Home Clash with Kent State Next for Chippewas

GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (17-8, 6-6 MAC) will finish out a two-game home stand on Tuesday, Feb. 19 when it welcomes MAC East foe Kent State (19-6, 8-4 MAC) to McGuirk Arena for a 7 p.m. contest.
• The Chippewas used a late second-half surge to down Ohio, 87-80, at home on Saturday while Kent State handled Eastern Michigan, 71-58, in Kent in its last outing.
• Central Michigan currently resides in lone possession of second place in the MAC West standings, two games behind frontrunner Toledo.
• The Chippewas are in position to serve as the No. 6 seed for the MAC Tournament with six regular season conference games remaining.
• Central Michigan owns an 11-2 record at home this season, including four victories in MAC play, while Kent State is 7-3 on the road in 2018-19.
• CMU possesses a 32-48 record in the all-time series versus Kent State and has won two of the last three meetings between the teams at McGuirk Arena.
• ONE TO WATCH: Tuesday's game will feature four of the MAC's top five leaders in minutes played -- Kent State's Jalen Avery (35.6 mpg, No. 1) and Jaylin Walker (35.4, No. 2) and CMU's Shawn Roundtree Jr. (34.6, No. 3) and David DiLeo (33.7, No. 5).

CHIPPEWAS TO WATCH
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. leads CMU and ranks No. 5 in the MAC in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game. The three-time MAC West Player of the Week also ranks first in the MAC in assists (5.5) and second in steals (2.2).
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring (16.4 ppg), assists (80) and 3-pointers (48). He has scored 20 or more points in each of the last three game and has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games.
• Junior forward David DiLeo leads the Chippewas (4th in the MAC) with 67 3-pointers and is fourth on the team in rebounding (5.1 rpg). He is having a standout season from the field, shooting .443 overall and .419 from 3-point range, both career highs.
• Junior Kevin McKay leads CMU in rebounding (No. 9 in the MAC, 7.2 rpg) and averages 11.4 points per game. He also ranks No. 2 in the MAC in offensive rebounds (3.2 rpg).
• Junior forward Rob Montgomery has been a force in MAC play, ranking third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game, while collecting 6.0 rebounds.

TRENDING
• Shawn Roundtree Jr. was named MAC West Player of the Week for the third time in his career after averaging 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 93% (13-of-14) from the free throw line in conference contests versus Bowling Green and Ohio.
• With the win over Ohio, the Chippewas' fifth consecutive .500 or better season was guaranteed, the program's longest such streak since the early 1970s (1969-75).
• Versus Bowling Green on Feb. 12, David DiLeo became the 33rd Chippewa in program history to score 1,000 career points. He currently has 1,019 points and resides in 30th place on the CMU career scoring list.
• With the win over Western Michigan on Feb. 2, CMU has recorded double-digit wins at home for five consecutive years, totaling 61 during that time frame. CMU is 11-2 in McGuirk Arena thus far this season.
• If CMU should win three more games this season, it would mark the first time since the mid-1960s (1965-66, 1966-67) that the Chippewas' would post back-to-back 20-win seasons.
• Currently with 56, Larry Austin Jr. is on pace to break the Central Michigan single-season steals record, held by Dave Grauzer (63, 1978-79). He is currently tied for seventh place on the top 10 list.
• Austin is also close to making an appearance on the CMU single-season assists list. Currently with 138 and averaging 5.5 per game, he needs 17 to move into the top 10.

SCOUTING KENT STATE
• Led by eight-year head coach Rob Senderoff, Kent State enters Tuesday's contest winners of four of their last five MAC games.
• The Golden Flashes are in third place in the MAC East standings, two games behind first place Buffalo and Bowling Green, and are currently in position to be the No. 3 seed for the MAC Tournament.
• Kent State is led by senior guard Jaylin Walker, who leads the MAC in scoring (22.2 ppg) and 3-pointers (72).
• Walker shoots .407 from 3-point range and .840 from the free throw line and ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg).
• Senior point guard Jalen Avery, who has missed the last two contests due to injury, scores 11.9 points per game and leads the MAC in assist/turnover ratio by a wide margin (5.3).
• Junior guard Antonio Williams, a former teammate of CMU's Rob Montgomery at Indian Hills CC, is Kent State's third-leading scorer (10.9 ppg) and has a team-high 44 steals.
• Junior forward Philip Whittington, a transfer from USC Upstate, is the Golden Flashes' top rebounder (7.9 rpg) and averages 10.1 points per game.
• CJ Williamson (7.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Akiean Frederick (5.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Anthony Roberts (5.1 ppg) and Mitch Peterson (4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) have also been key contributors in 2018-19. Each has started at least one game and all four have played in 23 games or more.

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan will return to road conference action next week, first visiting Ball State (14-11, 5-7 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 23 for a 2 p.m. game at the Cardinals' Worthen Arena.
• Ball State is tied with Eastern Michigan for third place in the MAC West, one game behind the Chippewas.
• The Cardinals have won three straight, including two one-point victories.
• The meeting will be a rematch of the January 19 game won by Ball State in McGuirk Arena, 83-72
• Ball State is led by senior guard Tayler Persons (16.9 ppg, 114 assists), junior forward Tahjai Teague (14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and junior guard K.J. Walton (14.0 ppg).
• The Chippewas will then travel to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan (11-14, 5-7 MAC) in a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Shawn Roundtree Jr.