Chippewa Men Entertain Eastern On Saturday

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan men's basketball team will play the final game in a three-game homestand on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) when the Chippewas entertain Eastern Michigan in a Mid-American Conference game.

The Chippewas are 5-7, 1-4 MAC. Eastern is 4-4, 1-3.

Last Time Out
The Chippewas battled Kent State before succumbing, 94-85, on Tuesday at McGuirk Arena. The game was tied with under five minutes to play when the Golden Flashes went on a game-breaking 10-0 run.

Stepping Up
Malik Muhammad, a 6-foot-9 junior in his first season at CMU, scored a career-high 17 points and hauled down 11 rebounds against Kent State, the MAC's second-best rebounding team.

It was Muhammad's third-consecutive start as a Chippewa and in that stretch, he is averaging 11 rebounds per game. Muhammad, who came to CMU from East Los Angeles College, did not play in the Chippewas' first four games because of injury.

"Really he's been kind of behind just in the number of repetitions and the game experience," CMU coach Keno Davis said. "I think you're seeing him get into more of a comfort zone, not just defensively and rebounding, but also offensively."

The Chippewas are averaging 39.0 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the 12-team conference in that category.

Leaders
Senior guard Travon Broadway Jr. leads the Chippewas in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Meikkel Murray is averaging 12.8, and Caleb Huffman is at 11.8. Muhammad is the Chippewas' top rebounder at 7.5 per game.

Rematch
The Chippewas won the first meeting with the Eagles, 87-60, in Ypsilanti on Dec. 29. CMU outscored Eastern, 54-32, in the second half to win going away.

Scouting
The Eagles defeated Division III Calvin, 67-56, at home on Thursday. They dropped a 96-63 decision to Toledo in a MAC game on Tuesday. A week ago, the Eagles topped Akron, 71-59, holding the MAC's leading scorer, Loren Cristian Jackson, to a season-low 10 points.

Three Eagles are averaging double figures in scoring in Bryce McBride (14.4), Ty Groce (14.0) and Yeikson Montero (13.0). Groce leads Eastern with 6.3 rebounds per game.

Eastern leads the MAC in turnover margin. The Eagles are forcing 5.75 more turnovers per game than they are committing.

Next
CMU's next four games are on the road, beginning with a trip to Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 19 (7 p.m.). They will also visit Akron, Buffalo and Kent State during the four-game stretch.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Travon Broadway Jr.

Caleb Huffman

Malik Muhammad

Meikkel Murray

Central Michigan University Athletics