Chippewa Men Get Rematch With Bowling Green

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan men's basketball team is set to play its first Mid-American Conference home game of the season and its first home game in three weeks on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) when the Chippewas entertain Bowling Green at McGuirk Arena.

The teams met on Wednesday in Bowling Green, Ohio, with the Falcons taking a 90-69 victory.

The Chippewas are 5-5, 1-2 MAC and have won five of their last seven games. The Falcons are 8-2 and share first place in the MAC with Toledo. Both are 4-0 in league play.

Saturday's game is the first of three consecutive at home for the Chippewas. They are scheduled to entertain Kent State on Tuesday, Jan. 12, and Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Leaders
CMU continues to be led by the guard trio of Travon Broadway Jr., Devontae Lane and Meikkel Murray.

Broadway leads CMU in scoring at 15.4 points per game, while Murray is tied for second on the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg and is the Chippewas' leading rebounder at 6.3 per. Lane is averaging 9.7 points and a team-best 2.8 assists.

Caleb Huffman, a 6-foot-4 guard and generally the first Chippewa off the bench, is averaging 12.5 points per game.

Malik Muhammad, a 6-foot-9 junior in his first season at CMU after transferring from East Los Angeles College, hauled down a career-high 10 rebounds in his first start as a Chippewa in Wednesday's game against Bowling Green.

CMU played without 6-foot-10 freshman Aundre Polk at Bowling Green. Polk has started seven games this season and is averaging 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Looking Back
Senior guard Justin Turner scored 17 points in leading the Falcons past the Chippewas on Wednesday. Bowling Green used a 12-0 run late in the first half in building a comfortable margin.

First Time
When the Chippewas and Falcons meet on Saturday, it will mark the first time in CMU program history that CMU has played a conference opponent in back-to-back regular-season contests.

Two other times CMU has played a MAC team in consecutive games, but in both cases, the second game of those back-to-backs came in the league tournament.

Scouting
Turner leads the Falcons and ranks second in the MAC in scoring at 20.6 points per game. Bowling Green's Trey Diggs is averaging 12.5 per while Daeqwon Plowden averages 12.2 points and is the Falcons' leading rebounder at 8.4. He is tied for third in the conference.

Bowling Green finished first in the preseason MAC poll, is ranked 14^th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, and its losses have come to unbeaten Michigan, which is now ranked 10^th, and to Wright State, which is 7-2 and ranked 16^th in the mid-major poll.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Travon Broadway Jr.

Caleb Huffman

Devontae Lane

Malik Muhammad

Meikkel Murray

Aundre Polk