Rival Western Next For First-Place CMU Men

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A rivalry game for the first-place Central Michigan men's basketball team.

The Chippewas are scheduled to go to Kalamazoo on Saturday for a game against archrival Western Michigan. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
CMU was scheduled to play on Tuesday at Miami (Ohio), however the game was canceled due to coronavirus and has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27.

Where They Stand
CMU is 11-8, 4-2 MAC after defeating Ball State, 71-66, on Saturday at McGuirk Arena, and is in first place in the MAC West and third overall.

CMU was tied with Ball State at 4-2 heading into Tuesday; Ball State lost at Bowling Green, 67-61.

Western Michigan is 9-11, 2-5, after losing at Northern Illinois 58-52 last Saturday.

History Book
In Saturday's win over Ball State, CMU senior David DiLeo made his 300^th career 3-pointer. He needs seven more to pass Josh Kozinski as the program's all-time leader. Kozinski knocked down 306 triples from 2013-2018.

Team Stats
CMU is No. 6 in scoring in the country, averaging 82.5 points per game. CMU is one of 17 teams in the nation, and the only team in the MAC, averaging 80 or more points per game.

Defensively, the Chippewas are giving up 75.9 points per game and are forcing opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game, which is second in the MAC, and No. 18 in the nation. Of those 17.3 turnovers, 9.7 of them come from steals, and the Chippewas rank second in the MAC and seventh nationally in that category.

CMU's turnover margin of plus 4.47 is the best in the MAC, and No. 14 in the country.

Individual Stats
Kevin McKay is the Chippewas' leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 15.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He is 10^th in the league in scoring and 13^th in rebounding.

His .664 field goal percentage is the best in the MAC, and is No. 8 in the country. He is the national leader among guards. The next closest guard to McKay is South Alabama's Chad Lott, who is shooting 55.6 percent. Lott is 47^th in the nation.

McKay is one of four players on the Chippewas roster averaging double figures. David DiLeo (14.1), Dallas Morgan (13.6) and Rob Montgomery (11.0) are the others.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists at 3.7 per game, good for No. 7 in the MAC. His 2.1 steals per game are tied for No. 1 in the MAC with Buffalo's Jordan Davonta.

Scouting
Western Michigan is scoring 71.4 points per game and giving up 73.1 points per game. Western is the only team in the MAC with a negative scoring margin at minus 1.6.

The Broncos rank second in the MAC in free throws attempts (443) and makes (317). Defensively, Western Michigan is holding opponents to 31.8 percent shooting from 3-point range, which is third in the MAC.

Junior guard Michael Flowers is the Broncos' leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, which is fourth in the MAC. He leads the Broncos with 3.5 assists per game, good for eighth in the MAC.

Brandon Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward, is second on the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, good for No. 11 in the MAC. Johnson is also the Broncos' leading rebounder at 8.1 per game. He is tied for seventh in the MAC in that category.

Rivalry Weekend
CMU defeated the archrival Broncos three times last season, the third of which came in the opening round of the MAC Tournament at McGuirk Arena.

"I know both teams are excited about this game," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "It's one of those games you look forward to before the season ever starts. I know our guys are looking forward to getting back on the court and getting an opportunity to play in a great environment."

First Place Chippewas
CMU is in first place of the MAC West thanks to the play and leadership of seniors like McKay, DiLeo, Morgan and Montgomery. In addition, CMU's nonconference schedule that included several tough tests has contributed to the Chippewas' good start in MAC play.

"We've got a chance to improve if we can get healthy, and we can stay healthy," Davis said. "I think we have a chance of being one of the tougher, or better, teams when March comes around. We know that every win that we get will help put us in a better position to make a deep run."

Next
CMU will be back at home on Tuesday, Feb. 4 (7 p.m.) against Bowling Green.

Bowling Green is 16-5 and is in first place in the MAC overall at 7-1. The Falcons will play at Buffalo on Saturday.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Dallas Morgan