Retirees Association

DDN: Raiders set to open unique Horizon League schedule

Tanner Holden

Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News

Wright State is getting ready to open Horizon League play on the road this weekend. But traveling these days with COVID-19 means the trip will lack some of the usual amenities.

“The biggest thing is the league doesn’t really want you going out and eating. You just order your food,” coach Scott Nagy said. “So, you get a lot of cold food, and you just sit in your hotel room and stare at each other.

“It’s not super exciting to be on the road right now.”

Meal time isn’t the only thing that’ll be different. The league has scheduled 10 consecutive weekends of back-to-back games, five on the road and five at home. And Nagy believes that format will be a challenge — even though the lack of fans could make it less daunting on visitors.

“Look at the NBA playoffs, how difficult it is for a team to win two games in a row. As soon as you win, the other team has the motivational advantage, and human nature takes over. They just are going to have more desire, more fire, a bigger reason to win the next game,” he said.

“All the (league) teams are good. None of the teams are afraid of each other. And when you’re in that situation, it doesn’t matter how much you think you WANT to win. If you won the game prior, the other team just has a focus to them that’s hard to get unless you’ve been beaten.”

The Raiders (2-1), who play Detroit Mercy (1-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, won the league last year with a 15-3 record — the most conference wins in their history.