Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewa Men Adjust, Capture A Title
11/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Keno Davis knew his team would have an entirely different vibe in 2017-18 than it had a year ago.
He got a taste of just how different when he guided his CMU men's basketball team to the championship of the Great Alaska Shootout over the weekend.
"In a small sample size we're showing the difference that a year can make, that our guys have shown that they can win on the defensive end," Davis said on Monday after he and his team traveled across four time zones from Anchorage to Mount Pleasant with the gold pan that goes to the tournament winner.
The Chippewas (5-1), who entertain Jackson State (2-4) in a nonconference game on Friday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena, took a big step in winning three games in Alaska. Two of their wins came by three points, including a 75-72 triumph over Cal State Bakersfield in the title game.
CMU's first three-point win of the weekend came over Cal Poly, 56-53. It was the type of game CMU has not played in a long time under Davis, whose team ranked third in the nation in scoring a year ago at 88.3 points per, went to Alaska averaging 92 points per game in 2017-18, and had surpassed the 100-point plateau twice in their first three games of the season.
The 109 combined points were the fewest in a game involving CMU since the Chippewas dropped a 64-42 decision at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 26, 2014, a stretch of 101 games.
"I think we've shown early in the season that we can be not just competitive, but that we can win games," said Davis, whose team became the first from the Mid-American Conference to win in the 40-year history of the Shootout. "We're not a finished product, but we have given great effort up to this point and if we continue to do so we should do nothing but improve throughout the season."
CMU's Shawn Roundtree earned the Most Outstanding Player Award in the tournament as he averaged 15 points over the three games. Roundtree leads the Chippewas in scoring at 14.2 points per game, one of six on the roster who is averaging at least 8 per.
Roundtree, a 6-foot-1 guard, is the lone Chippewa among the top 30 scorers in the Mid-American Conference. Last year, CMU had the Nos. 1 and 2 scorers, Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson, in the league.
"I think the balance of this year's team will make it tougher for teams to prepare for us," Davis said. "Last year with two prolific scorers we were easier to game plan against than this year's team with the talent, but more importantly the depth."
Not only did Roundtree lead the Chippewas in scoring in their three tournament games, but he totaled 17 assists against just eight turnovers. He also averaged 3 rebounds per while logging 102 minutes, the second-highest total on the team.
And while a few trends - more balance, better defense among them - have emerged team-wide for CMU through a half-dozen games this season, it has also become evident that Roundtree is a keeper.
"Shawn has a poise and presence about him that the team feeds off of," Davis said. "He also has that quality in a point guard that you want, making your teammates better. He makes Luke Meyer better, he makes Cecil Williams better, he makes Josh Kozinski better. And when you have a point guard that can put your best players in good positions, that's what you're looking for."
The Chippewas' game with Jackson State on Friday is the first of three straight at home. They will take on Montana State (Dec. 5) and Tennessee Tech (Dec. 9) at McGuirk. They then take a two-game road trip with stops at Southern Utah and at Missouri-Kansas City before returning home to play Southern Illinois-Edwarsville (Dec. 22) in their final game before Christmas.
"We knew we'd have three tough games (in Alaska) and we were focusing on the experience that we'd gain and in getting better as a team," Davis said. "I feel like we've done both of those things, and to do that and also win makes it that much more rewarding."
