The Wright State Wagon has handled its business exclusively within the Buckeye State thus far in the 2026-27 season. The chance to change that comes Friday night when the Raiders battle the Samford Bulldogs in their home gym.

Samford (1-1) has beaten Berry College (DIII) and lost 88-79 at UNLV this year. The Bulldogs also haven’t played in six days. They have the rest and travel edge on head coach Clint Sargent’s team, but Wright State opened as – and is currently – a slight betting favorite.

A win on Friday night would be historic for the Raiders, who have never beaten Division One opponents in four straight games to open a season. Here’s what they need to do to get the job done in Homewood, AL:

Kellen Pickett must rinse and repeat

Pickett’s dominant performance against Toledo on Tuesday showed exactly what Wright State is capable of when its star is playing like one. Role players traditionally do not play as well on the road, so Pickett should be expected to handle a heavy load on Friday.

Fortunately, like the Rockets, the Bulldogs don’t have a ton of size in their regular rotation. Forward Braeden MacVicar and center Will Shaver are both formidable on the interior, but Samford’s depth has not yet been tested this year.

Pickett is talented enough to succeed no matter who’s across from him. If the Raiders can get either Samford big man in foul trouble, though, he should easily feast against the Bulldogs.

Dominic Pangonis and C.J. O’Hara need big contributions

Wright State’s starting backcourt, without Chadlyn Traylor, put up just 10 points combined vs. Toledo. Traylor may be back on Friday. Either way, the Raiders have to get more production from Pangonis and O’Hara.

Both players have proven capable of big scoring outputs; Pangonis posted 30 against Air Force and O’Hara had 24 vs. Florida Atlantic. It was great to see Ilija Milijasevic and Noah Lewis produce in their place in Toledo. But Pangonis and O’Hara are the secondary leaders of this team, and need to play like it against Samford.

Can Noah Lewis follow up with another great evening?

You can’t always expect freshmen to be consistent early in the season. Lewis has not been bad in any game, but his impact was much greater vs. Air Force and Toledo than it was vs. FAU.

Is Lewis’ excellence necessary to beat Samford? In a perfect world, no. But another strong showing on the road would verify that these first three contests weren’t a flash in the pan.

We saw a dominant frontcourt pave the way for Michigan’s national championship run a year ago. If Lewis can become 1B to Pickett’s 1A, there will be special things happening this season for the Raiders.

Tip at Samford: 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+).