DaShaun Wood made to him so he could make his own shot.

"My confidence was there as always and I got a nice pass from (Da)Shaun. He was giving me nice passes all day and I was just able to cash them in. If you want to shoot the ball, you can't make them all the time. You just have to have the confidence every time you shoot, it's going to go in. Tonight I started off and I think I missed my first three."

First of all, Taylor missed only two of his seven shots and was 1-of-2 in the first half, both 3-point attempts. The one he made, with 4:09 left in the half, drew the Raiders to 27-26. In the second half, he missed his first 3-point cast, and didn't miss again. So he did miss two of his first three shots.

He also finished with a career-high 16 points.

"It just so happened my shot put us in the lead, but we definitely had a lot of momentum before I made my shot," Taylor said.

Scoring was not all Taylor did. He had an assist and two steals in 21 minutes of play. Talking about himself is just not the way he works.

The Raiders have now won two of their last three, both at home. There are three more non-conference games – two at home — before the team goes almost exclusively into the Horizon League season.

Texas Pan-American visits Thursday and Northeastern the following Tuesday before the Raiders visit Akron for a New Year's Even day game. A few more games from Taylor the way he played against Belmont will be welcome.
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/1219raiderconnection.html?cxntnid=rc-121905

[Big D]

RAIDER CONNECTION

What Christmas break? Raiders have game 2 days after holiday
By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

FAIRBORN | This isn't like last year, when the Raiders played on Dec. 22, then not again until Dec. 30.

This year, the Raiders had a game Thursday night, and have another one Tuesday, against Northeastern. You know what that means. There will be a shortened holiday season for the players. Next practice, Sunday night, Christmas Day.

For the bulk of the Raiders, they'll be able to get home and get back with few problems. Seven are from Ohio, from as close as Reinaldo Smith's Fairborn.

William Graham is from Lexington, Ky., another relatively short trip. DaShaun Wood and Tyrone Scott are from Detroit, and should be able to make the round trip comfortably.

That leaves Robert Eldridge of Gary, Ind., Jaron Taylor of Baltimore and the winner of the farthest from home award, Parysh Munroe of Freeport, Bahamas.

Eldridge is going to get home. Taylor and Munroe will have family visit them.

Earlier in the week, coach Paul Biancardi held a party for the team at his home.

Raider tidbits:

•Computer ratings can be misleading, but always interesting. In Thursday's USA Today, the Jeff Sagarin ratings ran, with WSU ranked No. 169 among the 334 Division I schools.

That's about what you can expect from a mid-major team that was 2-5 at the time of the ranking. At least the Raiders are playing a competitive schedule, one

ranked 56th toughest in the nation.

Other teams, ranked higher, haven't played that tough a schedule. In the Horizon League with WSU are Butler rank 41, schedule 95), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (45 and 18), Chicago-Loyola (104 and 193), Illinois-Chicago (111 and 171), Detroit (203 and 120), Wisconsin-Green Bay (205 and 76), Youngstown State (280 and 257) and Cleveland State (297 and 215).

•Ratings, rankings, what's the difference?

Entering Thursday's game with Texas Pan-American, the Raiders ranked a respectable 68th nationally in turnovers per game among the 326 teams the NCAA is using in Division I. That's with 14 turnovers a game.

In four categories, they haven't done well so far at all, including 3-point field goals per game (318th with 3.6), blocked shots per game (308 with 1.6), assists per game (307 with 10.3) and field-goal percentage defense (303 with 47.9).

•In what is becoming an annual event, the team will visit the Children's Medical Center Wednesday from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

•James Craft's uniform number changed from 32 to 33 because no one in the equipment room could find his home uniform. It was suggested he didn't turn it in, but he said he did.

•Northeastern visits Tuesday. The Raiders won at that Boston school 59-53 last season.

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[Big D]

Raiders spread holiday cheer to kids in hospital
Players have own spirits lifted by visit to Children's
By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | Wright State's men's basketball players were willing to play some games. They just weren't very good at any of them.

"Don't look at your cards; you're cheating," 13-year-old Javana Burns said in a chiding fashion as Reinaldo Smith glanced at his UNO cards. The rest of the team gathered around Burns' bed at Children's Medical Center had a good laugh at that.

Then William Graham entered the game and Burns was just as sharp with him.

"You're cheating, too," she said with a big smile.

