Central Michigan University Athletics
Game Notes: Chippewas Head to EMU on Wednesday
1/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Live Stats |
Central Michigan (6-8, 1-0 Mid-American)
at
Eastern Michigan (6-9, 1-0 Mid-American)
Wednesday, January 11 | 7 p.m. | Ypsilanti, Mich. | Convocation Center (8,784)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio: WCFX-FM 95.3 & WUPS-FM 98.5 — Don Chiodo and Don Helinski
Television: None
Live Audio: CMU Sports Zone (free) — wcfx.com
Webcast: Eagle All-Access (subscription) — emueagles.com/showcase
PREVIEW
After opening Mid-American Conference play with a convincing home win over Toledo, Central Michigan travels to in-state rival Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Tipoff in EMU's Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
The Chippewas are looking for just their third 2-0 MAC start in the last 20 years.
Wendesday's game promises to be a good one as the last four meetings between the teams in Ypsilanti were decided by one possession or went to overtime. CMU is 2-3 at EMU in Ernie Zeigler's tenure as head coach.
The Eagles also are 1-0 in MAC play after picking up a win at Northern Illinois on Saturday. Darrell Lampley is the lone Eagle averaging in double figures with 14.4 points per game. The Eagles are averaging just 53.0 points per game.
| PROBABLE STARTERS | ||||||||||
| Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | GP-GS | PPG | RPG | Other | Notes | ||
| (1) G | 2 | Austin McBroom | 6-0 | 162 | Fr. | 14-14 | 10.2 | 2.3 | 2.6 APG | Tied a career high with 16 points against Toledo on Saturday |
| (2) G | 23 | Derek Jackson | 6-0 | 171 | So. | 14-14 | 11.3 | 2.6 | 1.9 SPG | Has drained at least two 3-pointers in each of the last five games |
| (3) G | 0 | Trey Zeigler | 6-5 | 203 | So. | 14-11 | 16.7 | 6.4 | 2.8 APG | Only MAC player to lead his team in scoring, rebounds and assists |
| (4) F | 25 | Olivier Mbaigoto | 6-7 | 225 | Jr. | 14-14 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 0.9 BPG | 23 points against UC Irvine are a team season high |
| (5) F | 35 | Jevon Harden | 6-8 | 222 | So. | 14-1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 BPG | Made first career start against Toledo |
NEWS AND NOTES
Series History
The Chippewas have faced EMU more times than any other school and Central leads the all-time series, 93-83. The two teams split the series last year with each winning on the home floor.
• Ernie Zeigler is 6-5 all-time against Eastern Michigan. His first career MAC victory came at EMU’s convocation center in the league opener in 2007.
• The last four meetings in the Convocation Center have been decided by one possession or went to overtime.
2/16/08 — Eastern Michigan 67, Central Michigan 64
1/13/09 — Eastern Michigan 84, Central Michigan 77 - OT
3/4/10 — Central Michigan 56, Eastern Michigan 55
1/23/11 — Eastern Michigan 41, Central Michigan 38
Last Meeting
Central Michigan’s starting backcourt of Trey Zeigler, Derek Jackson and John Morris all scored in double figures as the Chippewas posted a 66-60 home win over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 16, 2011. Zeigler finished with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting while Jackson had 11 points and a career-high seven rebounds and Morris a career-high 11 points, including three 3-pointers. The Chippewas shot 52 percent in the game compared to just 35 percent by Eastern Michigan. The Eagles were led by Derek Thompson’s 14 points while Brandon Bowdry had 13.
Toledo Recap
Trey Zeigler led Central Michigan with 19 points and four assists as the Chippewas’ best shooting night of the season resulted in an 85-69 win over Toledo in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. Toledo scored the first bucket of the game but Central never trailed after that. CMU used a pair of 9-0 runs to take a 16-point lead in the first half and the Chippewas led by at least eight points the entire second. Austin McBroom tied a career-high with 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Derek Jackson added 14 points and Andre Coimbra 10 points and a team-high seven boards off the bench. Rian Pearson had a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rockets.
EMU Ties
• Both CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler and EMU coach Rob Murphy are Detroit natives.
• Both CMU assistant coach Pat Miller and EMU coach Benny White played and coached at Michigan State University. Miller lettered from 1970-72 and was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons before becoming a full-time assistant for the 1975 and ‘76 seasons. White lettered from 1973-76 and was a graduate assistant coach for the 1977 season.
Midway Point
Wednesday’s game marks the midway point of the regular season for CMU. It is the Chippewas’ 15th game of 30 scheduled regular season contests.
2-0 Start a Rarity Lately
The Chippewas are looking for a 2-0 start in MAC play. CMU has started league action with two consecutive wins just twice in the last 20 years. CMU was 2-0 in 2009-10 and 3-0 in 1991-92.
Rookie Coaches
In their next two games the Chippewas face a pair of first-year head coaches in Eastern Michigan Rob Murphy and Northern Illinois’ Mark Montgomery.
Road Warriors
CMU closed non-conference action by playing 10 of 11 games on the road. During the span, the Chippewas traveled 14,780 miles, set foot in 12 different states and played games in four different time zones.
• CMU had 15 days off between its last non-conference game at Wright State (Dec. 22) and the MAC opener on Jan. 7.
• The Chippewas play four of their first six MAC games on the road.
MAC Openers
With the win over Toledo, the Chippewas improved to 4-2 in MAC openers under head coach Ernie Zeigler.
