Tournament Schedule Will Test Chippewas
11/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes: Central Michigan | Weber State
Coverage: Webstream | Live Stats
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ESTERO, Fla. - Central Michigan men's basketball coach Keno Davis knew when he agreed to bring his team to the Gulf Coast Showcase that it would be a good gauge for his team.
And with the early season injury bug having bitten the Chippewas, the three-games-in-three-days tournament format will prove an even stiffer test.
"Part of our thought process in committing to a tournament and a field like this is it's what we'll see in Cleveland," Davis said, referring to the Mid-American Conference Tournament in March. "You're going to have to win three games in three days (in the MAC) and being able to prepare yourself in the non-conference can only help."
The Chippewas will be without star guard Chris Fowler, who hasn't played yet this season and is day-to-day, Davis said. Key reserve Blake Hibbitts is out for the season.
That leaves CMU (2-0) with a short bench, an issue that could be magnified with three games in three days.
"It is a concern," Davis said. "And you hope that at the end of the year you're healthier. No guarantee you will be. Being able to adapt to the situation, the different spots that we're in, is something we're going to have to learn to do throughout the year.
"You have to play as hard as you can and be able to save their legs so that they're as fresh as possible. That is going to be important.
"We also have to understand that there are no easy games out there and we're going to have to play at a high level to give ourselves a chance each and every night."
The Chippewas open the tournament Monday against Weber State (1-2) at 8:30 p.m. The Chippewas and Wildcats are in a bracket with Western Kentucky (1-1) and Drake (1-1), which meet at 6 p.m. Monday. The losers play at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the winners at 8:30 p.m.
CMU will play a game on Wednesday, and if it has won its first two tournament games, it will play at 8:30 p.m. for the championship. All of the games will be played at Germaine Arena.
The other half of the eight-team tourney bracket comprises Duquesne (3-1), Pepperdine (1-2), Milwaukee (4-1) and Murray State (2-1). CMU is ranked eighth in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Pepperdine is ranked 23rd, while Milwaukee and Murray State are among others receiving votes in the poll.
The Chippewas opened with home victories over Jacksonville State, 89-83, and over Division III Alma, 79-64. While the Chippewas were in control in both games, neither was necessarily an easy blowout that some might have expected from the team picked as the favorite in the Mid-American Conference.
Senior Austin Stewart has started in place of Fowler and has been soliding, averging 8.5 points and 6.0 points per game. Senior guard Rayshawn Simmons has led the Chippewas in scoring in each of their first two games.
Simmons scored a career-high 30 points and fellow guard Braylon Rayson added 28 in the season-opening win over Jacksonville State. Simmons had 18 to lead four Chippewas in double figures against Alma.
Senior forward John Simons grabbed a career-high and McGuirk Arena-record 16 rebounds against the Scots. He finished with 16 points in that game, as did 6-foot-11 sophomore center Luke Meyer, whose points came on a 6-for-7 shooting performance in just 22 minutes. The 16 points were just two shy of Meyer's career-high.
It was the third career double-double for Simons.
Weber State will provide the Chippewas a very good test. The Wildcats, under ninth-year coach Randy Rahe, have made seven post-season appearances in the last nine years including two NCAA Tournament trips. They are the preseason favorite in the Big Sky Conference.
Junior guard Jeremy Senglin leads Weber State in scoring at 19.3 points per game. He also leads the Wildcats with 8.0 assists per game. Forward Joel Bolomboy, a 6-9 junior, has recorded a double-double in each of Weber State's three games and averages 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
