Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, February 2
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
1:00 p.m. ET
Central Michigan University
vs
Buffalo
Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf
Women's Basketball Showdown
2/1/2019 3:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Chippewas entertain Buffalo in rematch of 2018 MAC Tournament title game
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – One game on Feb. 2 does not decide a league championship.
That said, there is plenty at stake, and plenty of intrigue, in Saturday's Central Michigan-Buffalo Mid-American Conference women's basketball game at McGuirk Arena (1 p.m.).
First, the nuts and bolts: The teams are where they were expected to be heading into the season, leading their respective divisions – the Chippewas the West, Buffalo the East.
The Chippewas are 5-2 in league play, while Buffalo is 6-1. The Bulls are the lone one-loss team in the MAC. No, Saturday's winner will have won nothing in terms of hardware – not with the league schedule just reaching its mid-point – but it will take a leg up on the other as both teams figure to be among the top seeds at the league tournament in mid-March.
CMU is 14-5 overall, Buffalo is 14-4. They are scheduled to meet again on Saturday, Feb. 16, in Buffalo.
For her part, longtime CMU coach Sue Guevara is keeping to the one-game-at-a-time approach. As the defending champion, CMU is a red-letter date on every opponent's schedule. And with the recent history between the Chippewas and Bulls, motivation isn't a problem for Buffalo.
Coach Felisha Legette-Jack's Buffalo programmed has mirrored that of Guevara's at CMU. Both were veterans who had led Big Ten programs before coming to the MAC, where they took over struggling programs and built them into mid-major powers.
"We know we're going to get the opponent's best shot," Guevara said. "So every game is a championship game. It's a championship game (on Saturday). And when this game is over, on Feb. 6, when we play Ball State, it's another championship game. That's the mentality."
A year ago, both the Chippewas and Bulls reached the Sweet Sixteen. Only once in MAC history had a league member reached that point in the NCAA Tournament (Bowling Green in 2007). To have two league members accomplish the feat was truly remarkable.
"When we play Buffalo, it's two heavyweights going at each other and it's a game I always look forward to because I have a great deal of respect for Felisha and how her team plays," Guevara said. "I think both teams bring out the best in each other."
ON THE PERIPHERY
Now, the other stuff, the spice that makes athletic competition what it is for fans while coaches would prefer that their players ignore and simply go out and compete on the court.
• The Chippewas and Bulls met last March in the MAC Tournament championship game in Cleveland, with CMU winning 96-91. It marked the second time in three years that the two programs met with the league crown, and with it, an NCAA Tournament berth, on the line. Buffalo won in 2016, 73-71, in overtime.
• The Bulls were the only MAC team to defeat CMU last season. They won, 85-82, in Buffalo. CMU won the first meeting of the 2017-18 season, in Mount Pleasant, 86-79.
• The Chippewas are 10thin the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Buffalo is eighth. CMU carries a MAC-best RPI of 25; Buffalo is second at 30.
• The teams feature four of the premier players in the MAC. in CMU's Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost, and Buffalo's Cierra Dillard and Summer Hemphill. All four were on the 10-member Preseason All-MAC team.
SCOUTING
Dillard, a senior guard, leads the MAC and ranks third nationally in scoring at 25.1 points per game. Hemphill, who missed Buffalo's first nine games, is averaging 12.6 points and 9.2 rebounds.
The Bulls have won six consecutive games since dropping their MAC opener to Ohio, 74-71, in overtime.
KEY STAT
Buffalo ranks second, to CMU, in the MAC in rebounding margin. The Chippewas have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 8.6 per game; Buffalo checks in at 3.5.
THE CHIPPEWAS
Frost and Hudson both continue to build their case as frontrunners for the MAC Player of the Year Award.
Hudson ranks third in scoring in the league at 20.4 points per game, while Frost is fourth (19.0). Frost is the league's top rebounder (12.2 per game), while Hudson ranks second in assists per game (5.8).
