CMU Starts Utah Thanksgiving Tournament with Wright State
11/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOUNT PLEASANT - The Central Michigan men’s basketball team is off to Salt Lake City this week to participate in the Utah Thanksgiving Tournament, beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET against Wright State.
The Chippewas (1-1) are coming off their first win of the season, and the first of the Keno Davis era, in a 76-62 home victory over Olivet last Friday, and will look to keep the momentum up when they face the Raiders (3-0) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the campus of the University of Utah.
Wednesday’s game will be the first of three throughout the week for the Chippewas. Host Utah will face the Chippewas Friday at 7 p.m. ET, and CMU will wrap up the weekend against Idaho State Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Senior guard Kyle Randall has led the scoring charge for the Chippewas in the first two games of the season, going for double-digits against both Iowa (17) and Olivet (11). Freshman guard Derrick Richardson Jr., is also averaging double-digits (11.0) on a Chippewas team that is averaging 68.5 points per game. • TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS
GAME ONE vs. Wright State
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012 • 6 p.m. (ET)
Salt Lake City, Utah • Jon M. Huntsman Center
GAME TWO at Utah
Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 • 7 p.m. (ET)
Salt Lake City, Utah • Jon M. Huntsman Center
GAME TWO vs. Idaho State
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 • 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Salt Lake City, Utah • Jon M. Huntsman Center
• THE BROADCAST
Radio: Central Michigan IMG Sports Network (Justin Hoff, play-by-play); Robbie Harman (color analyst)
Web:
Live audio: cmuchippewas.com
Live stats: utahutes.cstv.com
Twitter updates: @cmumensbball
• THE OPENING TIP
• CMU will make its first visit to Utah to play three games this week in the Utah Thanksgiving Tournament.
• This is the first of two regular-season tournaments for the Chippewas who will play at UTEP next month in the WestStar Bank Sun Bowl Invitational.
• Through two games, five players have recorded double-digit scoring performances. Kyle Randall and Derrick Richardson are currently averaging double figures.
• Wright State and Central Michigan boast two of the nation's 25 least experienced rosters in the country. In terms of Division I experience, the Raiders average .73 years per player while the Chippewas average .86 years – ranking 18th and 24th, respectively.
• THE SERIES
• The Central Michigan – Wright State series is tied at 6-6.
• This meeting marks the fifth consecutive season the two teams have met, but they have never met on a neutral floor.
• Wright State has won the last three meetings.
• QUOTABLE
• "It’s not going to surprise me if Zach Saylor is our leading scorer on any given night. It’s not going to surprise me if it’s Chris Fowler, D.J. Richardson or Austin Keel. It can be different every night." (Keno Davis following the Nov. 16 win over Olivet)