KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team is set to welcome back and honor the 1997-98 MAC Championship team on Saturday afternoon as it welcomes Akron to town. Saturday is a doubleheader at University Arena, with the WMU women set to host Buffalo at noon, followed by the Bronco men taking on the Zips at 2:30 pm. The 1997-98 team will be honored at halftime of the men's game. 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (6-12, 2-3 MAC) vs Akron (12-6, 4-1 MAC)

Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 21 – 2:30 pm

Site: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: ESPN3

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

OPENING TIP

• University Arena hosts a doubleheader on Saturday, with the WMU women's team taking on Buffalo at noon, followed by the Bronco men facing Akron at 2:30 pm.
• The men's team is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1997-98 MAC Championship team which reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.  
• Western Michigan dropped a heart-breaking one-point contest at Ball State on Tuesday evening. 
• Lamar Norman Jr. led WMU with a game-high 31 points, his third 30+ point game of the 2022-23 season.
• The Broncos went a perfect 17-for-17 at the foul line to tie a program record.
• WMU is shooting a league-best 82.1 percent at the foul line in conference play.
• Saturday marks the 58th all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Akron.
• WMU's overtime victory at University Arena last season snapped a six-game Akron winning streak in the series. 

HOME SWEET HOME
After falling a point short at Ball State on Tuesday, Western Michigan returns to University Arena on Saturday afternoon to face Akron. The Broncos are 5-2 at home this season, including 2-0 at home in MAC play.

CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS 
On Saturday, Western Michigan will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1997-98 team which won a share of the MAC regular season title. That year, WMU made its second NCAA Tournament appearance, and the 11-seeded Broncos scored an upset over No. 6 seed Clemson in the first round. 

LAST TIME OUT
Down by one in the final seconds, the Broncos had a pair of chances to hit a game-winning shot, but came up empty as Ball State hung on for a 71-70 victory on Tuesday at Worthern Arena. Lamar Norman Jr. led Western Michigan with 31 points, his third 30+ point game of the season. 

FOUL LINE PERFECTION
Western Michigan tied a program record on Tuesday night, as it went a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line, tying the single-game program record for made free throws without a miss. The Broncos also hit 17-of-17 from the line on March 3, 1990 at Toledo. 

GETTING TO THE LINE
The Broncos have been getting to the line at a much higher rate since beginning conference play. Western Michigan has attempted at least 17 free throws in all five league contests, including back-to-back 30-attempt games last week against EMU and BGSU. In MAC games, WMU is shooting a league-best 82.1 percent from the charity stripe. 

WMU VS AKRON
Saturday's game marks the 58th in the all-time series between Western Michigan and Akron. The Zips come into Saturday holding a 36-21 overall advantage in the series, with WMU's overtime victory last February snapping a six-game Akron winning streak in the series. The Broncos have had the upperhand at home, owning a 14-10 mark against the Zips in games played in Kalamazoo. 

WHEN LAST ME MET
Both of last year's games between the Broncos and Zips came down to the wire, with each ultimately winning on its home floor. WMU held a late lead in Akron last January, but the Zips rallied for a 74-73 victory. The two teams met again in February at University Arena, with Western Michigan winning in overtime, 61-57. 

CRASHING THE BOARDS
After finishing near the bottom of the league in most rebounding categories a season ago, the Broncos have turned it around to lead the MAC in rebounding margin (+7.9), which ranks 12th in the nation. WMU also leads the league with 12.4 offensive boards per game, which is 40th nationally. 

MAKING HIS MARK
Leading the way for WMU on the glass has been Markeese Hastings, who ranks in the top-5 in the MAC in total rebounds (T-2, 10.0), defensive rebounds (2nd, 7.0) and offensive rebounds (4th, 3.0). Hastings is one of 18 players in NCAA DI to be averaging double-digit rebounds this season, and pulled down a career-high 20 on Jan. 6 at Toledo, one of 10 20-rebound games in DI this year. He is one of just three players from a mid-major conference to have a 20+ rebound game, joining Weber State's Dillon Jones and Chattanooga's Jake Stephens. 

SCORIN' NORMAN
With his 31 points on Tuesday, Lamar Norman Jr. made it 44 times in 47 games as a Bronco he has reached double-figures. The senior has led Western Michigan in scoring 35 times during his tenure in the Brown & Gold, including 10 times this season. Norman enters the weekend third in the MAC in scoring at 18.6 points per game.  

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Junior center Titus Wight has made at least 50.0 percent of his field goal attempts in 11 of 18 games this season and currently leads the MAC with a .606 field goal percentage.  

377 AND COUNTING
WMU has made at least one three-pointer in 377 straight games dating back to 2011. 

HALFTIME LEADS TURN INTO W'S
The Broncos own a 54-20 record over the last five seasons when leading at halftime, including a 5-0 mark this season.

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan hits the road for its next two games, starting on Tuesday at Ohio.