Wright State at Detroit

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About Detroit

Titans are in rebuilding mode with new coach Ray McCallum, who previously was head coach at Ball State and Houston. Although Detroit has yet to win a league game this year, Titans took league-leading Butler to the last few seconds in Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 10, before losing 54-50. Titans also have a two-point loss at home to Youngstown State. Detroit has had trouble scoring and ranks last in the conference at 55.3-point average. Meanwhile, WSU is third in defense, allowing just 56.6 points a game.

About Wright State

A six-game winning streak was stopped at Butler last week, but the Raiders regrouped to beat Valparaiso and they also own a five-game winning streak against Detroit, counting the four regular-season games the last two seasons plus a first-round victory in the Horizon League tournament last season.

Outlook

After tonight's game, which ends a three-game road swing, the Raiders have to go on the road for only four more of their remaining 12 games. Still no definitive word on junior guard Vaughn Duggins, who won't play tonight, but could come back later in the season. His injured right hand continues to bother him.

 

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Brown's recent play scoring points for WSU



? With two seasons of data already recorded, Wright State junior Todd Brown seemed in line for another good scoring run.

He wasn't. At least, not right away.

Only in the last six games has Brown shown the consistency he had a year ago, when he scored nearly 13 points a game. Entering tonight's, Jan. 16, Horizon League game at Detroit on ESPNU, Brown is averaging 7.8 points, but leads the team with 11.7 points in six league games.

Brown, a 6-foot-5 guard, was held to about four points a game through the first 11 games of the season, failing to reach double figures nine times. Three times, he was completely shut out.

His shooting percentage from the field was a sickly 17 percent.

"It was pretty much a confidence thing," Brown said. "If you're in a slump, basketball's not fun. Right now, it's fun."

He offered no reason for the turnaround, and yet there has been a turnaround. In the last eight games, Brown is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 51 percent. In the last six games, he is averaging 13.5 points. He has also become the team's leading rebounder in league games and is about to overtake Cory Cooperwood for the rebounding lead in all games.

"There's nothing drastically changed in Todd," WSU coach Brad Brownell said. "It's not like at the beginning of the season he wasn't trying. I think it's simpler than that. He's made some shots."

As one of the two leading scorers returning from last season's 21-10 team, Brown quickly became a focus of what was wrong with the Raiders when they opened up losing their first six games.

Vaughn Duggins, the team's leading scorer, was sidelined after four games with a broken finger. Brown wasn't scoring. All of the sudden, more than 25 points a game vanished from the offense.

"He's a big part of us being better," said Brownell, whose team has won nine of its last 11 games. "His big play has been a necessity without Vaughn. He's doing what he needs to be doing."