KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team hits the road for a pair of tilts against Summit League foes this weekend. The Broncos visit St. Thomas on Friday night and follow that up with a trip to Fargo, N.D., to battle North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon.
 

WEEKEND INFO

Game One: Friday, Dec. 13 | 9 pm | WMU at St. Thomas | WATCH LIVE | LISTEN LIVE | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Sunday, Dec. 15 | 2 pm | WMU at NDSU | WATCH LIVE | LISTEN LIVE | LIVE STATS

OPENING TIP

• After a season-high 10 days between games, Western Michigan returns to action on Friday with a trip to St. Thomas.
• The Broncos are coming off of a 77-69 loss at Dayton back on Dec. 3.
• Owen Lobsinger netted a season-high 24 points against the Flyers to lead the way for the Brown and Gold.
• Markhi Strickland added 19 points, his fourth straight game with 15 or more.
• The Broncos are second in the MAC in both rebounding margin (+7.0) and offensive rebounding (13.1) and third in the league in total rebounding (39.6)
• At 69.8 points per game, WMU ranks as the third-best defense in the MAC.
• St. Thomas is the second of three Summit League foes for the Broncos this season.
• WMU fell to South Dakota on Nov. 20 and will visit NDSU on Sunday afternoon.
• The Tommies won 65-51 in Kalamazoo last season, the only prior meeting between the two programs. 

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Western Michigan wraps up its month-long stretch between home games this weekend with a trip to face a pair of Summit League teams. The Broncos are set to face St. Thomas on Friday night and North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 77-69 loss at Dayton back on Dec. 3. Owen Lobsinger caught fire late in the first half, netting WMU's final 16 points of the period to help the Brown and Gold take a 35-32 edge into the break. Western Michigan led by as many as 10 before the Flyers ultimately rallied back to win the contest. Lobsinger led the Broncos with a season-high 24 points, while Markhi Strickland went 9-for-12 from the floor on the way to tallying 19 points. 

MAKING HIS MARK
Markhi Strickland made a career-high nine field goals on the way to his 19 points in the setback against Dayton. The redshirt junior has scored 15 or more points in each of Western Michigan's last four games, and has been in double-figures in six of eight overall this season. Strickland enters Friday as the leading scorer for the Broncos with an average of 13.3 points per game.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
After winning the rebounding battle against Dayton, WMU has had the edge on the glass in four straight games and six of eight overall this season. The Broncos rank second in the conference in both rebounding margin (+7.0, 53rd in NCAA DI) and offensive rebounding (13.1, 55th in DI), and are third in the MAC in total rebounding (39.6).

OWEN-ING THE GLASS
After ranking ninth in the league in rebounding last season, Owen Lobsinger has taken things up a notch during his senior campaign, ranking third in the MAC at 7.3 rebounds per game. Lobsinger's frontcourt mate Max Burton has worked his way inside the conference's top-10 as well. With two double-digit rebounding performances in the last three games, Burton is tied for ninth in the league at 6.1 per game.

DEFENSE GETTING IT DONE
Western Michigan boasts one of the top defenses in the MAC thus far this season, allowing just 69.8 points per game, the third-lowest total in the league. WMU also ranks fourth in both field goal percentage defenese (.426) and three-point defense (.313). 

PROTECTING THE ROCK
The Broncos have been among the nation's best in protecting the basketball, having yielded an average of just 10.4 turnovers per game. Committing single-digit turnovers in half of its games this season has Western Michigan second in the conference and 48th nationally in turnovers committed.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
After hitting five three-pointers in their last game at Dayton, the Broncos have now made at least one triple in 431 straight games, dating back to the 2010-11 season. Brandon Muntu is the team's leading sharpshooter at 45.7 percent (8th in the MAC).

WMU VS THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Friday night's contest is the second of three games this season for the Broncos against a Summit League foe. Western Michigan's first encounter with a Summit League team this year was an 80-76 loss to South Dakota in Kalamazoo back on Nov. 20. WMU wraps up its tour of the Summit League on Sunday when it visits North Dakota State. A conference the Broncos haven't faced too often in recent years, Western Michigan's most recent win against a Summit League foe was the 72-71 overtime win over NDSU in the first round of the 2013 CBI.

SERIES HISTORY
The only prior meeting between WMU and St. Thomas came last year in Kalamazoo, with the Tommies prevailing, 65-51.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas comes into Friday's matchup just outside of the top-30 in NCAA Division I in scoring at 84.3 points per game. The Tommies feature a balanced attack, with five players averaging at least 9.0 points per game. Miles Barnstable leads the charge at 13.5 points per contest. 

END OF THE ROAD
Western Michigan closes out its four-game road stretch on Sunday afternoon as it heads to Fargo, N.D., to face North Dakota State.