CMU Men Put Unbeaten MAC Record On The Line At Kent State

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.- A pair of undefeated Mid-American Conference teams collide as the Central Michigan men's basketball team travels to Kent, Ohio for an early conference road test against Kent State on Saturday, Jan. 11 (3:30 p.m.).

The game will be the first of two straight road games for CMU, which goes to Toledo, for a game against the Rockets on Tuesday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m.).

Last Time Out
The Chippewas are 9-6 (2-0) after they defeated Northern Illinois, 68-67, on Tuesday in a thriller that ended on a Kevin McKay bucket with under a second remaining. CMU lead for just 48 seconds of the game and overcame a 12-point deficit.

"We talked about a couple of reasons that I feel this team has a chance to successful," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "One, we have great effort; two, we're a deeper team.

"When a couple guys struggled, our bench came in and picked up our intensity. A lead in college basketball, even a double-digit one, isn't insurmountable. You just have to continue to keep working and hope you're able to get a run. We did, we made some big shots, we had some big stops, we had some big rebounds, and we fortunately made a pretty big play to win the game."

Team Stats
CMU is third in the country in scoring, averaging 85.2 points per game. Gonzaga and Eastern Washington are ahead of CMU, averaging 87.5 and 85.9 points per game, respectively.

The Chippewas are shooting 45.4 percent from the field, which is good for third in the MAC. They are forcing 17.3 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 24 in the country and second in the MAC.

Of those 17.3 turnovers, 9.9 have come off steals, which is No. 8 in the country and second in the MAC.

Individual Stats
McKay leads CMU in scoring and rebounding with 15.4 points per game, which is No. 7 in the MAC, and 6.1 rebounds per game. His 66.4 field goal percentage is No. 7 in the country and is first among guards.

McKay, a 6-foot-5 senior, is one of four Chippewas averaging in double figures in scoring. David DiLeo, a 6-8 senior, is averaging 13.9, while Dallas Morgan is at 13.1, and Rob Montgomery is at 11.3.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 4.2 per game, which is sixth in the MAC. Lane also ranks second in the MAC in steals at 2.4 per game.

Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes are 12-3, 2-0 MAC, and are coming off an 84-77 victory over Toledo.

Kent State ranks second behind CMU in the MAC in scoring at 80.4 points per game. It is first in shooting percentage (46.1 percent) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.348).

The Golden Flashes are giving up 67.9 points per game and their point differential is 12.5, which is second best in the league behind Akron.

Despite having the league's second-highest scoring offense, Kent State has just one player in the top 15 in points per game, Antonio Williams.

Williams averages 14.2 points per game, shooting at 51.7 percent from the field, which is sixth in the MAC, and 36.8 percent from 3-point range.

He is one of five players on the team averaging who scores in double figures. Danny Pippen at 14.0, Troy Simons at 12.7, Anthony Roberts at 12.6, and Phillip Whittington at 11.3 are the others.

"In some ways, they are very similar to our team," Davis said of the Flashes. "They're very balanced in scoring. A different guy could lead them in scoring on a given night. We always know that they're going to be a very talented team, and very well coached.

"To be able to go in and get a road win, we're going to have to continue to have great intensity and try to continue to improve on both sides of the basketball."

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Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Dallas Morgan