KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team begins a three-game road trip on Thursday night with a trip to Mount Pleasant to take on rival Central Michigan. The game is set be streamed live on ESPN+ and the Bronco Media Network.

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (4-17, 0-10 MAC) at Central Michigan (4-13, 3-3 MAC)

Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 3 – 7 pm

Site: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Video: ESPN+

Live Stats: SIDEARM

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan begins a three-game road trip on Thursday night at CMU.
• The Broncos are coming off of a 75-56 home loss to Northern Illinois on Tuesday. 
• Lamar Norman Jr. led WMU with 24 points, his 18th straight game in double-figures and fourth straight with 20+ points. 
• Norman sits atop the conference at 22.0 points per game in MAC play.
• Markeese Hastings grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to collect his seventh double-digit rebounding game of the year.
• In league play, Hastings is averaging a conference-best 10.7 boards per game.
• Thursday marks the 148th all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Central Michigan, with the Broncos owning a 93-54 advantage in the series.
• WMU swept CMU during the 2020-21 season, its first season sweep over the Chippewas since the 2015-16 season. 
• The Broncos are 5-6 at McGuirk Arena since it opened for the 2010-11 season. 

PACK YOUR BAGS
Western Michigan begins a three-game road trip on Thursday with a visit to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan. The Broncos and Chippewas were postponed twice earlier in the year, on Jan. 8 and Jan. 20. The two rivals meet again in Kalamazoo on Feb. 12.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 75-56 defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois on Tuesday. Lamar Norman Jr. led WMU in scoring for the 16th time this season, netting a game-high 24 points. Markeese Hastings secured a game-high 12 rebounds for the Broncos, his seventh double-digit rebounding game of the season and fifth in conference play. 

WMU VS CMU
Thursday marks the 148th all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Central Michigan, with the Broncos owning a 93-54 all-time record in the series against the Chippewas. WMU swept CMU during the 2020-21 season, its first season sweep over the Chippewas since the 2015-16 season. The Broncos are 29-31 on the road in the series against CMU, and 5-6 at McGuirk Arena since it opened during the 2010-11 season. 

WHEN LAST WE MET
Back on Feb. 6, 2021, at McGuirk Arena, Greg Lee knocked down the game-winning shot in the final seconds to lift Western Michigan to a 67-65 win and a season sweep over CMU. Lee and B. Artis White netted 16 points apiece for the Broncos, while Josiah Freeman added a then career-high 11 points.

SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan came into the season as one of the few programs in Division I to have more newcomers (12) than Western Michigan (9). The Chippewas come into Thursday night's clash off of back-to-back wins at Northern Illinois last Saturday and at home against Bowling Green on Tuesday. In Tuesday's win over the Falcons, both grad transfer Cameron Healy and freshman Kevin Miller dropped in 21 points for CMU. Healy is one of the top three-point shooters in the MAC, knocking down triples at a rate of 46.3 percent, second-highest in the league. 

SCORIN' NORMAN
Western Michigan newcomer Lamar Norman Jr. ranks second in the MAC at 19.9 points per game, and leads the conference in league play at 22.0 points per contest. With his 24 points on Tuesday, the junior extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 18 in a row. Norman has scored 20+ points in four straight games, seven of the nine conference games he's played in, and he has 11 total games of 20 or more points, second-most in the conference. He leads the league with 3.4 made threes per game. 

MAKING HIS MARK
Fellow newcomer Markeese Hastings ranks in the top-10 of the conference in several categories as well, including rebounding (2nd, 8.8), offensive rebounding (3rd, 3.3), defensive rebounding (4th, 5.4) and field goal percentage (9th, .497). In MAC play, Hastings is leading the conference at 10.7 rebounds per game, and his 18 rebounds at Toledo on Dec. 29 remains the highest single-game total by a MAC player this season.

THE GODWIN HEIGHTS CONNECTION
Former Godwin Heights HS teammates Lamar Norman Jr. and Markeese Hastings are all over the MAC leaderboards and climbing in the national rankings as well. Norman ranks 24th nationally in points per game (19.9), 28th in total points (397), 32nd in made field goals (142), 12th in made threes per game (3.4) and 14th in total threes made (67). Hastings sits 35th in rebounds per game (8.8), 29th in total rebounds (184) and 21st in offensive rebounds per game (3.3).

CHASING 1500
Coming into Thursday's game against CMU, WMU senior guard Mack Smith sits on 1492 career points, eight shy of 1500. The Eastern Illinois transfer is currently 96th on the NCAA DI active scoring leaders list.

350 AND COUNTING
WMU has made at least one three-pointer in 350 straight games dating back to 2011. 

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan continues its three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon at Ohio.