Saturday, February 17
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Central Michigan University
15-10,9-3MAC
69
vs
42
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Western Michigan
8-17,5-7MAC
1
2
F
Western Mich.
21
21
42
Central Mich.
40
29
69
CMU players salute fans at sold-out McGuirk Arena on Saturday night after blowout win over Western Michigan on Toilet Paper Toss Night.
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
Historic and Oh So Satisfying: Red-Hot Start Propels CMU Men to Blowout Win Over Western
2/17/2024 10:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chippewas hold Broncos to 42 points, set a record margin of victory in long-running series
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A raucous sellout crowd, the Toilet Paper Toss, the archrival opponent, a team bent on carving out a spot among the elite in the league.
It had everything. Except drama.
Central Michigan came out firing on all cylinders in building a big early lead and never looking back on Saturday, rolling to a 69-42 victory over Western Michigan before 5,032 toilet-paper-tossing fans at McGuirk Arena.
Derrick Butler was the catalyst, hitting four 3-pointers before the game was five minutes old as the Chippewas built a 20-5 lead.
Butler scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as CMU led 40-21 at the break and was never seriously challenged after the initial onslaught.
"My teammates gave me a lot of confidence," said Butler, a junior guard who finished with a career-high five triples. "The crowd was like our sixth man today. Before the game, I felt it, the energy, it just gave me a boost.
"Coach (Tony) Barbee has a lot of confidence in me. We were focused on how we can get me more involved, how to get me warm. I'm thankful for him that he has confidence in me to run plays for me and for my teammates looking for me, making the extra pass."
Everything went right for the Chippewas, who won for the 10th time in their last 12 starts, improving to 15-10, 9-3 Mid-American Conference. They remain in third place, two games behind first-place Akron.
The Chippewas held Western to 21.7 percent shooting from the floor, 22.9 percent from 3-point range.
The 27-point margin of victory was CMU's largest in the 165th meeting between the two schools and the 42 points matched Western's lowest output against the Chippewas since it scored 37 in a 1932 meeting.
"That's scary, that's scary good," Barbee said of his team's defense. "That's why I keep saying that they've got it, and the it (is) a relentless defensive mindset.
"What I'm proud about is you could have very easily got out of character with that kind of crowd: 'Now it's my time individually to show what I can do.' I keep telling this team that they've got it. They checked their egos at the door a long time ago.
"And each every man in that locker room is lost in the team. Nobody's talking about, where's my shots, complaining about minutes. They're doing their job at a high level and that leaves you lost in the team. We very easily could have stepped out of character; this team's not that way. And that's why it's got it, it's got a chance to do something special."
CMU center Markus Harding finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Brian Taylor added 13 points. Butler matched his career high with nine rebounds as CMU finished with a plus-10 edge on the boards.
Harding, a 6-foot-10 center from Canada, played just 22 minutes in his return after missing three consecutive games.
"Me, I have personal vendettas with that team," Harding said. "I know a lot of Canadians on that team; this was entirely personal for me. I enjoyed that."
The win gave the Chippewas a sweep of the Broncos (8-17, 5-7) for the first time since 2020. CMU entertains Bowling Green, which is tied for fourth in the MAC, on Tuesday. The Chippewas beat the Falcons in double overtime on the road two weeks ago.
"Anytime you sweep your conference rival, it's meaningful," Barbee said. "It's meaningful to the team, it's meaningful for the fans, it's meaningful for the students who were here again tonight.
"I need them here again on Tuesday, both student sections, all corners filled with the students. I need that again on Tuesday night. They're just as important as my starting center and my starting point guard."
It had everything. Except drama.
Central Michigan came out firing on all cylinders in building a big early lead and never looking back on Saturday, rolling to a 69-42 victory over Western Michigan before 5,032 toilet-paper-tossing fans at McGuirk Arena.
Derrick Butler was the catalyst, hitting four 3-pointers before the game was five minutes old as the Chippewas built a 20-5 lead.
Butler scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as CMU led 40-21 at the break and was never seriously challenged after the initial onslaught.
"My teammates gave me a lot of confidence," said Butler, a junior guard who finished with a career-high five triples. "The crowd was like our sixth man today. Before the game, I felt it, the energy, it just gave me a boost.
"Coach (Tony) Barbee has a lot of confidence in me. We were focused on how we can get me more involved, how to get me warm. I'm thankful for him that he has confidence in me to run plays for me and for my teammates looking for me, making the extra pass."
Everything went right for the Chippewas, who won for the 10th time in their last 12 starts, improving to 15-10, 9-3 Mid-American Conference. They remain in third place, two games behind first-place Akron.
The Chippewas held Western to 21.7 percent shooting from the floor, 22.9 percent from 3-point range.
The 27-point margin of victory was CMU's largest in the 165th meeting between the two schools and the 42 points matched Western's lowest output against the Chippewas since it scored 37 in a 1932 meeting.
"That's scary, that's scary good," Barbee said of his team's defense. "That's why I keep saying that they've got it, and the it (is) a relentless defensive mindset.
"What I'm proud about is you could have very easily got out of character with that kind of crowd: 'Now it's my time individually to show what I can do.' I keep telling this team that they've got it. They checked their egos at the door a long time ago.
"And each every man in that locker room is lost in the team. Nobody's talking about, where's my shots, complaining about minutes. They're doing their job at a high level and that leaves you lost in the team. We very easily could have stepped out of character; this team's not that way. And that's why it's got it, it's got a chance to do something special."
CMU center Markus Harding finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Brian Taylor added 13 points. Butler matched his career high with nine rebounds as CMU finished with a plus-10 edge on the boards.
Harding, a 6-foot-10 center from Canada, played just 22 minutes in his return after missing three consecutive games.
"Me, I have personal vendettas with that team," Harding said. "I know a lot of Canadians on that team; this was entirely personal for me. I enjoyed that."
The win gave the Chippewas a sweep of the Broncos (8-17, 5-7) for the first time since 2020. CMU entertains Bowling Green, which is tied for fourth in the MAC, on Tuesday. The Chippewas beat the Falcons in double overtime on the road two weeks ago.
"Anytime you sweep your conference rival, it's meaningful," Barbee said. "It's meaningful to the team, it's meaningful for the fans, it's meaningful for the students who were here again tonight.
"I need them here again on Tuesday, both student sections, all corners filled with the students. I need that again on Tuesday night. They're just as important as my starting center and my starting point guard."
Team Stats
WMU
CMU
FG%
.217
.431
3FG%
.229
.242
FT%
.571
.611
RB
38
49
TO
13
12
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
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