CMU Men Go To Purdue, Then Look Ahead To MAC

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan men's basketball team will take the floor for the first time in 11 days when it goes to West Lafayette, Ind. on Saturday, Dec. 28 (noon) for a nonconference game with Purdue.

It is the Chippewas' last nonleaguer of the season and it is the last of four-consecutive road games. CMU opens Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4 at home against Miami (Ohio).

"Our guys are excited about going in there and knowing that this is not just a great chance to play a high-quality opponent, but it should help us for next week as we get ready for MAC play," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "I think they key for us is to continue our improvement, our execution both offensively and defensively.

"While doing that, it's essential that we keep up our intensity and our great effort. Although we haven't always played great, we've always played very hard. If we can continue to do that, I think there are good things ahead for this team."

Last Time Out
The Chippewas are 7-5 after losing their last three games, capped by an 83-79 loss at Robert Morris.

"I'm very pleased with our team's effort and improvement this year," Davis said. "I think coming into the season we knew we had a very challenging nonconference schedule, but we also believed that the schedule would make us better, and help prepare us for an always-challenging conference schedule."

Team Stats
CMU ranks as the No. 3 scoring team in the nation, averaging 87.9 points per game. The Chippewas are allowing 74.9 points per for a plus-13.0 scoring margin, which ranks 13^th in the nation.

CMU is forcing 17.9 turnovers per game with 10.3 of those coming off steals. They are committing 11.3 turnovers a game. The Chippewas are a plus-6.2 in per-game turnover margin, ranking fifth nationally in that category. CMU ranks eighth nationally in steals per game.

Individual Stats
Kevin McKay leads the Chippewas in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per. He ranks sixth in the MAC in scoring and leads the conference in shooting percentage (.657). He ranks 10^th nationally in that category and first among guards.

McKay has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, with a season high of 24 points against Youngstown State.

Following McKay in scoring is David DiLeo, who is averaging 14 points per game. DiLeo, a senior from Iowa City, is making 35.8 percent of his 3-point attempts. DiLeo scored 23 points in CMU's last game, the loss to Robert Morris. The 23 points is DiLeo's second-highest point total of the season.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 4.3 per game.

Scouting Purdue
Purdue is 7-5 and after a 70-61 loss to instate rival and 17^th-ranked Butler. Earlier in the season, Purdue defeated Mid-American Conference opponent Ohio in Athens 69-51.

The Boilermakers rank eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 57.0 points per game. They average 67.2 points per game, ranking 283^rd nationally.

Purdue is among the nation's most-protective teams, averaging just 11.5 turnovers per game and ranking 26^th in that category.

Senior guard Jahaad Proctor leads the balanced Boilermakers in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Matt Haarms, a 7-foot-3 junior, and Eric Hunter Jr. both average 10-plus points per. Trevion Williams, a 6-9 sophomore, is Purdue's top rebounder at 6.5 per.

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Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay