CMU Men Go To Eastern On Saturday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Another quick turnaround for Central Michigan.

The CMU men's basketball team travels to Ypsilanti to play against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 29 (noon). It marks the Chippewas' third game in five days. They played host to Toledo on Tuesday and play at Miami (Ohio) on Thursday.

The last time CMU and EMU met (Feb. 11), Eastern Michigan defeated CMU 73-70.

Where They Stand
CMU is 13-15 overall and 6-9 in the Mid-American Conference after losing to Miami (Ohio) 76-57 on Thursday. The Chippewas have lost seven-consecutive games.

CMU is fourth in the MAC West and ninth overall. The MAC Tournament starts March 9 with on-campus site games.

Team Stats
CMU leads the conference in scoring with 79.5 points per game. They are giving up 76.8 points per game defensively.

The Chippewas have made the most free throws in the MAC at 447. They have attempted 610. They rank second in the MAC with .733 free throw shooting percentage.

Leaders
David DiLeo leads the Chippewas in scoring with 14.8 points per game. His 3-point percentage of .394 is eighth in the conference.

Behind DiLeo is Kevin McKay at 13.7 points per game and he leads CMU in rebounding with 6.6 per game. He's also averaging 1.7 steals per game, which is fifth in the conference. His field goal percentage of .608 is second in the MAC, No. 14 in the country, and the best nationally among guards.

DiLeo and McKay rank No. 12 and No. 17, respectively, in the MAC in scoring.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 3.4 per game, good for seventh in the MAC. He is tied for first in the MAC with 2.0 steals per.

Scouting
Eastern Michigan is 15-13, 5-10, one game back of CMU in the West. The Eagles lost to Northern Illinois, 73-71, on Tuesday and are on a two-game losing streak.

The Eagles are putting up 65.1 points per game, which is last in the conference, and are surrendering 62.6 points per game, which is second best in the conference behind Ball State (62.4).

Eastern Michigan leads the conference in free throws attempted at 635.

Ty Groce leads Eastern Michigan in scoring with 11.5 points per game. He shares the top spot in the league with Lane in steals per game at 2.0.

EMU's Boubacar Toure, a 7-foot senior center from Senegal, averages 11.0 points per game and is fifth in the conference in rebounds with 9.1 per game. His .667 shooting percentage leads the conference.

Pesky Defenses
Saturday's game features two defenses that excel at taking the ball away.

Eastern Michigan leads the conference in turnovers forced with 17.1, which is No. 14 in the country, and steals per game 10.1, which is second in the country behind Stephen F Austin (10.7).

CMU is second in both statistics in the MAC with 16.6 turnovers per game, which is No. 18 in the country, and 9.3 steals per game, which is ninth in the country.

Next
CMU will travel to Muncie, Ind. for a game against Ball State on Tuesday, March. 3 (7 p.m.).

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Players Mentioned

David DiLeo

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Central Michigan University Athletics