Surging Chippewas Visit Ball State Saturday

Saturday, February 23

Muncie, Ind.

2:00 p.m. ET

Central Michigan University

Ball State

Photo by: Benjamin Suddendorf

2/22/2019 11:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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CMU and Ball State to square off at 2 p.m. at the Cardinals' Worthen Arena in Muncie

GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (18-8, 7-6 MAC), fresh off a two-game home sweep of MAC East opponents, will return to the road and to MAC West Division play on Saturday, Feb. 23 when it meets Ball State (14-12, 5-8 MAC) at 2 p.m. at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind.
• The Chippewas used a balanced scoring effort to knock off Kent State, 84-74, at McGuirk Arena on Saturday while Ball State, in its last outing, saw a three-game winning streak snapped by Miami (Ohio) by a virtue of a 69-66 setback in Oxford.
• Central Michigan currently resides in lone possession of second place in the MAC West standings, just one game behind frontrunner Toledo and one game ahead of Eastern Michigan.
• The Chippewas are in position to serve as the No. 5 seed for the MAC Tournament with five regular season conference games remaining.
• Central Michigan owns an 4-5 road record this season, including two wins in MAC play, while Ball State is 7-4 at home in 2018-19, with three of those losses coming against conference foes.
• ONE TO WATCH: Saturday's game will again feature two of the MAC's top scoring backcourts, CMU's Larry Austin Jr. (17.1 ppg) and Shawn Roundtree Jr. (16.5 ppg) and Ball State's Tayler Persons (16.8 pgg) and K.J. Walton (14.1 ppg).

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 (5.7) and second in steals (2.2).
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. leads the Chippewas in scoring in MAC play, posting 17.5 points per game. He has scored 20 or more points in each of the last four games, a career-high, and has scored in double figures in 22 consecutive games.
• Junior forward David DiLeo leads the Chippewas (3rd in the MAC) with 69 3-pointers and is fourth on the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg). He is having a standout season from the field, shooting .442 overall and .423 from 3-point range, both career highs.
• Junior Kevin McKay leads CMU in rebounding (No. 9 in the MAC, 7.3 rpg) and averages 11.4 points per game. He also ranks No. 2 in the MAC in offensive rebounds (3.2 rpg). McKay set a career high with four blocked shots in the win over Kent State. He leads CMU with 26 blocks this season.
• Junior forward Rob Montgomery has been a force in MAC play, ranking third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game, while collecting 6.2 rebounds.

TRENDING
• Central Michigan ranks prominently nationally in three major statistical categories -- No. 2 in free throw attempts (714), No. 3 in free throws made (481) and No. 11 in scoring offense (83.9 ppg).
• With the win over Ohio on Feb. 16, the Chippewas' fifth consecutive .500 or better season was guaranteed, the program's longest such streak since the early 1970s (1969-75).
• If CMU should win two 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.
• With the win over Western Michigan on Feb. 2, CMU has recorded double-digit wins at home for five consecutive years, totaling 62 during that time frame. CMU is 12-2 in McGuirk Arena thus far this season.
• Senior guard 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.
• Roundtree needs 39 points to become the 34th player in CMU program history to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Roundtree is shooting 90% (28-of-31) from the free throw line over the last six games. He currently ranks in eighth place on the CMU career free throw percentage list (81.4%).
• Currently with 56, senior guard 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 149 and averaging 5.7 per game, he needs six to move into the top 10.

SCOUTING BALL STATE
• Led by six-year head coach James Whitford, Ball State enters Saturday's game coming off its first loss in the last four games, a 69-66 road setback to Miami (Ohio).
• During its three-game winning streak, the Cardinals took two games, at NIU and at home versus Akron, by one point.
• Ball State is positioned in a tie for fourth place with Northern Illinois in the MAC West standings, two games behind the Chippewas.
• Ball State is led by senior guard Taylor Persons, junior forward Tahjai Teague and junior guard K.J. Walton.
• Persons, a two-time Second Team All-MAC selection, leads Ball State in scoring (16.8 ppg) and ranks No. 3 in the MAC in assists (4.5 apg). He scored 21 points against CMU in this season's first meeting.
• Walton, a Missouri transfer, shoots .530 from the field and averages 14.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He scored a game-high 24 points versus the Chippewas earlier this year.
• Teague, who ranks No. 6 in the MAC in field goal percentage (.564), is third on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and tops the Cardinals in rebounding with 8.0 boards per game.
• Senior center Trey Moses leads Ball State in blocked shots (30) and is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg). He scores 8.9 points per game.
• Junior forward Kyle Mallers (7.8 ppg) is one of the Cardinals' top 3-point threats, making 38 triples.
• Sophomore forward Zach Gunn (5.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 29 3-pointers), senior guard Austin Nehls (3.1 ppg) and redshirt junior guard Josh Thompson (2.6 ppg, 27 assists) have also been key contributors during MAC play.
• Ball State ranks No. 16 in the NCAA in defensive rebounds per game (28.85 rpg).

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Central Michigan will remain on the road next week, visiting Eastern Michigan (12-14, 5-8 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 26 for a 7 p.m. game at the Eagles' Convocation Center.
• Eastern Michigan is in sole possession of third place in the MAC West, one game behind the Chippewas.
• The Eagles have won three of their last four games and hosts Western Michigan before entertaining the Chippewas in Ypsilanti.
• The meeting will be a rematch of the January 29 game won by Central Michigan in McGuirk Arena, 86-82.
• Eastern Michigan is led by senior guard/forward Elijah Minnie (14.3 ppg), senior guard Paul Jackson (13.6 ppg), senior forward James Thompson IV (10.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg) and redshirt junior center Boubacar Toure (9.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
• The Chippewas will then welcome Toledo (20-6, 8-5 MAC) to Mount Pleasant and McGuirk Arena for a 4:30 p.m. game on Saturday, March 2.