KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team begins a stretch of four consecutive road games on Wednesday afternoon as it visits Youngstown State.
GAME INFO
Matchup: Western Michigan (2-4) at Youngstown State (2-4)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 27 – 2 pm
Site: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center (Youngstown, Ohio)
Video: ESPN+
Radio: Bronco Media Network
Live Stats: SIDEARM
OPENING TIP
- Western Michigan begins a stretch of four straight road games on Wednesday afternoon as it visits Youngstown State.
- The Broncos are coming off of an 80-76 loss to South Dakota last Wednesday.
- Markhi Strickland led WMU in scoring for the second straight game with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
- Western Michigan pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds, 24 of which came on the offensive glass.
- The Broncos lead the conference in both overall rebounding (40.3/game) and rebounding margin (+5.8).
- WMU is also second in the league in offensive rebounding at 12.8/game.
- The Broncos have single-digit turnovers in four of six games, and are averaging 9.7/game, the second-fewest in the MAC.
- Western Michigan leads the all-time series against Youngstown State, 5-2.
- The Penguins won last year's meeting in Kalamazoo, 72-68.
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Following its three-game homestand, Western Michigan heads out onto the road for four straight games, starting on Wednesday at Youngstown State. The Broncos will have a month between home games, having last played at University Arena on Nov. 20, and not being scheduled to play another home game until Dec. 20 against Valparaiso.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of an 80-76 loss to South Dakota last Wednesday to wrap up their three-game homestand.
Markhi Strickland led Western Michigan with a career-high 20 points, while
Owen Lobsinger (13) and
JaVaughn Hannah (12) were also in double-figures.
Max Burton secured a career-high 11 rebounds to help the Brown and Gold finish plus-15 on the glass.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Western Michigan pulled down 53 rebounds in last week's loss to South Dakota, the most in a single game since it grabbed 53 on March 11, 2019, at Central Michigan. The Broncos were particularly effective on the offensive glass against the Coyotes, grabbing 24 offensive rebounds, their highest total since last season's trip to UIC.
Max Burton led WMU's rebounding efforts with a career-high 11, while a total of six different players had at least five rebounds.
CLEANING THE GLASS
Wednesday's 53-rebound performance helped the Broncos climb back atop the Mid-American Conference leaderboard in both overall rebounding (40.3/game) and rebounding margin (+5.8). Western Michigan has led the MAC in offensive rebounding in each of its first two seasons under head coach
Dwayne Stephens, and it is currently second in the league on the offensive glass with 12.8 per contest.
PROTECTING THE ROCK
Western Michigan has committed single-digit turnovers in four of its first six games this season. For the year, the Broncos are averaging 9.7 turnovers per game, the second-fewest in the conference and 30th-fewest in NCAA Division I.
OWEN-ING THE GLASS
After finishing ninth in the conference with 6.3 rebounds per game last season,
Owen Lobsinger has grabbed six or more in five of WMU's first six games of the new campaign. The senior is currently tied for fourth in the MAC with an average of 7.5 per contest.
BALANCED BRONCOS
Western Michigan has featured a balanced attack in the first few weeks of the season, with four different players having led the team in scoring through the first six games.
JaVaughn Hannah has not led WMU in scoring in any of the first six games, but with five double-digit scoring efforts so far he checks in as the team's leading scorer at 12.0 points per game. Also averaging double-figures for the Broncos heading into Wednesday's contest are
Markhi Strickland (11.8 PPG),
Owen Lobsinger (11.3) and
Donovan Williams (10.5).
WMU VS THE HORIZON LEAGUE
This season marks the ninth consecutive campaign in which Western Michigan will play at least one Horizon League program, the longest active streak for the Broncos facing any league in non-conference play. WMU is 9-11 against Horizon League opponents over those nine seasons, including wins against YSU in both 2018 and 2019.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday afternoon's contest marks the eighth all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Youngstown State. The Broncos lead the all-time series 5-2 after YSU's 72-68 win in Kalamazoo last season. WMU has won two of its prior three trips to Youngstown, with the most recent visit an 88-77 triumph on Dec. 8, 2018.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Wednesday's tilt will be Youngstown State's home opener, after a power outage postponed its scheduled home opener back on Nov. 4. Nico Galette leads the Penguins in both scoring at 14.3 points per game and rebounding at 6.3 per contest.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Western Michigan continues its four-game road stretch next Tuesday at Dayton.
