Chippewa Men Host UT Martin, Go To Valpo

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan men's basketball team will play a pair of non-conference games this weekend.

The Chippewas first game is on Friday, Dec. 6 (7 p.m.) against UT Martin at McGuirk Arena. They will travel to Valparaiso, Ind. on Sunday, Dec. 8 (2 p.m.) against Valparaiso.

Last Time Out
CMU is 6-2 and defeated Youngstown State 88-72 at McGuirk last Saturday.

Team Stats
CMU is ranked the No. 1 scoring team in the nation averaging 95.1 points per game, while allowing 72.1 points per game, winning by an average margin of 23 points per game. San Francisco and Illinois are tied for second in the nation at 87.1 points per game.

CMU has scored at least 80 points in six of its eight games this season. The Chippewas have scored more than 100 in four of those games.

On the season, CMU is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from the 3-point line. They are holding opponents to 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 32.7 percent from the 3-point line.

CMU is forcing 19.5 turnovers per game with 11.5 of those turnovers are coming off steals. They are committing 10.3 turnovers per game.

Individual Stats
Dallas Morgan and Kevin McKay lead CMU in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game.

McKay, the reigning MAC West Player of the Week, is shooting 60.6 percent from the field, which is good for No. 44 in the nation. Morgan is shooting a team-high 41.6 percent from 3-point range this season.

McKay has scored in double figures in seven of the first eight games of the season, and Morgan has scored in double figures in six of the first eight games of the season.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 34, averaging 4.25 assists per game.

Rob Montgomery leads CMU in rebounds, averaging 5.9 per game. Romello Burrell is behind Montgomery averaging 5.8 rebounds.

Scouting UT Martin
UT Martin is 3-4 and is coming off a 76-73 win over Boston University on Nov. 27. The Skyhawks are averaging 78.3 points per game and are allowing 82.1 points per game.

UT Martin's leading scorer and rebounder is Quintin Dove, a 6-foot-8 senior forward. He is averaging 18.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Parker Stewart is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.9.

The Chippewas and UT Martin have met once, in 2016, in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at McGuirk Arena. The Skyhawks won, 76-73.

Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso is 5-4 and is coming off an 85-79 loss at Eastern Michigan.

The Crusaders are averaging 78.1 points per game and are allowing 76.6.

Javon Freeman-Liberty, a 6-3 sophomore guard, leads Valpo in scoring, 22.7 points per game, and rebounding, 6.1. He's also second on the team in assists with 26.

Daniel Sackey leads the Crusaders in assists with 45, averaging 5.0 per game.

Ignition
The Chippewas have gotten out of the chute quicker in their last two games, the victory over Youngstown State and an 88-75 loss at DePaul. CMU led at halftime at DePaul, 50-32. CMU reversed an early season tendency to start slow.

"We were conscious of the fact that we were getting off to slow starts," McKay said. "Not coming out so lackadaisical (has helped). I felt like when we were getting off to slow starts, we knew what we were supposed to do, but we were kind of waiting for something. But now we're executing the game plan right when the game starts, and we're coming out with a lot of energy and effort."

Chippewa coach Keno Davis said it takes time for things to gel.

"We have a different team from last season," he said. "Even though we have some experience, we have some new guys who are starting. Sometimes your chemistry to get into the flow of the game when you're putting new bodies out there is a different experience. Getting a few games under our belt definitely helped in that area."

Next
CMU will head to Texas on Saturday, Dec. 14 (2 p.m.) to play the Longhorns (7-1), who play Texas A&M in Fort Worth, Texas on Dec. 8 before facing CMU. It marks the first meeting between the Chippewas and Texas.

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Players Mentioned

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Dallas Morgan