Chippewas Enter Final Week Of Season At Home Against Toledo

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan men's basketball team is slated to close the regular season with two home games against Mid-American Conference opponents this week, beginning on Tuesday (5 p.m.) when the Chippewas play host to Toledo.

The Chippewas are scheduled to host Northern Illinois on Friday (5 p.m.) in their regular-season finale.

Where They Stand
The Chippewas continue to battle despite injuries and COVID-related absences. CMU, which is 6-15, 2-12 MAC, was sidelined for 17 days – four of their games were postponed – and are 0-3 since their return.

CMU has played without leading scorer Travon Broadway Jr. and point guard Devontae Lane, two of the program's most-experienced players, over those three games. After a 42-point loss to Miami (Ohio) in their return on Feb. 23, the Chippewas were much more competitive in close road losses to Buffalo and to Ball State.

Against the Bulls, the Chippewas were within eight points with under two minutes to play; at Ball State on Saturday, CMU was within four points in the final minute. The Chippewas played both of those games with what is essentially a six-man rotation.

Last Time Out
Ralph Bissainthe scored a career-high 27 points and Caleb Huffman and Meikkel Murray added 24 apiece in the Chippewas' loss at Ball State.

Bissainthe, a 6-foot-7 junior in his first season at CMU after transferring from Florida Southwestern State, also had 12 rebounds for his first double-double as a Chippewa.

Last Meeting
Toledo defeated the Chippewas, 89-72, in Toledo on Jan. 19. Freshman Ryan Rollins scored a season-high 25 points to lead five Rockets in double figures. Broadway had 27 points and Murray had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Chippewas.

Scouting
Toledo clinched a share of the MAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament with a 91-44 win on Saturday over Western Michigan. The Rockets are 19-6, 14-3 MAC. They can clinch the outright crown with a win over the Chippewas on Tuesday.

Toledo ranks second in the league in both scoring (81.1 points per game) and defense (71.0) and leads the MAC with 10.9 3-pointers per game.

Toledo's Marreon Jackson a senior guard, is fifth in the league in scoring at 17.5 points per game. Teammate Spencer Littleson, a 6-4 guard, leads the MAC in 3-pointers (89) and ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.438).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ralph Bissainthe

Travon Broadway Jr.

Caleb Huffman

Devontae Lane

Meikkel Murray

Central Michigan University Athletics