KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team closes out its regular season road schedule on Saturday night as it visits Akron.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (7-21, 3-12 MAC) at Akron (19-9, 11-4 MAC)

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 25 – 7 pm

Site: James A. Rhodes Arena (Akron, Ohio)

Video: ESPN3

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: SIDEARM

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan closes out its regular season road schedule on Saturday night as it travels to Akron to face the Zips. 
• The Broncos are coming off of a 66-59 loss at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday evening.
• Lamar Norman  Jr. led the Broncos with a game-high 18 points against the Eagles.
• Seth Hubbard (15) and Tray Maddox Jr. (13) were also in double-figures for WMU.
• Hubbard has hit 60.0 percent (12-of-20) of his three-pointers over his last six games.
• Akron enters Saturday's game with a 37-21 lead in the all-time series against WMU.
• Back on Jan. 21, the Zips won a defensive struggle in Kalamazoo, 63-55. 
• The Zips have won 20 of their 25 home games in the series against the Broncos.
• Western Michigan's last road win in the series came on Jan. 3, 2004.
•  Saturday's game features the top two rebounders in the MAC in Akron's Enrique Freeman (11.1 RPG) and Western Michigan's Markeese Hastings (9.5 RPG).

END OF THE ROAD
Western Michigan hits the road for its final road game of the regular season on Saturday night as it visits Akron. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 66-59 loss at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night in Ypsilanti. Lamar Norman Jr. led Western Michigan with a game-high 18 points, while Seth Hubbard (15) and Tray Maddox Jr. (13) were also in double-figures in the contest.

WMU VS AKRON
Saturday's game marks the 59th in the all-time series between Western Michigan and Akron. The Zips lead the overall series 37-21, including a 63-55 win in Kalamazoo back on Jan. 21. Akron has won 20 of its 25 home games in the series, with WMU's last road win in the series coming on Jan. 3, 2004.

WHEN LAST WE MET
The first meeting between these two teams back on Jan. 21 was a defensive struggle, as neither team reached 40.0 percent from the floor in a 63-55 Akron victory at University Arena. Markeese Hastings notched a double-double for the Broncos with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Western Michigan outrebounded the Zips, 47-31, its best rebounding margin in a conference game since posting a plus-18 advantage on the glass on March 2, 2019, against Ball State. 

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Akron enters the weekend tied for third in the league with an 11-4 MAC record. The Zips boast one of the top defenses in the conference, as they rank second in both points allowed (64.9 PPG) and field goal percentage defense (.427). Akron also features both the league's top scorer in Xavier Castaneda (21.4 PPG) and top rebounder in Enrique Freeman (11.1 RPG).

CLEANING THE GLASS
After ranking near the bottom of the MAC in rebounding a season ago, Western Michigan has turned things around to lead the league in rebounding margin (+4.4) and offensive rebounding (12.2), as well as rank third in the MAC in overall rebounding (37.0). Nationally, the Broncos are 31st in offensive rebounding and 46th in rebounding margin.

MAKING HIS MARK
Markeese Hastings ranks second in the MAC in total rebounds (265, 24th nationally), rebounds per game (9.5, 22nd) and defensive rebounds per game (6.6, 25th). The Grand Rapids, Mich., native owns 15 double-digit rebounding performances this season, second-most in the league, and is fourth in the conference with seven double-doubles. 

SCORIN' NORMAN
Lamar Norman Jr. tallied a game-high 18 points on Tuesday night at Eastern Michigan, making it 53 double-digit scoring efforts in his 57 career games as a Bronco. Norman has led the team in scoring 40 times during his two seasons in the Brown & Gold, and on Feb. 7 at Miami, he became the 45th player to score 1,000 career points at WMU. 

LONG RANGE LAMAR
Lamar Norman Jr. is second in the MAC in made three-pointers (76, 52nd nationally) and third in the conference in made three-pointers per game (2.8, 45th). Norman is also fourth in the MAC in scoring at 17.7 PPG.

HOT-HAND HUBBARD
Freshman guard Seth Hubbard has been hot lately for the Broncos, especially from behind the three-point line. In WMU's last six games, Hubbard has hit 12-of-20 (.600) of his three-pointers and averaged 10.5 points per game. For the season, Hubbard is now shooting 41.8 percent from downtown, the seventh-best mark in the conference. In league play, he has hit 44.7 percent of his three-pointers, fifth-best in the league. 

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Junior center Titus Wright has elevated his game in conference play this season, upping his season averages to 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in league play. For the season, Wright is shooting 61.2 percent from the floor, the second-highest mark in the MAC.

387 AND COUNTING
WMU has made at least one three-pointer in 387 straight games dating back to 2011. 

HALFTIME LEADS TURN INTO W'S
The Broncos own a 55-21 record over the last five seasons when leading at halftime, including a 6-1 mark this season.

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan heads home for the final week of the regular season as it hosts Miami on Tuesday and Central Michigan on Friday.