Chippewas Visit NIU for MAC West Showdown

GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (13-3, 2-1 MAC) will return to the road to continue MAC play, visiting Northern Illinois (10-6, 3-0 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 15 for an 8 p.m. ET game at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill.
• The Chippewas saw their seven-game unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday with a 97-87 overtime setback to Bowling Green while Northern Illinois used a strong second half effort to down Akron, 73-56, at home in its last outing.
• With a win at NIU, which has won three-straight, including two on the road to open conference play, CMU can move into first place in the MAC West.
• Central Michigan owns a 3-1 road record this season while Northern Illinois is 8-1 at home in 2018-19.
• A year ago, CMU swept a home-and-home with the Huskies a year ago, winning 81-67 at home before securing an 80-72 victory on the road, which snapped a four-game losing streak for the Chippewas in DeKalb.
• ONE TO WATCH: Saturday's matchup will pit the Mid-American Conference's third-leading scorer in Central Michigan's Larry Austin Jr. (18.7 ppg) against the No. 1-scorer in Northern Illinois guard Eugene German (21.1 ppg).

CHIPPEWAS TO WATCH
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. leads CMU and ranks No. 3 in the MAC in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all 16 games this season, including 20+ points six times and a career-high 30 against Weber State. Austin also ranks first in the MAC in assists (5.4) and second in steals (2.3).
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and assists (53), third in 3-pointers (24) and leads CMU (No. 2 in the MAC) in minutes played per game (33.8).
• Through 16 games, junior forward David DiLeo leads the Chippewas (4th in the MAC) with 42 3-pointers and is fourth on the team in rebounding (5.4 rpg).
• Junior Kevin McKay ranks No. 32 in the NCAA in offensive rebounding (3.19). He is the only guard who appears in the top 40 nationally. McKay leads CMU in rebounding (No. 10 in the MAC, 7.1 rpg) and averages 13.0 points per game. He also ranks third in the MAC in steals (1.8 spg).
• Junior forward Rob Montgomery leads CMU with 19 blocked shots and ranks third on the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg). In the MAC opening win over Miami, he posted career bests in points (18) and rebounds (9).

TRENDING
• Central Michigan ranks prominently in eight stat categories nationally:
- No. 2 in free throw attempts (482)
- No. 8 in scoring offense (87.7)
- No. 8 in free throws made (313)
- No. 23 in steals per game (8.6)
- No. 30 in offensive rebounds per game (12.9)
- No. 30 in win-loss percentage (81.3)
- No. 31 in total steals (138)
- No. 36 in total rebounds per game (40.0)
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. ranks highly nationally in three "hustle" stat categories -- No. 20 in free throw attempts (122) and total steals (37) and No. 24 in the NCAA in steals per game (2.31).
• Junior forward David DiLeo resides fifth place on the CMU 3-pointers rankings. He has 202 for his career. He also ranks sixth on the career attempts list (548).
• Against Bowling Green, DiLeo went over the 900-point milestone for his career.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• Led by eight-year head coach Mark Montgomery, Northern Illinois enters Tuesday's game as the lone frontrunner atop the MAC West standings at 3-0.
• The Huskies defeated Ohio (72-66[OT]) and Miami (Ohio) (83-70) on the road before downing Akron, 73-56, in their conference home opener.
• NIU has not lost at home since falling 88-85 in overtime to Northern Kentucky on November 9.
• Northern Illinois is led by junior guard Eugene German, senior wing Levi Bradley, and senior guard Dante Thorpe.
• German leads the MAC in scoring, averaging 21.2 points per game and is second in 3-pointers with 44. He tops the team in steals (15) and is second in assists (41) and third in rebounding (4.6 rpg).
• Bradley is second on the team in points per game (15.3) and rebounding (6.3).
• Thorpe scores 12.7 points per game and leads NIU in shooting percentage (.558).
• Senior forward Lacey James is the Huskies' leading rebounder (7.1 rpg) and shot blocker (10).
• Sophomore guard Rod Henry-Hayes, who has started 14 of 16 games, averages 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game.
• Senior forward Jaylen Key (4.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and sophomore guard Gairges Daow (3.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg) are also consistent contributors, each having played in all 16 games.
• Northern Illinois is one of the nation's top shooting teams, ranking No. 7 in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.506). Six players who averaged double-digits in minutes played shoot .500 or better.

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan will return home on Saturday, Jan. 19 for a key MAC West matchup with Ball State (10-6, 1-2 MAC). Tip time is 4:30 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
• A year ago, the Chippewas split with the Cardinals, falling 82-76 in Muncie before claiming a dominating win in the rematch in Mount Pleasant, 75-51.
• Ball State opened MAC play with a big 79-64 road win over Toledo but stumbled in its next two conference contests, falling 84-82 in double overtime to Eastern Michigan and 70-52 to Ohio, both at home in Worthen Arena.
• Ball State is led by senior guard Taylor Persons (16.2 ppg), junior forward Tahjai Teague (15.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and junior guard K.J. Walton (14.0 ppg).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Shawn Roundtree Jr.

Central Michigan University Athletics