On Monday, Frost was named the MAC West Player of the Week for the fifth time this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Chippewas are playing on Saturday the second of four consecutive home games. They entertain Ball State on Wednesday, Feb. 6, and then welcome Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 9.
That said, there is plenty at stake, and plenty of intrigue, in Saturday's Central Michigan-Buffalo Mid-American Conference women's basketball game at McGuirk Arena (1 p.m.).
First, the nuts and bolts: The teams are where they were expected to be heading into the season, leading their respective divisions – the Chippewas the West, Buffalo the East.
The Chippewas are 5-2 in league play, while Buffalo is 6-1. The Bulls are the lone one-loss team in the MAC. No, Saturday's winner will have won nothing in terms of hardware – not with the league schedule just reaching its mid-point – but it will take a leg up on the other as both teams figure to be among the top seeds at the league tournament in mid-March.
CMU is 14-5 overall, Buffalo is 14-4. They are scheduled to meet again on Saturday, Feb. 16, in Buffalo.
For her part, longtime CMU coach Sue Guevara is keeping to the one-game-at-a-time approach. As the defending champion, CMU is a red-letter date on every opponent's schedule. And with the recent history between the Chippewas and Bulls, motivation isn't a problem for Buffalo.
Coach Felisha Legette-Jack's Buffalo programmed has mirrored that of Guevara's at CMU. Both were veterans who had led Big Ten programs before coming to the MAC, where they took over struggling programs and built them into mid-major powers.
"We know we're going to get the opponent's best shot," Guevara said. "So every game is a championship game. It's a championship game (on Saturday). And when this game is over, on Feb. 6, when we play Ball State, it's another championship game. That's the mentality."
A year ago, both the Chippewas and Bulls reached the Sweet Sixteen. Only once in MAC history had a league member reached that point in the NCAA Tournament (Bowling Green in 2007). To have two league members accomplish the feat was truly remarkable.
"When we play Buffalo, it's two heavyweights going at each other and it's a game I always look forward to because I have a great deal of respect for Felisha and how her team plays," Guevara said. "I think both teams bring out the best in each other."
ON THE PERIPHERY
Now, the other stuff, the spice that makes athletic competition what it is for fans while coaches would prefer that their players ignore and simply go out and compete on the court.
• The Chippewas and Bulls met last March in the MAC Tournament championship game in Cleveland, with CMU winning 96-91. It marked the second time in three years that the two programs met with the league crown, and with it, an NCAA Tournament berth, on the line. Buffalo won in 2016, 73-71, in overtime.
• The Bulls were the only MAC team to defeat CMU last season. They won, 85-82, in Buffalo. CMU won the first meeting of the 2017-18 season, in Mount Pleasant, 86-79.
• The Chippewas are 10thin the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Buffalo is eighth. CMU carries a MAC-best RPI of 25; Buffalo is second at 30.
• The teams feature four of the premier players in the MAC. in CMU's Presley Hudson and Reyna Frost, and Buffalo's Cierra Dillard and Summer Hemphill. All four were on the 10-member Preseason All-MAC team.
SCOUTING
Dillard, a senior guard, leads the MAC and ranks third nationally in scoring at 25.1 points per game. Hemphill, who missed Buffalo's first nine games, is averaging 12.6 points and 9.2 rebounds.
The Bulls have won six consecutive games since dropping their MAC opener to Ohio, 74-71, in overtime.
KEY STAT
Buffalo ranks second, to CMU, in the MAC in rebounding margin. The Chippewas have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 8.6 per game; Buffalo checks in at 3.5.
THE CHIPPEWAS
Frost and Hudson both continue to build their case as frontrunners for the MAC Player of the Year Award.
Hudson ranks third in scoring in the league at 20.4 points per game, while Frost is fourth (19.0). Frost is the league's top rebounder (12.2 per game), while Hudson ranks second in assists per game (5.8).
On Monday, Frost was named the MAC West Player of the Week for the fifth time this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Chippewas are playing on Saturday the second of four consecutive home games. They entertain Ball State on Wednesday, Feb. 6, and then welcome Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 9.
Players Mentioned
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