Home/Road Comparison
CMU is shooting .446 and averaging 73.8 points per game at home this season. Away from McGuirk Arena, the Chippewas are shooting .409 while averaging just 61.3 points per game.
Opponent Runs
In CMU’s last six losses, the Chippewas have given up an extended scoring run to its opponent. Following is a list of the opponents’ scoring spurts.
at Temple —10-0
at Tennessee State — 22-0
at Minnesota — 13-0
at Iowa State — 9-0 & 14-0
at Nebraska — 11-0
at Wright State — 9-0 & 9-0
Home MAC Games
Over the past four seasons the Chippewas are 23-10 (.697) in home MAC games.
RPI Rankings
According to the NCAA’s official Jan. 9 RPI rankings, the Chippewas have a mark of 189 while Eastern Michigan has a rating of 206. Two MAC teams are in the top 100 — Ohio at 66 and Kent State at 96.
Double Figures
The Chippewas had four players in double figures in the win over Toledo. CMU is 4-1 this season when four players hit double digits.
In Need of a Bench Boost
• CMU’s starters account for 79 percent of the team’s scoring this season.
• That statistic is somewhat skewed considering leading scorer Trey Zeigler has come off the bench three times this season and averaged 13.3 points in those games.
• The Chippewas’ 26 bench points against Toledo were the most by CMU this season when leading scorer Trey Zeigler started. CMU had bench production of 33 points and 32 points in two games wehn Zeigler was a reserve.
• Central received no bench points at Minnesota and just one reserve scored at Tennessee State (Finis Craddock with six points).
• For the season, the opponent’s bench is averaging 18.5 points per game compared to CMU’s bench at 13.9 points per game.
Coh-eem-BLOCK
Andre Coimbra has blocked a team-high 23 shots this season. The senior ranks third in the MAC with 1.6 blocks per game.
.400 is the Magic Mark
The Chippewas held the opposition below .400 shooting from the floor in the first six games this season before Temple hit 52 percent of its field goal attempts.
• Through those first six games, CMU ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
• The string of six straight sub-.400 games was the most in the Ernie Zeigler era, breaking the old mark of three.
• CMU is 30-11 (.732) under Ernie Zeigler when holding the opponent under 40 percent.
• The last eight CMU opponents have all shot 40 percent or better from the floor.
80-Point Plateau
CMU scored a season-high 85 points in the win over Toledo. It marked the second time this season the Chippewas went for 80 or more. During the Ernie Zeigler era, the Chippewas are 13-2 (.867) when scoring 80 or more points.
Two Hit 20
The Temple game marked the second time this season that the Chippewas had two players tally 20 or more points. Both Trey Zeigler and Andre Coimbra had 22 points in the road loss. In the Chippewas’ win over UC Irvine in the Great Alaska Shootout, Olivier Mbaigoto had 23 points and Zeigler 21.
Alphabet Soup
With three different Austin/Austons on the team and one difficult name to pronounce, the Chippewa coaching staff commonly refers to four players by nicknames. They include:
AB - Auston Barnes AK - Austin Keel A-MAC - Austin McBroom OV - Olivier Mbaigoto
Overtime Unkind
The Chippewas have now dropped six straight overtime games and stand 3-8 in extra sessions under head coach Ernie Zeigler. The Chippewas are 2-1 in multiple-overtime games under the current Chippewa mentor.
Voss Out for the Year
Colin Voss is out for the year with a hand injury suffered in practice on Thursday, Nov. 10. The sophomore averaged 6.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two exhibition games this season.
Rookie Leads in Debut
Austin Keel scored a team-high 12 points in his collegiate debut for CMU. The last time a Chippewa newcomer led CMU in scoring in their first game was 2007-08 when Jeremy Allen scored 17 at Missouri, edging out fellow freshman Chase Simon who had 14 against the Tigers.
High Scoring Freshman
CMU’s Trey Zeigler was the nation’s third-leading freshman scorer among Division I schools last season. He also ranked third overall among all Mid-American Conference scorers with 16.3 points per game. The only two freshmen to average more were Kentucky’s Brandon Knight (17.3 ppg) and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger (17.2 ppg).
MAC Poll
After finishing third in the MAC West Division last season, CMU was picked to finish third again this season by a MAC news media panel. Western Michigan (West) and Kent State (East) were both predicted to defend their respective division titles.
Kaman Update
Chris Kaman is in his ninth season in the National Basketball Association. He was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the New Orleans Hornets at the start of this year. The 7-0 center is averaging 10.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Kaman entered the NBA following his junior season at CMU and he was the sixth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. He played in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.
Fastbreak Buckets
• Two Chippewas were high school teammates of National Player of the Year honorees. Austin McBroom played his freshman season at Campbell Hall High School with 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year Jrue Holiday (UCLA/Philadelphia 76ers). Austin Keel played his senior season at Winter Park High School with 2011 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Austin Rivers (Duke).
• CMU signed 6-8, 210-pound forward John Simons (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac HS) to a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period. As a junior at Cadillac High School, Simons averaged 23 points and eight rebounds while leading the Vikings to a 20-5 record and a Class B regional championship. He was named second team all-state by the Detroit Free Press.
New MAC Tournament Format
The Mid-American Conference Tournament had some drastic changes made to the format for this season. Most notably is the fact that the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive byes to the semifinals while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals. Also, seeding will be based on conference winning percentage, regardless of division. So this year, the top two seeds could come from the same division. Seeds No. 5 through No. 12 will play first round games on campus sites with those four winners advancing to the second round in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.
