Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University men's basketball team is set to face Ferris State in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals. The game will take place on Wednesday night at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Michigan, with a tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wayne State enters the tournament as the sixth seed with an overall record of 15-13 and a conference record of 11-9. Their opponent, Ferris State, holds the third seed with a 24-7 overall record and a 14-6 mark in GLIAC play.

Wayne State's recent performance includes defeating Ferris State 83-75 towards the end of the regular season. However, historically, Ferris State has dominated the matchup, leading the all-time series 58-42 and winning ten of their last twelve meetings against Wayne State. The Warriors have not won in Big Rapids since March 2011.

Ferris State is noted for its strong defensive capabilities, ranking among the top ten nationally in several categories such as blocks per game and defensive rebounds per game. Nathan Claerbaut leads their defense with notable national rankings in total blocks and blocks per game. On offense, Ethan Erickson and Tyler Hamilton are key contributors.

This marks Wayne State's second consecutive appearance in the GLIAC Tournament after ending a drought since their appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Last year, they reached postseason play but were eliminated by Saginaw Valley State and Ashland.

In their most recent outing against Lake Superior State on March 1st, Wayne State secured a victory after overcoming multiple ties throughout regulation and overtime play. Notable performances included contributions from Jordan Briggs, Rob Lee Jr., Ray Williams Jr., Kelvin Tamakloe, Carmelo Harris, Jon Brantley, Kingsley Perkins, Carlos Paul III, Devin Womack, Bryan Smothers (head coach), Raheem Muhammad (historical player), Tony Goins (historical player), Marcus Moore (historical player).

Carmelo Harris stands out for his free throw shooting efficiency this season while Rob Lee Jr., also performs well from both free throw line and three-point range.

Ray Williams Jr., recently became Wayne State's all-time leader in games played and started along with minutes played. He ranks highly across various statistical categories within program history.