Jan. 20, 2017
CENTRAL MICHIGAN VS. MIAMI
|  |  | 11-7, 1-4 MAC
| 8-10, 1-4 MAC |
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| GAME INFO | | Saturday, Jan. 21 | 1:30 p.m. | | Mount Pleasant, Mich. | McGuirk Arena | | BUY TICKETS |
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GAME DAY INFO | | TALENT: Adam Jaksa (PxP), Matt DeVries (analyst) | LISTEN: Central Michigan IMG Sports Network | TALENT: Don Chiodo (PxP), Rob Flaska (analyst) | LIVE STATS: | |
| TALE OF THE TAPE | CMU | MIA | | Points Per Game | 88.7 | 73.0 | | Opponent Points Per Game | 82.9 | 74.1 | | Field Goal Pct. | .422 | .433 | 3-Point Field Goal Pct.
| .354 | .331 | | Free Throw Pct. | .768 | .679 | | Rebounds | 39.9 | 35.4 | | Assists | 12.1 | 11.9 | | Turnovers | 10.7 | 14.5 | | Steals | 6.5 | 7.3 | | Blocks | 2.8 | 4.2 |
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GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (11-7, 1-4 MAC) will open a two-game MAC home stand on Saturday, Jan. 21 when it hosts Miami (8-10, 1-4 MAC) in a 1:30 p.m. cross-divisional matchup at McGuirk Arena.
• The Chippewas are coming off a 98-83 road loss to Ball State on Jan. 17 while Miami dropped a 62-58 defensive battle to Northern Illinois in DeKalb in its last outing.
• Central Michigan is 7-1 at home this season and has won 36 of its last 42 games at McGuirk Arena while Miami owns an 0-7 road record.
• CMU possesses a 20-50 record in the all-time series with Miami, including a 2-3 mark under head coach Keno Davis.
• A year ago, the Chippewas won convincingly, 68-51, in Oxford in the teams' only meeting.
• CMU owns a 264-339 all-time record in MAC play, including a 31-49 mark during the Davis era.
• Central Michigan is ranked No. 152 in the nation in the RPI (5th in the MAC) while Miami is positioned at No. 282 (12th in the MAC).
• All children 12 and under can receive a FREE general admission ticket by visiting Ticket Central directly prior to the game.
TRENDING
• CMU is ranked in the top 10 nationally in four stat categories -- No. 2 in 3-point field goals per game (12.4), No. 3 in total 3-point field goals made (224) and 3-point field goal attempts (632) and No. 7 in scoring offense (88.7).
• Junior guard Marcus Keene ranks No. 1 in the NCAA in points per game (28.7).
• Keene, who has scored at least 30 points in 10 of 18 games, also leads the NCAA in total points scored (517).
• Keene tops the MAC in 3-pointers (64) and free throws made (115) and ranks second in assists (5.3 apg).
• Keene needs to average just over 20 points per game over the course of the remainder of the season to break the program record for points in a season (759), held by CMU Hall of Famer Dan Majerle. Keene broke the CMU program record for 3-point attempts in a game at Ball State (17).
• At Ball State, Keene's eight 3-pointers tied the Worthen Arena record and are the most ever by a visiting player in the venue.
• Senior guard Braylon Rayson ranks No. 2 in the MAC among career active scorers, behind only Eastern Michigan's Raven Lee.
• If Rayson is in CMU's starting line-up versus Miami, it will be his 100th start as a Chippewa. Rayson has scored 20 or more points in four consecutive MAC games.
• Keene (28.7 ppg) and Rayson (19.3) comprise the nation's highest scoring guard tandem, averaging a combined 48.0 points per game.
• Rayson (73) and Keene (66), who each stand 5-9, are CMU's top two defensive rebounders, combining for 28% of the team's defensive boards.
• Junior guard Josh Kozinski has recorded at least one steal in eight consecutive games, including three or more in four games during that stretch.
• CMU is just one of six teams to have made over 200 3-pointers this season (224) and is only one of two teams to reach the plateau in 18 games.
• CMU has seven players with 52 or more defensive rebounds.
• CMU finished its nonconference schedule with 10 wins for the second time in the last three seasons.
• CMU's win over Toledo on Jan. 13 was the Chippewas' 50th in McGuirk Arena under head coach Keno Davis.
• Three-pointers account for 42% (672-1,596) of Central Michigan's points and 52% (632-1,212) of its field goal attempts.
• At Ball State, CMU broke the Worthen Arena record for 3-pointers made, knocking down a season-high 17.
SCOUTING MIAMI
• Led by five-year head coach John Cooper, Miami enters Saturday's game mired in a four-game losing streak, including, most recently, a narrow 62-58 road loss to Northern Illinois on Jan. 17.
• The RedHawks, which reside in a three-way tie for fourth place in the MAC East, opened conference play with a 69-67 win over NIU before dropping its last four games.
• Miami and CMU share four of five conference opponents already this season — NIU, Akron, Toledo and Ball State. The Chippewas defeated Toledo, 96-88, at home while the RedHawks fell to the Rockets, 91-76, on the road.
• Miami is headlined by the inside-outside duo of freshman guard Michael Weathers and junior forward Logan McLane.
• Weathers ranks second in the MAC in free throws made (94), third in assists (5.3 apg), fourth in scoring (17.8 ppg) and fifth in steals (1.8) and despite measuring just 6-2, tops the conference in blocked shots with 24.
• McLane, who shoots .557 from the field, is the RedHawks' other double-figure scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game, and is the team's leading rebounder (6.4 rpg).
• Freshman guard Marcus Weathers, twin brother of Michael, ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and third scoring (9.1 ppg) despite averaging only 23.1 minutes per game.
• Junior guard Abdoulaye Harouna, who, along with Michael Weathers, are the only two RedHawks to start all 18 games this season, is second on the team in minutes played (25.7 mpg) and averages 7.3 points per game.
• Sophomore guard Jake Wright, a transfer from The Citadel who leads Miami in 3-pointers with 38, and junior forward Rod Mills (8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg), who has started 16 games, are also key contributors.
UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan will begin next week by finishing out a two-game home stand when it hosts Bowling Green (7-11, 1-4 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 24 in a 7 p.m. MAC cross-divisional contest at McGuirk Arena. CMU owns a 34-40 record in the all-time series with Bowling Green, including a 3-3 mark under head coach Keno Davis.
• Last season, Central Michigan swept a home-and-home regular season series with the Falcons, downing them, 79-67, in Bowling Green before winning, 77-65, in Mount Pleasant.
• However, the No. 4-seeded Chippewas were bounced from the MAC Tournament by 12th-seeded Bowling Green, 62-59, in a quarterfinal matchup in Cleveland.
• The Falcons are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and face Ball State at home before visiting the Chippewas.
• Central Michigan will return to the road next weekend, traveling to Kent, Ohio to face the Golden Flashes (9-9, 1-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 28 in a noon contest.
• A year ago, CMU had six players score in double figures and shot 60.7 percent from the field in an 88-61 rout of Kent State at McGuirk Arena.
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