CMU Men Look To Extend Win Streak To 8

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Following a thrilling 88-86 overtime victory over Akron on Tuesday, the next challenge for the Central Michigan men's basketball team comes on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas, 13-2 and, at 2-0, co-leaders of the Mid-American Conference West Division, will put their seven-game win streak on the line against Bowling Green.

The Falcons are riding a six-game win streak and they share the lead in MAC East with No. 20 Buffalo. Bowling Green is 10-5, 2-0.

"We know when we step on the court we have an opportunity to beat the rest of the league," said coach Keno Davis. "It's going to be great for our fans to come out and not only see a really explosive, hardworking team that we have, but to be able to see how good the MAC is. We're going to see some good basketball coming to McGuirk Arena this year."

McELWAIN TO APPEAR
New Central Michigan football coach Jim McElwain will address the crowd at halftime. The first 500 students in attendance will receive a poster featuring McElwain.

LEADERS
Guard Larry Austin Jr. leads the Chippewas and is fourth in the MAC in scoring with an 18.2-points-per-game average. He also averages 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals a game. His backcourt mate, Shawn Roundtree Jr., averages just under 16 points a game while making 76 percent of his free throws.

Junior guard Kevin McKay averages 13.1 points and is CMU's leading rebounder at 7.3 per game. David DiLeo is averaging 11.5 points per game and is making a team-best 41.7 percent from 3-point range. He ranks fifth in the MAC that category.

HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY
The Chippewas are looking to start MAC play 3-0 for the first time since 1991-92. A win would give CMU its eighth consecutive victory, its longest such streak since 1987-88 when it won nine straight.

OFFENSE SHINING
CMU is leading the conference in scoring at 87.7 points per game. The Chippewas are averaging 93 points per game during their seven-game win streak.

The Chippewas rank first in the MAC, and fourth nationally, in free throw attempts (447). They are third in the league in field goal percentage (47.8) and fifth in 3-point percentage (35.7).

SCOUTING
The Falcons lead the MAC in rebounding, averaging 44.5 boards per contest. They are outrebounding their opponents by a MAC-best 11.4 per game.

BGSU ranks third in the conference in points allowed (69.5) and second in opponent shooting percentage (39.7).

Justin Turner leads the Falcons in scoring at 18.9 points a game, followed by Demajeo Wiggins, who is averaging 14.3 points. Wiggins is the MAC's leading rebounder at 8.7 per game.

Bowling Green is 1-5 in true road games this season, including losses to St. John's, VCU, Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy.

NEXT
CMU goes to DeKalb, Ill. on Tuesday, Jan. 15 (8 p.m.) to take on Northern Illinois in a MAC game. The Huskies (9-6, 2-0) play host to Akron on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Shawn Roundtree Jr.