Chippewa Men Go To NIU On Saturday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.- The Central Michigan men's basketball team will look to end a four-game losing streak as it heads to Dekalb, Ill. to take on the top team in the Mid-American Conference West Division Northern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 22 (4:30 p.m.).

Where They Stand
The Chippewas are 13-12, 6-6 MAC after a 77-69 home loss to Ohio on Tuesday. They sit third in the MAC West, 1 ½ games behind the Huskies, 15-11, 8-5. Ball State, 14-12, 7-6, is second in the division.

Team Stats
The Chippewas are the top scoring team in the MAC at 80.2 points per game. They are the only team in the league to average 80 or more points per game.

CMU has made a MAC-best 407 free throws in 557 attempts, which is second in the MAC. Its .731 free throw percentage is fourth in the MAC.

Defensively, the Chippewas are giving up 75.9 points per game.

They are forcing opponents to 16.6 turnovers per game, good for No. 19 in the country and No. 2, behind Eastern Michigan, in the MAC. The Chippewas are averaging 9.3 steals per game, which also ranks second in the conference.

CMU's turnover margin of plus-3.72 is the best in the conference and is No. 17 in the country.

Individual Leaders
Kevin McKay leads CMU in scoring and rebounding with 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. McKay also ranks fourth in the conference in steals with 1.8 per game.

His .630 field goal percentage is eighth in the country and best among guards. He is only one of three guards ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA in field goal percentage.

David DiLeo is the Chippewas' second-leading scorer at 14.4 points per game. His 3-point percentage, .392, is the best on the team and ranks seventh in the MAC.

Dallas Morgan and Rob Montgomery are the other two Chippewas averaging double figures in scoring. Morgan is at 13.7 per game, while Montgomery is averaging 11.0.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 3.5 per game, which is good for seventh in the MAC. He is second in the MAC with 1.9 steals per game.

Scouting Northern Illinois
The Huskies have lost their last two starts, 63-59 at Ball State and 65-60 at Miami (Ohio). They had won six-straight games before falling to the Cardinals.

The Huskies averaging 66.2 points per game, which is 11^th in the 12-team league. They are giving up 63.4 points per game, which is good for third in the MAC.

They are holding opponents to a 39.6 percent shooting and to 29.6 percent from 3-point range, both which are the best in the MAC. Northern Illinois is outrebounding its opponents by an average of plus-4.8 per game, which is second best among MAC teams.

NIU's Eugene German, a senior guard, leads the conference with scoring at 20.1 points per game. The mark is good for No. 26 in the nation. German also leads the Huskies in assists with 2.6 per game, and James Lacey, a 6-foot-9 senior, is the Huskies' top rebounder at 8.0 per game. He ranks eighth in the league in that category.

Tough Road Stretch
Saturday's game is CMU's second consecutive on the road, and it comes in a stretch in which the Chippewas will play five of six away from McGuirk Arena.

"I think one thing we'll try to do from a coaching standpoint is we'll try to keep our guys as fresh as we can with the travel," said CMU coach Keno Davis, whose team is 2-9 on the road this season. "We need to have great intensity when we play to be successful.

"We can't wear them out in practice, but we'll do a lot of video, a lot of teaching type of practices to try to get them prepared."

Next
CMU will be back at home on Tuesday, Feb. 25 (7 p.m.) to face Toledo, 12-14, 4-9. The Chippewas won at Toledo, 74-67, on Jan. 14. The Rockets play at Western Michigan on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Rob Montgomery

Dallas Morgan

Central Michigan University Athletics