Central Michigan

MAC Tournament: Day One

Bill Kintner — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:44:52 -0700

Game 1

The No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan beat No. 10 Ball State 59-55 to put the Cardinals out of their misery and moved into the semifinals against No. 2 Western Michigan at noon. Justin Dobbins led the Eagles with 21 points, including a put-back that gave them a 45-44 lead and led to an 8-0 run to pull away from Ball State.

Fav quote:

“We expected them to play well. They had nothing to lose. They are a much better team than that record indicates.”
- Eastern Michigan coach Charles Ramsey

Game 2

It was a three game sweep as No. 6 Central Michigan whipped No. 11 Northern Illinois 83-71. Senior guard Giordan Watson led the Chippewas with 20 points. Central Michigan led by as much as 22 in the second half before a late comeback to make the score respectable. CMU plays Akron at 2:30 pm.

Fav quote:

“I know we have good shooters. When you have good shooters, they make shots.”
- CMU player Giordan Watson

Game 3

The No. 8 seed Toledo beat arch-rival No. 9 Bowling Green 52-48 to avenge a regular-season loss to the Falcons. The Rockets shot a meager 33.3 percent from the field and 5.9 percent (1-17) from 3-point land. Jonathan Amos led the Rockets with 15 points. Toledo plays Kent State at 7 p.m.

Fav quote:

“We bogged down on offensively. We had open shots , we just couldn’t convert. At one point they had nine offensive rebounds and I was pretty disappointed with that.”
- Toledo coach Stan Joplin

Game 4

No. 5 Miami, took a lead with three minutes thanks to the shooting of Kenny Hayes and the RedHawks made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to hold off No. 12 Buffalo 69-68. Michael Bramos led Miami with 23 points. The RedHawks were out-rebounded 38-22 and had just four offensive rebounds. Miami plays Ohio at 9:30 p.m.

Fav quote:

“We were getting frustrated because they were playing a lot harder than us. We had to come in the second half and match their intensity.”
- Tim Politz, Miami player

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the MAC?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:42:35 -0700

2007-08 CMU Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:55:56 -0700

Central Michigan Chippewas

Overall Rank: #85

Conference Rank: #2 MAC

2006-07: 13-18, 7-9, 3^rd West

2006-07 postseason: none

Central Michigan has enough talent to win the Mid-American Conference. In fact, no team in the conference can match the talent level at CMU. The only question that remains is whether the group of players can come together to form a cohesive unit. The depth is amazing and the battle for playing time will be fierce. When Coach Ernie Ziegler can find the proper rotations, the Chippewas will be the most dangerous team in the MAC.

Who’s Out:

The big loss is Sefton Barrett. The wing averaged 9.0 points and a team high 5.1 rebounds. Andre Smyth and Aaron Richie are transferring. Smyth started a handful of games and, even with the loss of all the wings, the departures are of little concern to the Chippewa faithful. Little used center John Tiemeyer is also transferring.

Who’s In:

Nate Minnoy started a successful basketball career averaging 10.2 points per game at Purdue as a freshman before suffering a knee injury. After a quick trip to a junior college, Minnoy is ready to make a big impact in Mount Pleasant. At 6-3 and 270 pounds, Minnoy is an unusual looking forward. Even at 6-3, Minnoy can be a dominating power forward in the MAC. He will get on the glass and can do plenty of scoring against taller competition in the paint. Junior college transfer Marcus Van will step in and help out on the glass right away. The 6-7 forward fills a huge need in the rebounding department and his experience at Wabash Valley Community College has him prepared to be more than just a rebounder. The perimeter group needs less immediate help and a trio of incoming freshmen cement Central Michigan as a contender for years to come. The athletic 6-5 Chase Simon can play any position on the perimeter and is a quality recruit for any MAC program. He is a great scorer and sees the floor very well. Talent wise, Simon will be starting as a freshman, but it may take a little time for him to adjust to the level of play. Jeremy Allen, another wing, is a tough competitor and slasher. He has plenty of potential to see playing time as a freshman, but it is Simon who is the future superstar. William Eddie is a true point guard with a knack for defending. Jon Yeazel will return to the team after spending last year at a junior college. As a freshman, the guard averaged 2.3 points per game.

Who to Watch:

Through the tough times, Giordan Watson stuck around CMU and helped build the team from cellar dweller to contender. Watson, who led the team with 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals, is a terrific outside shooter and will take all the big shots. Sophomore Jordan Bitzer lived up to his hype coming into CMU and averaged 7.4 points per game. With a little more consistency on the outside shot, Bitzer will be a great two guard. Seniors Eddie Spencer and Reynold Walters both have significant starting experience and will battle for playing time on the wings. Robbie Harman is not the most talented player in the backcourt, but will likely play important minutes backing up Watson at the point.

