Big Test At Minnesota Awaits CMU Men

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- A big nonconference road test headlines two games the Central Michigan men's basketball team will play this week.

The Chippewas will first travel to Minneapolis for a big road game against Big Ten opponent Minnesota on Thursday, Nov 21 (8 p.m.).

CMU will return to Mount Pleasant for a home game against Trinity Christian on Saturday, Nov. 23 (2 p.m.).

Last Week
The Chippewas closed a four-game home stand with a win over Sam Houston State, 84-77, followed by a win over NAIA Sienna Heights 115-58. CMU improved its record to 4-0.

Team Stats
CMU ranks No. 2 in the nation in scoring, averaging 108.8 points per game and is giving up 68.8 points per game, winning by a margin of 40 points per game.

Offensively, CMU is shooting 50.3 percent from the field, and 40.5 percent from three, while holding opponents 41.7 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three.

On defense, CMU is forcing 22 turnovers per game, with 13.8 of those turnovers coming off steals, while committing just 8.3 turnovers per game.

Stats
Dallas Morgan leads CMU in scoring with 19.8 points per game, shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 46.9 percent from three. Following Morgan is David DiLeo averaging 19 points per game shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from three.

Leading the team in assists is Devontae Lane and Deschon Winston, both averaging 4.0 per game. Romello Burrell is leading the team in rebounds with 7.0 per game.

Scouting Minnesota
Minnesota is off to a 1-3 start with a rigorous schedule to start the season.

After defeating Cleveland State, 85-50, the Golden Gophers lost three straight games to Oklahoma, 71-62; Butler, 64-56; and Utah, 73-69.

Minnesota is averaging 68 points per game shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. It is holding opponents to 64.5 points per game off 41 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from three.

Defensively, Minnesota committing 13.3 turnovers while forcing opponents to 12.5 turnovers.

Minnesota's leading scorer and rebounder is Daniel Oturu, averaging a double-double with 19 points on 67.4 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. He's averaging 11.8 points per game.

Marcus Carr is leading Minnesota in assists at 6.75 per game. Carr is also its second leading scorer at 14.5 points per game.

Scouting Trinity Christian
Trinity Christian is 3-5 with a win over Moody Bible 89-84 and losses to Saint Xavier 67-53 and St. Francis 75-57. The Trolls will play Calumet and The Crown College on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, before heading to Mount Pleasant for Saturday's game.

The Trolls are averaging 73.3 points per game off 41.6 percent shooting from the field and 30.7 percent from 3-point range while allowing 75 points per game off 43 percent shooting from the field and 23.9 percent from long range.

James Pennington leads Trinity Christian in scoring, 12.5 points; and in assists, 4.3. Josh Shannon leads the Trolls in rebounding with 6.5 rebounds per game.

Big Test
Thursday's game will be a big test for the Chippewas, who have yet to face an opponent the caliber of Minnesota.

"It'll be a challenge for us," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "Not only are you talking about a Big Ten opponent, but they've played an unbelievable schedule, with three of them being Power 5 conference teams. They're going to come at us and play hard. For our guys, we haven't had that kind of challenge yet.

"Not only is the level (of competition) going up, but playing on the road is going to be a new experience for a lot of these guys on this team. I think we're going to have some growing pains during the game, but hopefully those are short lived and we're able to turn the page after plays.

"I think it's about us coming out and being mentally sharp," Morgan said. "We know it's going to be loud and the crowd is going to have a lot of energy. But it's just going to be us against them. So, I think our biggest thing is being sharp and finishing plays."

Next
CMU will be on the road on Tuesday, Nov. 26 (8 p.m.) at DePaul. Following Tuesday's game, CMU will be back at home on Saturday, Nov. 30 (4:30 p.m.) against Youngstown State as the second game of a women's-men's doubleheader. The CMU women open the day against Marist at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Dallas Morgan

Deschon Winston

Central Michigan University Athletics