Rugged Road Trip for Chippewa Men
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes: Central Michigan | Grand Canyon
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The old saying goes, Be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it.
Keno Davis isn't complaining. He and his Central Michigan men's basketball team have gotten all they sought when they laid out the 2015-16 non-conference schedule.
They face a big-time challenge Thursday when they go to Phoenix to face Dan Majerle-led Grand Canyon in what promises to be a hostile environment in the Grand Canyon University Arena.
"We talked about it when our schedule came out that it was an underappreciated schedule," said Davis, whose team (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak Monday with a 74-73 home win over McNeese State.
"Even though there weren't as many big name teams on there, there were a lot of (2014-15) post-season teams on our schedule," Davis said. "A lot of the teams that were picked in the top two or three in their conference. Part of that was done because we were going to have a team that we thought was going to be successful in the (MAC) and we wanted to challenge ourselves."
Grand Canyon (5-0) has to play a road game. The Antelopes are averaging more than 5,000 fans at home and the program, which plays in the Western Athletic Conference, appears on the upswing under Majerle, the former Chippewa great who is in his third year as Grand Canyon's coach.
The Chippewas defeated Grand Canyon last season, 79-77, at McGuirk. The Antelopes are seeking their first 6-0 start since the 1995-96 season.
"We're there to get that experience, to go against that type of team, that type of crowd, so that when we're in a MAC arena, we've been there and done that and it's not something we have to go through when the games mean more in January and February," Davis said.
The Antelopes are led by 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Joshua Braun, who averages 17.6 points per game. He has made 52.4 percent of his 3-point tries and 87.9 percent of his free throw attempts.
Grandy Glaze, a 6-6 senior, averages 11.4 points and is Grand Canyon's leading rebounder at 9.8 per.
The Chippewas, who lost all three of their games last week in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida before topping McNeese, have struggled to find consistency from the outside.
They are shooting 40.3 percent from the floor, including 30.5 percent from 3-point range, and that, by and large, was their bread and butter when they won the MAC regular-season title last season.
The Chippewas made 34.6 percent of their field goal attempts in their three games in Florida, and finished at just 26.2 percent from 3-point range. Against McNeese State, CMU knocked down 44.2 percent from the floor including 36 percent from long range.
"When you're not making your outside shots you can get higher percentage shots, and for us those higher percentage shots will be getting to the free throw line," said Davis, whose team made 19 of 25 from the charity stripe in holding off McNeese.
The Chippewas have clearly been hampered by absence of senior guard Chris Fowler, who has yet to play this season because of an injury and isn't expected in the lineup on Thursday.
Without Fowler, who is very adept at driving to the basket and scoring or dishing off to open teammates on the perimeter, the quarterbacking responsibilities have been shouldered by senior Rayshawn Simmons, who is averaging 5.8 assists per game and is CMU's leading scorer at 17.2 per.
Fellow guard Braylon Rayson is second on the team at 13.8 points per game. Combined, the backcourt duo of Simmons and Rayson is shooting just 37 percent from the floor including 24.5 percent from 3-point range.
"I think getting better-percentage shots and getting to the free throw line will make those 3-point shots more open and, overall over a longer sample size, you'll see that percentage rise if we're able to attack the basket inside," Davis said. "Guys like Braylon Rayson and Rayshawn Simmons are learning to do that in Fowler's absence, and we'll only become better for it."
