Chippewas Renew Rivalry with Western Michigan Saturday

GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (15-6, 4-4 MAC) will finish out a two-game home stand against MAC West intrastate rivals on Saturday, Feb. 2 when it hosts Western Michigan (6-14, 0-7 MAC) in a 4:30 p.m. game at McGuirk Arena as part of #PackMcGuirk weekend.
• The game will be the second half of a CMU basketball double header with the Chippewa women opening the day's action versus MAC East Division power Buffalo at 1 p.m.
• The Chippewas snapped a three-game losing streak by securing a key 86-82 win over West division preseason favorite Eastern Michigan on Tuesday while Western Michigan saw its home game versus Kent State pushed back to February due to weather and travel concerns.
• Central Michigan currently sits in third place in the MAC West standings, just one game behind Northern Illinois and Toledo, which are tied for first with matching 5-3 records.
• Central Michigan owns a 9-2 record at home season while Western Michigan is 2-8 on the road in 2018-19.

CHIPPEWAS TO WATCH
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. leads CMU and ranks No. 5 in the MAC in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games. Austin also ranks first in the MAC in assists (5.7) and second in steals (2.3).
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg) and assists (69) and third in 3-pointers (35). He leads CMU (No. 3 in the MAC) in minutes played per game (34.2).
• Through 21 games, junior forward David DiLeo leads the Chippewas (3rd in the MAC) with 58 3-pointers and is fourth on the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg).
• Junior Kevin McKay leads CMU in rebounding (No. 10 in the MAC, 7.2 rpg) and averages 11.7 points per game. He also ranks No. 2 in the MAC in offensive rebounds (3.1 rpg).
• Junior forward Rob Montgomery has been a force in MAC play, ranking second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, and shooting .500 from the field and .435 from 3-point range.

TRENDING
• Central Michigan has recorded double-digit wins at home for four consecutive years, totaling 49 during that time frame. CMU is 9-2 in McGuirk Arena thus far this season.
• Larry Austin Jr. and Shawn Roundtree Jr. comprise the MAC's highest scoring backcourt, averaging 33.0 points per game.
• Central Michigan ranks prominently in three national stat categories:
   - No. 1 in free throw attempts (583)
   - No. 4 in free throws made (386)
   - No. 12 in scoring offense (84.7)
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. ranks highly nationally in four stat categories -- No. 20 in total steals (48), No. 22 in free throw attempts (149), No. 24 in steals per game (2.29) and No. 26 in total assists (120).
• Currently with 48, Austin is on pace to threaten or break the Central Michigan single-season steals record, held by Dave Grauzer (63, 1978-79). Kevin McKay fell one short of the record last season when he recorded 62.
• Austin is also close to making an appearance on the CMU single-season assists list. Currently with 120 and averaging 5.7 per game, he needs 35 to move into the top 10.
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. recently moved into the CMU career free throw percentage rankings (No. 10, 80.7%).
• Junior forward David DiLeo resides in fifth place on the CMU 3-pointers rankings with 218 for his career. He also ranks fifth on the career attempts list (583).
• DiLeo is in line this season to become the 32nd Chippewa in program history to score 1,000 career points. He currently has 967 points.
• DiLeo is having a career season from the field. He is shooting .443 overall and .420 from 3-point range, both career highs.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
• Led by 16-year head coach Steve Hawkins, Western Michigan enters Saturday's contest coming off a week break after seeing its game with Kent State on Tuesday get postponed until February due to the weather.
• When last in action, on Jan. 26, the Broncos suffered a 93-67 home setback to Eastern Michigan, their seventh-consecutive loss to begin Mid-American Conference play.
• Western Michigan is led by senior center Seth Dugan, sophomore guard Michael Flowers and senior guard/forward Josh Davis.
• Dugan and Flowers are tied for the team lead in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game.
• Dugan is the Broncos' top rebounder and ranks fourth in the MAC, averaging 8.8 boards per game.
• Flowers leads WMU in assists (69), 3-pointers (42), free throws made (72) and steals (15).
• Davis also scores in double figures (12.0 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• Sophomore forward Kawanise Wilkins has started 18 of 20 games and averages 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.
• Junior guard Jared Printy has also seen significant playing time, scoring 6.6 points per game. He is second on the team with 31 3-pointers.

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan will kick off a challenging two-game conference road trip on Saturday, Feb. 9 when it visits No. 17 Buffalo (19-2, 7-1 MAC) in an interdivisional battle at 3:30 p.m. at the Bulls' Alumni Arena.
• Last season, CMU fell to Buffalo twice, 88-82 at home in the regular season and then, 89-74, in the second round of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
• Buffalo has dominated MAC competition, winning five of seven conference games by double digits, with the exception of a two-point road setback to Northern Illinois.
• Buffalo is led by senior guard CJ Massinburg (18.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg), senior guard Jeremy Harris (14.1 ppg) and senior forward Nick Perkins (14.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg).

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Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Shawn Roundtree Jr.