Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Basketball vs. Akron: Game Notes
2/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
MOUNT PLEASANT -- As the Central Michigan men's basketball team prepares to wrap up a three-game home stand against the Akron Zips at Rose Center on Tuesday, two of its brightest stars are approaching a pair of significant career milestones.
Jordan Bitzer needs just two points to become the 26th member in Chippewa history to score 1,000 points and Robbie Harman needs just four threes to tie the program record for made threes. With five three-point buckets, he would become the first player in school history to sink 200 treys in his career.
The Chippewas (11-10, 6-3 MAC) and Zips (17-7, 7-3 MAC) tip off at 7 p.m.
There will be live stats available, as well as a live audio stream of 95.3 WCFX-FM's local broadcast, to all fans. Live video of the contest will also be available to CMU Sports Zone subscribers.
All-Time Series -- The Chippewas are 13-24 against the Zips in a series that dates back to 1939. CMU is 1-4 against Akron under Ernie Zeigler, including a pair of losses in the MAC Tournament. The win came at Rose Center in 2008, a 65-64 defensive battle, snapping CMU’s seven-game skid against Akron.
Keys to the Game -- Turnovers will likely play a big role in determining the match-up between Akron and Central Michigan. The Zips rank second in the league in turnover margin during MAC games (+1.7) while CMU is no. 7 (0.6). The Chippewas will also need to limit Akron’s second-chance opportunities, as UA enters the contest ranked second in offensive rebounds (12.3).
Akron Ties -- Akron head coach Keith Dambrot was CMU’s head coach for two seasons (1992-93). He posted a 20-34 record as a Chippewa.
Swarming ‘D’ -- The Chippewas are fourth in the MAC in league defense at 62.2 points per conference game, and are holding league opponents to 41.3 percent from the field, the fourth-best mark in the MAC.
• CMU held Ball State to just 38 points and 24 percent from the floor in on Jan 13 in a 53-38 victory at Rose Center. The 38 points are the fewest CMU has allowed to a Division-I opponent since 1950 and third-fewest to any opponent in that stretch.
• CMU is holdong opponents to just 30 percent from beyond the arc in MAC play, the third-best mark in the conference.
Zeigler Against the MAC -- Fourth-year head coach Ernie Zeigler is 28-29 (.491) against the Mid-American Conference.
Keep ‘em Under 70 -- Of Ernie Zeigler’s 50 career wins at CMU, the Chippewas have held the opponent under 70 points in 40 of them. CMU is 40-21 (.656) when holding the opposition under 70 points under Zeigler.
Need to Clean the Glass -- CMU was 4-13 a year ago when it was outrebounded by its opponent. This season, the Chippewas are 2-8 when being outrebounded and 9-2 when holding the edge on the glass.
Keeping Up With Kaman -- Chris Kaman is in his seventh season as a starter for the Los Angeles Clippers after getting drafted sixth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He tied for the third-highest draft pick in MAC history. As of Feb. 7, he is averaging 20.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 36.4 minutes. He has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week twice this season. Kaman is LA’s leading scorer and is second on the team in boards. He’s scored at least 20 points 28 times through 44 games and has 19 double-doubles
Gotta Get to 40 -- CMU beat USF despite shooting 37 percent from the floor. It snapped a streak of 14 straight losses when shooting less than 40 percent dating back to the 2008-09 season opener, when CMU shot 34 percent against Princeton in a 55-53 win. The Chippewas are now 3-5 when shooting under 40 this season after going 1-11 a year ago.
Whistles Unkind to CMU -- In Ernie Zeigler’s 114 games as head coach at CMU, the Chippewas have been called for fewer fouls than the opponent just 25 times (22 percent of the time). In the 25 games when CMU was called for fewer fouls, the Chippewas are 21-4 (.840). The Chippewas have been whistled for fewer fouls four times this season (4-0).
Fire When Ready -- Central Michigan leads the MAC in made threes per league contest (7.6) and connect at the second-best rate in conference action at 37.2 percent.