It's tough to smile when you've just gone through an operation to correct a leaky stent. Her grandmother, who was nearby, said the past week has been tough, but Javana has pulled through.

"It was lots of fun," said Smith, who didn't win his game. "She had so much energy. She made us competitive, not to mention she was funny, too."

Wednesday morning, for nearly an hour and a half, the WSU team visited CMC, trooping into rooms to visit kids with respiratory problems, pneumonia, broken arms and legs. They dropped off ballcaps and posters and media guides about the team.

Only this wasn't about Wright State basketball.

"Everything isn't basketball at the end of the day," junior guard DaShaun Wood said. "Any one of us can be in this situation.

"It makes you realize how fortunate you are," freshman Robert Eldridge said. "I really didn't know what to expect. It makes you feel good you're doing something for someone else and not thinking of yourself all the time."

In another room, sophomore forward Jordan Pleiman also tried his luck at a game, playing Candyland with Cody Brenner, recovering from pneumonia.

Brenner was too good for him.

"He was making moves I've never seen," Pleiman said.

"You were cheating, too, and you still lost," junior teammate Drew Burleson said.

It was the second straight year the Raiders have visited CMC.

"We try to have groups come and visit; it breaks up the day," said Karen Muller, manager of the Child Life department. "We've had some UD players come, and high school teams and last week the Miamisburg cheerleaders.

"During the summer, the (baseball) Dragons come by, usually 2-3 at a time."

WSU coach Paul Biancardi said the visits mean a lot to the players as well. "They get to see these kids and interact with people who aren't players and coaches and media," Biancardi said. "You come here to lift their spirits. When we leave, our spirits are lifted."

Contact Marc Katz at 225-2157.
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/1229wsubb.html

[Wolf]

RAIDER CONNECTION

Raiders need to shake bad loss
By Marc Katz

Dayton Daily News

FAIRBORN — Okay, there is some good news here if history repeats itself.

In Wright State coach Paul Biancardi's two-plus seasons, his teams rarely have followed a blowout loss with another loss.

In fact, this season is the first time it has happened that way, and only once. After Ball State strangled the Raiders 71-50 on Nov. 26, Wright State lost its next game, 54-46, at Miami.

And the Raiders improved considerably in the three days between the games, too.

Two other times this season the Raiders have been blown out, 62-42 at Northern Illinois and Saturday, 72-44 at Akron.

Directly following the NIU debacle, the Raiders won three straight for the first time in two seasons.

Now comes the following game after Akron. Thursday, the Raiders will be at Cleveland State to begin the bulk of the Horizon League schedule.

How has it worked out after blowouts in previous seasons? In 2003-04, Toledo crushed the Raiders 103-66, the worst defeat in Biancardi's short career, and in the next game, WSU won at Brown, 74-71.

A game later, the Raiders lost 85-67 at Akron, then beat Butler, 51-39.

Last season was more of the same. Wright State lost 83-66 at Arizona, then beat Brown 67-44. Later in the season, Texas Pan-American came alive in the second half to run away from the Raiders 77-59, and in the next game, WSU beat Morgan State 70-52.

Then came this four-game segment: WSU lost 74-57 to Loyola, beat Butler 61-55, lost 71-49 at Detroit and beat Youngstown State 71-64.

It appears the Raiders have the ability to shake big losses quickly. It also appears they have the ability to do the same with victories.

• WSU's Walter Chancellor and Akron's Darryl Peterson, both of Cincinnati, are cousins. Chancellor, in his first start, subbing for flu-ridden Scottie Wilson, didn't score, didn't take a shot and committed three turnovers and three fouls in six minutes of play.

Peterson, an Akron senior, came off the bench to score 10 points, blocked a shot and had two rebounds.

• If you're looking for reasons why the Raiders are just 4-6 after 10 games, try shooting 35 percent or worse in five games, all losses, with a season-low 46.2 percent from the foul line at Akron.

In a game in which the Zips were gunning from the outside and making 3s, it was mandatory the Raiders make as many free throws as possible. They made six of 13.

Defense has been a problem, too. Akron just missed becoming the fourth team to shoot 50 percent or better against WSU, making 49.1 percent of its shots.

• The WSU players voted to arise early Saturday and take a Rhodes Arena shootaround at 7:30 a.m. rather than visit the court for a Friday-night walk through.

As it turned out, the walk through didn't mean much.

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