KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team continues its stretch of five out of seven on the road on Thursday evening as it visits Ohio State.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (2-3) at Ohio State (4-0)

Date/Time: Thursday, Nov. 20 – 8 pm

Site: Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

Video: Big Ten Network

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: SIDEARM

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan continues its stretch of five out of seven on the road on Thursday night as it visits Ohio State.
• The Broncos are coming off of an 83-78 loss at South Dakota on Sunday.
• As a team, Western Michigan shot a season-best 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the floor against the Coyotes.
• Jayden Brewer and Max Burton each posted double-doubles, with Brewer tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Burton chipping in 10 points and 10 boards.
• Brewer and Burton are one of two teammate duos to both rank in the top-10 of the MAC in rebounding.
• Western Michigan had a double-digit rebounding advantage for the second straight game, outdueling USD 41-27.
• Thursday's game marks the fifth all-time meeting between WMU and Ohio State.
• The most recent meeting between the two came back on Nov. 19, 2023, with OSU claiming a 73-56 victory.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan continues its stretch of five out of seven on the road on Thursday as it travels to Columbus to face Ohio State. During this stretch, the Brown and Gold are set to play just two home games over the course of a little more than a month.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of an 83-78 loss at South Dakota on Sunday afternoon. Western Michigan led for much of the contest, but USD held the visitors scoreless over the final four-and-a-half minutes to come back and claim the victory. WMU shot a season-best 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the floor in the contest, with four players scoring in double-figures. Jayden Brewer (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Max Burton (10 points, 10 rebounds) each collected double-doubles. 

BALANCED BRONCOS
A total of 10 players saw the floor for Western Michigan on Sunday, with nine getting onto the scoresheet. All five starters netted at least seven points, and a season-high four Broncos were in double-figures, led by Jayden Brewer's 20 points. Also tallying double-digit points for WMU were Trey Lewis (12), Carson Vis (11) and Max Burton (10).

LET JAYDEN BREW
Jayden Brewer picked up his second consecutive double-double and third overall this season on Sunday, tallying 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds at South Dakota. The Indianapolis native came into the year with two collegiate double-doubles and eight games with 20 or more points. In five games as a Bronco, he has three double-doubles with at least 20 points in each. Brewer is one of two players in the MAC to rank in the top-10 in both scoring (17.2 PPG, 6th) and rebounding (9.0 RPG, 4th).

BURTON ON THE BOARDS
After ranking among the league leaders with 5.8 rebounds per game a season ago, Max Burton has taken things up a notch so far in 2025-26. The redshirt junior has collected at least nine rebounds in three of WMU's first five contests and secured 10 on Sunday at South Dakota to register his first double-double of the season and second of his collegiate career. Burton is currently seventh in the MAC in rebounding at 7.4.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Always a good rebounding team under head coach Dwayne Stephens, WMU has started off strong on the glass again this year, winning the rebounding battle in each of its first five games. Western Michigan has been especially dominant on the boards in its last two games, owning a double-digit rebounding advantage in each. On Sunday, the Brown and Gold held a plus-14 advantage over South Dakota on the glass, led by the 10 rebounds apiece grabbed by Jayden Brewer and Max Burton. Western Michigan comes into Thursday third in the conference in overall rebounding (42.0) and second in rebounding margin (+7.8). The Broncos are one of two teams to have a pair of players in the league's top-10 on the glass in Brewer (9.0, 4th) and Burton (7.4, 7th).

DYNAMIC DUO
Transfers Jayden Brewer and Jalen Griffith have formed quite the dynamic duo for WMU, with Brewer ranked sixth in the MAC in scoring at 17.2 points per game and Griffith 10th in the league at 16.3 per contest. 

BRONCOS VS THE BIG TEN
This season marks the eighth in a row the Broncos have faced at least one Big Ten foe. Western Michigan's last win over a Big Ten opponent was a 56-52 victory at Michigan on Nov. 30, 2002. The most recent win over a current Big Ten team was a home triumph over then PAC-10 member USC, which WMU defeated 83-65 on Nov. 21, 2003. Ohio State is the first of two Big Ten opponents this year for the Brown and Gold, who are slated to visit Iowa on Dec. 14.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's matchup will serve as the fifth all-time meeting between Western Michigan and Ohio State, with the Buckeyes having won each of the previous four. After playing three consecutive years from 1986-88, the two teams had not played each other until they met two years ago in Columbus. OSU came out on top in that contest, 73-56.

ON THE HORIZON
Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo on Sunday as it hosts Mount St. Mary's.