Chippewas Open MAC Tournament Play at Home Versus WMU

GAME PREVIEW
• Central Michigan (21-10), the No. 5 seed for the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament, will meet No. 12 seed Western Michigan (8-23) on Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in a first round matchup in McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
• The Chippewas are hosting a first round MAC Tournament game for the second consecutive year, after defeating No. 9 seed Bowling Green in overtime, 81-77, as the eighth seed last season.
• CMU swept the season series with Western Michigan for the first time since 2002-03, downing the Broncos, 85-64, in Mount Pleasant before winning, 82-75, in Kalamazoo on Friday evening.
• CMU is 7-7 all-time in MAC Tournament first round games and is 0-1 against Western Michigan in MAC Tournament contests.
• The lone MAC Tournament meeting between CMU and WMU came in the 2010 quarterfinals, when the second-seeded Chippewas fell to the No. 7 seed Broncos, 69-60.
• CMU is serving as the No. 5 seed for the MAC Tournament for the first time in program history.
• Overall, Central Michigan holds a 16-24 record in MAC Tournament games.
• At the 2018 MAC Tournament, after CMU knocked off Bowling Green in the first round, the Chippewas fell to No. 1 seed Buffalo, 89-74, in the quarterfinals.
• CMU is coming off an 82-75 win over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo in the regular season finale, getting a double-double from David DiLeo (24 points, 10 rebounds) and 20 points, nine assists and five steals from Larry Austin Jr.
• Central Michigan is 12-5 at home this season, including a 5-4 mark in MAC play, while Bowling Green owns a 2-13 road record (0-9 vs. the MAC).
• CMU possesses a 56-98 record in the all-time series with the Broncos.

CHIPPEWAS TO WATCH
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. leads CMU and ranks No. 5 in the MAC in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game, and has scored in double figures in 28 games. The four-time MAC West Player of the Week also ranks first in the MAC in assists (5.8) and in in steals (2.2).
• Senior guard Shawn Roundtree Jr. leads the Chippewas in scoring in MAC play, posting 17.0 points per game. He is averaging 21.0 points per contest in his last seven full games.
• Junior forward David DiLeo leads the Chippewas (3rd in the MAC) with 82 3-pointers and his .423 3-point shooting percentage ranks second in the conference.
• Junior Kevin McKay leads CMU in rebounding (No. 8 in the MAC, 7.6 rpg) and averages 11.4 points per game. He leads all active Chippewas with 12 career double-doubles.
• Junior Dallas Morgan has averaged 12.5 points per game in his four starts.

TRENDING
• Senior guard Larry Austin Jr. was named MAC West Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after averaging 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 3.0 steals last week in games versus NIU and Western Michigan.
• Against WMU, Larry Austin Jr. recorded a career-high five steals to became the CMU single-season record holder. He currently has 68 steals.
• Central Michigan swept the state of Michigan (2-0 vs. WMU, 2-0 vs. EMU) during the regular season this year for the first time since 2000-01.
• Central Michigan has won three-straight games versus Western Michigan for the first time since the early 2000s: 2001-02 (70-67), 2002-03 (80-75), 2002-03 (77-58). The Chippewas have not strung together four consecutive victories over the Broncos since the 1977-78, 1978-79 seasons.
• CMU has won five MAC road games for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
• Larry Austin Jr. ranks No. 3 on the CMU single-season top 10 assists list with 181. He needs 16 to break the record held by Dave Grauzer (1977-78).
• Shawn Roundtree Jr., who is averaging 21.0 points per contest in his last seven full games, became the 34th player in CMU program history to eclipse 1,000 career points and just the third Chippewa to reach that milestone in two seasons, joining Trey Ziegler and Ervin "Lightning" Leavy. He currently has 1,023 points and ranks 31st.
• Roundtree, who is shooting 90.6% from the line over the last 10 games, currently ranks tied for seventh on the CMU career free throw percentage rankings (81.7%). He has made 11-consecutive free throws.
• Junior forwad David DiLeo is having a standout season from the field, where he is shooting .440 overall and .423 from 3-point range, both career highs.
• Central Michigan ranks prominently nationally in four major statistical categories -- No. 3 in free throw attempts (820), No. 5 in free throws made (551), No. 15 in 3-point field goal defense (29.8) and No. 17 in scoring offense (82.5).

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
• Led by 16-year head coach Steve Hawkins, Western Michigan enters Monday's MAC Tournament contest in the midst of a five-game losing streak, including, most recently, an 82-75 home setback to Central Michigan in the regular season finale.
• Western Michigan is led by senior center Seth Dugan, sophomore guard Michael Flowers and senior guard/forward Josh Davis.
• Dugan scores a team-high 16.2 points per game and is the Broncos' top rebounder (3rd in the MAC), averaging 9.6 boards per game. He has posted 18 points and 8 rebounds and 26 points and 15 rebounds in the two meetings versus CMU this season.
• Flowers leads WMU in assists (101), 3-pointers (62), free throws made (130) and steals (28) and averages 15.7 points per game.
• Davis also scores in double figures (11.1 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.4 rpg).
Sophomore forward Kawanise Wilkins has started 19 games and averages 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds.
• Freshman forward Patrick Emilien started against CMU on Friday, totaling nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Junior guard Jared Printy and freshman guard William Boyer-Richard, who have each made double-digit starts this season, score 6.0 and 5.1 points per game, respectively. They have combined to make 76 3-pointers.

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIPPEWAS
• Should Central Michigan advance past the first round, the Chippewas will meet No. 4 seed Kent State (22-9) in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
• CMU advanced to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals a year ago, falling to the No. 1 seed Buffalo, 89-74, as the No. 8 seed.
• CMU owns a 3-12 all-time record in MAC Tournament quarterfinal games.
• A win in the quarterfinals would advance Central Michigan to the tournament semifinals on Friday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m.
• CMU owns a 4-2 all-time record in MAC Tournament semifinal games.
• CMU last won a MAC Tournament title in 2003, defeating Kent State, 77-67, in the championship contest.
• Should CMU fall in the first round, it would await its postseason fate, to be determined this weekend.
• In 2018, Central Michigan made a lengthy postseason run in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, winning road games at Fort Wayne and Wofford, before falling at Liberty.

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Players Mentioned

Larry Austin Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin McKay

Dallas Morgan

Shawn Roundtree Jr.

Central Michigan University Athletics