Final Projection:

As good and deep as the perimeter is, the frontcourt may be the strength of the team. Adding to newcomers Minnoy and Van are Marko Spica, Chris Kellerman and Justin Blevins. After a year in the system, Spica is in position to become a dominating big man. The 6-9 sophomore, who originally signed with UCLA, showed flashes of brilliance as a freshman. He is a versatile scorer and with a little work on the defensive end, Spica will see many more minutes this year. Chris Kellerman is a dynamic scorer as well and was one of the better shooters from long range. At 6-8 he is a matchup nightmare and Kellermann could handle playing at the three if the coaching staff wants to put Minnoy at the four. Justin Blevins, who earned 17 starts last season, will be a quality backup at the four and five spots. There are a ton of options and CMU can go at least 11 deep if necessary. It might take a while for the team to come together, but by March nobody in the MAC will want to go up against the Chippewas.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Giordan Watson, Senior, Guard, 18.8 points per game

Jordan Bitzer, Sophomore, Guard, 7.4 points per game

Nate Minnoy, Junior, Forward, DNP last season

Chris Kellermann, Junior, Forward, 8.8 points per game

Marko Spica, Sophomore, Forward, 7.1 points per game

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MAC Recap: 11-18

Ryan Molnar — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:55:38 -0800

The MAC had four teams in action yesterday and last night with all but one team winning. Kent State picked up a good win at home over Detroit. Marquette handed it to Eastern Michigan. Toledo took care of Middle Tennessee State in overtime, and Buffalo came away with an impressive win over Miami (FL). Kent State had a balanced attack lead them to a 61-48 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy at the MAC Center yesterday afternoon. Kent State held Detroit to just 38 percent shooting and withstood a hot start from behind the 3-point line from the Titans. Detroit hit its first three triples, but then proceeded to only shoot three-of-16 the rest of the game. Freshmen guard Rodriguez Sherman led Kent State with 14 points in his first colleigate start. Due to many suspensions of players he was thrust into the lineup and did not commit one turnover in 31 minutes of play. Senior Armon Gates scored 12 points and brought down a career high 8 rebounds. He is known more for his 3 point shooting ability but in this game he was only able to make two three pointers. Kent State returns to action on Tuesday when they host Temple University. Eastern Michigan fell hard to #17 Marquette University 95-62. The Eagles were led by freshmen Devon Dumes who was the only player on Eastern in double figures as he scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field while hitting 4-of-7 from behind the arc. EMU stayed with Marquette for much of the first half but could not withstand Marquette’s hot shooting from the field along with its stingy defense. The Golden Eagles connected on 48% of it’s three point attempts while Eastern hit just 38% of theirs. Marquette had five players in double figures and were led by sophomore guard Dominic James who had 17 points. EMU will take on Detroit on Wednesday, November 29th. Toledo got their first win of the year last night but it wasn’t easy. Playing against Middle Tennessee State in the Virgin Islands as part of the Paradise Jam Tournament, Toledo fell down by as much as 18 points at the half but battled back to win it 75-69 in overtime. Senior guard Justin Ingram came up big for the Rockets scoring a career-high 32 points. He also hit the three that forced overtime. Senior forward Keonta Howell came up with 21 points and 6 rebounds and overcame a 20 point deficit with a 22-2 surge late in the second half. Ingram hit the game-tying three with only 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Middle Tennessee State rode their 72.7 percent shooting to a 18 point halftime lead. Toledo will play VCU on Monday afternoon in their last game at the Paradise Jam Tournament. The Buffalo Bulls win over the Miami Hurricanes was the school’s first win over a school from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bulls defeated the Hurricanes 60-57 in the America’s Youth Classic in Evansville, Indiana last night. Yassin Idbihi hit the game-winning jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining to carry the Bulls to their third win of the season. The senior forward led Buffalo with 22 points and a career high 14 rebounds. Buffalo only shot 36.5 percent but played solid defense and came up big on the boards. Buffalo was able to out-rebound Miami 43-35, including 16 offensive boards. Buffalo will take on Evansville in the final game of the tournament today. Today’s games feature Ball State hosting Prairie View A&M, Bowling Green hosting Furman, Akron hosting Tiffin, Ohio hosting Yale, Buffalo on the road at Evansville, and Central Michigan hosting UMKC. Here are my predictions: Ball State, Akron, Ohio, and Central Michigan all win, while Bowling Green and Buffalo both lose. Yesterday: 1-3. Overall: 6-4.

Central Michigan Picks Up First Win Of Season

Ryan Molnar — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 07:34:37 -0800

A night after getting blown out by Youngstown State, the Central Michigan Chippewas responded with a 71-58 win over Brown in the consolation game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. It was also the first win for head coach Ernie Ziegler while at CMU. The previous day Brown had slowed the tempo and controlled possessions as they held Michigan State to only 45 points but still losing by 11. Ziegler wanted to push the tempo against Brown and got his first win. CMU shot 50 percent from the floor, got 11 steals and 12 offensive rebounds. Sefton Barrett scored a game high 14 points. Giordan Watson came off the bench to score 13 points and add six assists. Eddie Spencer also added 12 points and 6 rebounds. CMU pushed the lead to as many as 21 points before Brown added a late rally to close the game to the final deficit of 13 points.

Central Michigan Loses First Game Of Season

Ryan Molnar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 06:15:48 -0800

As the first team to open your season in the MAC you know all eyes will be on you and you better be able to respond. However, Central Michigan did just the opposite in falling big and hard to Youngstown State 74-50 on Wednesday night. Central Michigan is playing in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Two Central Michigan starters were in early foul trouble right out of the gate. Right out of the gate meaning the first two and a half minutes of the game. With 13:40 left in the first half the Youngstown State Penguins had already jumped out to a double digit lead and never looked back from there. CMU also was called for 30 fouls, 18 of which came in the first half. As many coaches will tell you, turnovers kill your chance of winning games. This game was no different as CMU coughed it up 18 times and CMU’s Ernie Ziegler had this to say after his first game as head coach, “We are very much at a building stage, we are trying to establish ourselves and learn how to win and compete. For us, we were kind of like deer in headlights for those first 10 minutes, and if you look at the second half, we actually held them to 35 percent shooting and we battled a bit." It doesn’t get much easier today for CMU as they play a very tough Brown team who held Michigan State to just 45 points last night. That game is scheduled for 4:30 this afternoon.