Showdown No. 2: Chippewa Men Battle First-Place Ball State

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- A showdown between the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division is scheduled for Saturday (4:30 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena as the Central Michigan men's basketball team entertains Ball State.

The game is the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's game – CMU vs. Toledo – beginning at 1 p.m. The women's game also pits the top two teams in the MAC West.

Where They Stand
CMU is 10-8, 3-2 MAC and is coming off an 86-67 loss at Buffalo. They sit second in the West and are fifth in the overall conference standings.

The Chippewas did not have a mid-week game, and the week off should do them good, coach Keno Davis said.

"It allows us to try to work on some things for the stretch run," Davis said. "(It also helps) with the bumps, bruises and injuries. You hopefully come back from that time healthier. That's always important for a conference run.

"The schedule is very demanding. With the injuries we have, it was nice to be able to get back to working on some things to make our team better. Hopefully, we'll be able to look back at (the time off) and say that helped us improve as a team."

Ball State is 11-7, 4-1, after a 71-62 win over Miami (Ohio) last week. The Cardinals sit in first in the West.

Team Stats
CMU is tied with Duke for fifth in the country in scoring with 82.9 points per game. Defensively, the Chippewas allow 76.5 points per game, which is 12^th in the MAC.

The Chippewas rank second in the MAC in turnovers forced (16.6), with 9.3 of those turnovers coming off of steals. CMU ranks 15^th nationally and second in the league in steals per game.

The Chippewas force 4.06 more turnovers per game than they commit. They are first in the MAC in turnover margin.

Leaders
Kevin McKay leads CMU in scoring and rebounds at 15.4 and 6.1 per game, respectively.

His field goal percentage of 66.4 percent ranks seventh in the nation, and is the best among guards. All players who rank ahead of him are forwards and centers. The next closest guard to McKay is Stephen F. Austin's Cameron Johnson, who ranks 36^th with a shooting percentage of .579.

McKay has missed the last three games due to an injury and is listed as day to day.

He is one of four players on the Chippewa roster who averages double figures in points. David DiLeo (14.1), Dallas Morgan (13.2) and Rob Montgomery (11.0) are the other three.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 3.8 per game, good for seventh in the MAC. Lane's 2.1 steals per game is tied for second in the MAC with Eastern Michigan's Ty Groce.

Poised to Move to No. 1
DiLeo has made 299 career 3-pointers and needs seven to tie Josh Kozinski as CMU's career leader. Kozinski made 306 triples as a Chippewa from 2013-18.

DiLeo, a 6-foot-8 senior, averages 2.6 3-pointers per game.

Scouting
Ball State averages 71.4 points per game and is holding opponents to a MAC-best 61.4 per game. Its scoring margin of 9.8 points is the second best in the MAC behind Akron.

The Cardinals have held opponents to under 70 points in 13 of its 18 games this season. In those 13 games, their record is 11-2. They are 0-5 in games when they allow 70 or more points.

The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back victories, the first over Eastern Michigan and the second over Miami (Ohio). They opened the MAC with home wins over Toledo and over Buffalo, before falling at Akron.

The wins over Toledo and Buffalo were noteworthy because the Rockets were picked first in the West in the preseason coaches poll and Buffalo is the two-time defending MAC Tournament champion and was picked to finish second in the MAC East.

The Cardinals' leading scorers are Tahjai Teague and Ishmael El-Amin, who average 14.7 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Teague, a 6-foot-8 senior, ranks fifth in the MAC in rebounding at 8.6 per game.

El-Amin, a junior guard, is making 46.4 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts, and ranks second in the MAC in that category.

"Ball State has a lot of talent," Davis said. "They can beat you in a lot of different ways. I think you've seen that they're one of the teams that should be thought of as at the top of this league. We always seem to have great games with Ball State, and I'm sure Saturday will be no different."

Next
The Chippewas will go to Oxford, Ohio for a league game against Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, Jan. 28 (7 p.m.).

The Chippewas defeated Miami at McGuirk Arena 93-82 on Jan. 4 in the league opener.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Dallas Morgan

Central Michigan University Athletics