DAYTON/INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League announced its 2024-25 men's basketball conference schedule Wednesday morning, with first-year head coach Clint Sargent and the Raiders now knowing the road ahead to navigate through the 20-game conference slate.
In addition, Sargent announced the Raiders' finalized non-conference slate after five such contests had previously been announced throughout the summer and fall.
"Every season you understand how difficult and challenging your League schedule will be and this year will be no different," Sargent said. "There are a number of great coaches with established cultures who expect to compete for a regular season title. We are looking forward to being in that conversation and can't wait to get started."
"I am very pleased with how our non-conference schedule shaped up," Sargent added. "It's never an easy puzzle to put together but I think our staff did a great job of making decisions that will not only put our team in position to be tested and successful but added great opportunities for our fans to join us on that journey. Our Myrtle Beach event is the toughest tournament field we have had in my time here. We will face several teams that expect to win their league. Add in two marquee home games against Air Force and Marshall and that gives us two good opponents from two very good leagues. The remainder of our schedule will test us on the road and give us the competitive balance we need with your overall schedule."
The Horizon League schedule begins with an early December road trip to take on Oakland and Detroit Mercy, along with a home December matchup against Youngstown State, before the close of the 2024 calendar year. The final 17 contests of the regular season will begin just ahead of the new year and run through the final weekend of the regular season on March 1.
After the early December contests and the conclusion of the non-conference campaign, the Raiders will jump back into the Horizon League schedule in earnest on December 29 with a trip to Cleveland State before ringing in the new year with back-to-back home contests against Green Bay (Jan. 2) and Oakland (Jan. 9). Wright State alternates home and road contests through the remainder of January, with visits to Robert Morris (Jan. 12), Northern Kentucky (Jan. 18) and Youngstown State (Jan. 30) to go along with home contests inside the Nutter Center against Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 15) and back-to-back home games against Milwaukee (Jan. 22) and Detroit Mercy (Jan. 25).
February will begin at home for the Raiders, who welcome Robert Morris on February 2 before a trip to Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 5) that will be followed up with a home contest against IU Indianapolis (Feb. 8). Wright State's longest League road trip will come Valentine's weekend in Wisconsin, taking on Milwaukee (Feb. 14) and Green Bay (Feb. 16) before returning home to host Northern Kentucky (Feb. 21) and Cleveland State (Feb. 27). The regular season concludes on March 1 at IU Indianapolis.
The opening rounds of the Horizon League Basketball Championships will once again start on campus with early round matchups set for March 4 and 6. The semifinals and Horizon League championship game will take place March 10 and 11 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
Wright State will prepare for the 2024-25 season with an October 26 exhibition inside the Nutter Center against Wilmington College, marking the first time the Raiders have hosted an exhibition contest since the 2018-19 campaign. The home non-conference matchups include games against in-state opponents Ohio Christian (Nov. 6) and Central State (Nov. 16) in addition to the previously announced Air Force (Nov. 30) and Marshall (Dec. 11) contests inside the Nutter Center.
The Raiders' road non-conference matchups include trips to Miami (OH) on November 9 and Toledo (Nov. 13) and a visit to face Eastern Michigan (Dec. 21) in addition to previously the previously announced season-opener at Kentucky (Nov. 4) and the Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24).
OPPONENT INFO
Oakland (Dec. 5, Rochester, MI | Jan. 9, Nutter Center)
Oakland finished 24-12 overall last season with a 15-5 Horizon League record on the way to winning the Horizon League tournament title and defeating Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders and Golden Grizzlies split their two meetings last season, with each winning on the other's home floor. Wright State leads the overall series 20-11 over Oakland.
Detroit Mercy (Dec. 7, Detroit, MI | Jan. 25, Nutter Center)
Detroit Mercy was just 1-31 overall last season with a 1-19 HL record, notching its only win in February against IU Indy. Mark Montgomery takes over as the new head coach of the Titans, while the Raiders have won 18 of the last 21 meetings over the last eight seasons. Wright State leads the all-time series 41-28 overall.
Youngstown State (Dec. 18, Nutter Center | Jan. 30, Youngstown, OH)
Youngstown State turned in a 22-10 overall record with a 14-6 Horizon League mark in 2023-24, finishing the year in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament. Wright State dropped both matchups last season, however, the Raiders lead the overall series 50-19 entering the 2024-25 campaign.
Cleveland State (Dec. 29, Cleveland, OH | Feb. 27, Nutter Center)
Cleveland State finished the 2023-24 season with a 21-15 overall record and an 11-9 mark in Horizon League play, falling in the HL tournament semifinals before going on to play a pair of games in the Ro College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. Wright State won both meetings last season, including a comeback overtime victory in Cleveland, and has won 14 of the last 21 contests in the series overall, which is the longest series all-time in Raider history. The Raiders hold a 45-39 advantage in the all-time series entering 2024-25.
Green Bay (Jan. 2, Nutter Center | Feb. 16, Green Bay, WI)
Green Bay finished 18-14 overall with a 13-7 Horizon League record last season before falling in the HL tournament quarterfinals. Doug Gottlieb was hired as the new head coach of the Phoenix, who beat the Raiders twice last season. Wright State has still won 14 of the last 18 meetings and holds a slim, 39-35 overall series lead entering the season.
