KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team returns to University Arena on Saturday for its lone regular season matchup against Eastern Michigan.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (6-14, 3-5 MAC) vs EMU (10-10, 4-4)

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 1 – 1 pm

Site: University Arena (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: ESPN+

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan returns to University Arena on Saturday for its lone regular season meeting with Eastern Michigan.
• The Broncos are coming off of a 74-71 win at Ball State on Tuesday night.
• JaVaughn Hannah and Markhi Strickland led the way with 17 points apiece.
• Donovan Williams was right behind with 16 points and a team-high seven boards.
• Chansey Willis Jr. racked up eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.
• The Broncos turned it over eight times on Tuesday, their seventh single-digit turnover game of the season.
• WMU is atop the MAC in offensive rebounding at 13.3 per game, and in conference play is at 13.8 per contest.
• Western Michigan owns a 65-60 advantage in the all-time series with EMU.
• The Broncos and Eagles have split the season series each of the last three years.
• The home team has won four consecutive meetings between the two.

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan returns to University Arena on Saturday afternoon as it faces Eastern Michigan in what will be the lone regular season meeting between the two in-state foes. It is the first of four straight Saturdays at home for the Broncos.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 74-71 win at Ball State on Tuesday, their second MAC road win of the season. JaVaughn Hannah and Markhi Strickland paced Western Michigan with 17 points apiece, while Donovan Williams was right behind them with 16 points. Chansey Willis Jr. filled up the stat sheet to the tune of eight points, seven assists and six rebounds in the victory.

PROTECTING THE ROCK
The Broncos committed eight turnovers in Tuesday's win at Ball State, the seventh time this season WMU has had single-digit miscues. Western Michigan was plus-five in turnover margin (8-13) which led to a 16-8 edge in points off of turnovers. The Brown and Gold are averaging 11.0 turnovers per game, the second-fewest in the conference.

MAKING HIS MARK
Markhi Strickland made seven of his 12 field goal attempts on Tuesday on the way to tying for the team lead with 17 points. It was the 14th double-digit scoring performance of the season for the redshirt junior, who had not scored in double-figures in 26 career games at the NCAA Division I level prior to this season. Tuesday's game marked the team-high seventh time he has led the Broncos in scoring this season. The Miami native has been very efficient from the field, hitting 51.0 percent, the 10th-best overall mark in the MAC, and has made shots at a 54.2 percent rate in conference play.

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, WILLIS
Chansey Willis Jr. continued to fill up the stat sheet in Tuesday night's win at Ball State, racking up eight points, a season-high tying seven assists and six rebounds. In 12 games, he is averaging 14.9 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest for the Broncos. In league play, he is tied for second in assists (5.8), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and tied for seventh in steals (1.5).

CRASHING THE BOARDS
WMU continues to rank among the league's best in rebounding, as it leads the MAC in offensive rebounding (13.3), is second in overall rebounding (38.4) and third in rebounding margin (+4.2). WMU boasts three of the conference's top-20 rebounders in Owen Lobsinger (7.5, 3rd), Max Burton (5.7, 14th) and Donovan Williams (5.1, 19th).

GETTING OFFENSIVE
The Broncos are once again leading the MAC in offensive rebounding and are 32nd in NCAA DI at 13.3 per game. WMU has three of the league's top-11 offensive rebounders in Owen Lobsinger (2.2, 8th), Max Burton (2.0, 10th) and Donovan Williams (1.9, 11th). In conference play, Western Michigan is averaging a league-best 13.8 offensive boards.

OWEN-ING THE BOARDS
Senior Owen Lobsinger has been the top rebounder for WMU all season, and ranks third in the league at 7.5 rebounds per game. In MAC play he is up to 8.4 per contest, which is also third in the conference.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan owns a 65-60 advantage in the all-time series against Eastern Michigan. The Broncos and Eagles have played twice in each of the last three seasons, splitting the meetings in all three years. The home team has won each of the last four matchups between the two.

EYE ON THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan had a three-game winning streak snapped by Miami on Tuesday night in Oxford. The Eagles have three of the MAC's top-10 scorers in Da'Sean Nelson (15.6 PPG, 6th), Christian Henry (15.4, 8th) and Jalen Terry (15.0, 10th). Henry is atop the conference in league play with an average of 18.8 points per contest.

THE ROAD AHEAD
Western Michigan heads down to Athens on Tuesday evening for the first of two regular season matchup against Ohio.