Robert Morris (Jan. 12, Moon Township, PA | Feb. 2, Nutter Center)
Robert Morris finished the 2023-24 season with a 10-22 overall mark, including a 6-14 Horizon League record. The Raiders won both meetings last season, finishing with 101 points in both victories. Wright State has won seven of the eight matchups since RMU's move to the Horizon League and is 9-1 all-time in the short history between the teams, with the only other matchups way back in 1977 and 1978.
Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 15, Nutter Center | Feb. 5, Fort Wayne, IN)
Fort Wayne is coming off a 23-13 record with an 11-9 Horizon League mark last season, falling in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament before going on to play three games in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The Raiders and Mastodons split the two meetings last season, with each winning on the other's floor, while Wright State has won 11 of the last 15 matchups. The Raiders lead the short series 12-6, with 13 of the matchups coming back during the 1980's.
Northern Kentucky (Jan. 18, Highland Heights, KY | Feb. 21, Nutter Center)
Northern Kentucky was 18-15 last season with a 12-8 Horizon League record, falling in the Horizon League tournament semifinals. The Raiders won two of the three meetings last season and has won nine of the last 13 meetings overall. Wright State leads the overall series 31-17 entering 2024-25.
Milwaukee (Jan. 22, Nutter Center | Feb. 14, Milwaukee, WI)
Milwaukee finished 20-15 overall and 12-8 in the Horizon League last season, falling in the Horizon League championship game. Wright State and Milwaukee split the two meetings last season, with each team winning at home. The Raiders hold a slight 39-34 lead over Milwaukee in the overall series, including winning 10 of the last 14 meetings.
IU Indy (Feb. 8, Nutter Center | March 1, Indianapolis, IN)
IU Indy finished with a 6-26 overall record in 2023-24, while the Jaguars were 2-18 in Horizon League play before hiring new head coach Paul Corsaro. Wright State won both regular season matchups last year and has won 14 meetings in a row and 17 of the last 18 games overall. The Raiders hold a 23-3 overall series advantage entering the 2024-25 season.
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Wilmington (exhibition – Oct. 26, Nutter Center)
Wright State plays an exhibition for the first time since October 2018 when the Quakers come to the Nutter Center. The Raiders and Wilmington have faced each other 11 times, however they have not faced each other since December 1994.
Kentucky (Nov. 4, Lexington, KY)
Kentucky finished 23-10 overall last season, falling in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to fellow Horizon League member Oakland. The season opener will be a matchup between a pair of head coaches in their first games on the sidelines. Sargent was named the 10th head coach in Wright State history on March 28, while Mark Pope was named Kentucky's 23rd head coach on April 12. This will be the fifth meeting between Wright State and Kentucky all-time.
Ohio Christian (Nov. 6, Nutter Center)
Ohio Christian, a member of the NCCAA, finished 13-16 last season overall, ending its season in the River States Conference tournament quarterfinals. Wright State and Ohio Christian have never faced each other on the hardwood.
Miami (OH) (Nov. 9, Oxford, OH)
Miami (OH) turned in a 15-17 overall record with a 9-9 mark in the MAC last season, with the Raiders handing the RedHawks a loss inside the Nutter Center last December. Wright State and Miami (OH) have faced off 39 times in program history, as the Raiders have won five straight in a series that dates back to December 1972.
Toledo (Nov. 13, Toledo, OH)
Toledo was 20-12 overall in 2023-24 with a 14-4 MAC record, ending the year with a loss in the MAC tournament quarterfinals. Despite a one-point loss last season, Wright State still holds a slim, 8-7 overall series advantage and has won three of the last four meetings.
Central State (Nov. 16, Nutter Center)
Central State finished just 3-25 last season before turning to former Cleveland State assistant Travis Lewis as its new head coach over the summer. Wright State and Central State have faced each other 23 times previously, most recently in the 2019-20 season opener, and the Raiders have a 16-7 all-time record against the Marauders.
Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24, Myrtle Beach, SC)
Wright State will take on Princeton for the first time in program history in the Raiders' first round contest, with Wright State matching up against either Bradley or Texas State in semifinal action. The remainder of field includes Middle Tennessee, Ohio, Portland and South Florida.
Air Force (Nov. 30, Nutter Center)
Air Force was 9-22 overall with a 2-16 record in the Mountain West Conference last season. This will be the third meeting all-time between the two schools, who met in back-to-back Decembers in a home-and-home series late in the 2010 and 2011 calendar years. The Raiders won the first meeting on December 8, 2010 inside the Nutter Center, while Air Force won the follow up contest December 7, 2011 in Colorado.
Marshall (Dec. 11, Nutter Center)
Marshall finished with a 13-20 overall record and a 7-11 mark in the Sun Belt Conference in 2023-24. Former Marshall player and assistant Cornelius Jackson was named the new head coach in March. Wright State and Marshall have faced off just four times previously, playing in home-and-home series in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons and more recently during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.
Eastern Michigan (Dec. 21, Ypsilanti, MI)
Eastern Michigan tallied a 13-18 overall mark with a 6-12 record in the MAC last season under former player Stan Heath. The Raiders and Eagles have never faced each other prior to this season's matchup.
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