KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team heads up to Mount Pleasant on Saturday to take aim at a season sweep of rival Central Michigan.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (9-17, 3-10 MAC) at Central Michigan (8-18, 4-9)

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 21 – 5 pm

Site: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)

Video: ESPN+

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: SIDEARM

OPENING TIP

• Western Michigan hits the road on Saturday evening for its second matchup of the season with rival Central Michigan.
• The Broncos are coming off of a 90-73 home loss to Akron on Tuesday night.
• Justice Williams led the way for WMU against the Zips with 21 points, six rebounds and a career-high six assists.
• Trey Lewis (13), Brady Swartz (11) and Jayden Brewer (10) were all also in double-figures for the Broncos.
• Western Michigan committed nine turnovers, its third consecutive game with single-digit miscues.
• The Broncos come into Saturday's tilt with a 96-60 advantage in the all-time series against Central Michigan.
• WMU took this season's first meeting between the two rivals, 77-65, back on Jan. 24 at University Arena.
• Western Michigan is looking for a season sweep over the Chippewas for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan hits the road for its next two games, starting on Saturday evening with a trip to Mount Pleasant to battle rival Central Michigan for the second time.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 90-73 home loss to Akron on Tuesday evening. Justice Williams paced WMU with 21 points, and also added six rebounds and a career-high six assists. Joining Williams in double-figures for the Broncos were Trey Lewis (13), Brady Swartz (11) and Jayden Brewer (10).

STAT SHEET STUFFER
Justice Williams stuffed the stats sheet for the Broncos on Tuesday against Akron, pacing the team with 21 points, and adding six rebounds, as well as a career-high six assists. It marked the fourth time this season a Western Michigan player has posted a 10-5-5 line, with Jalen Griffith having done so in victories over Eastern Michigan and at SIUE, and Max Burton racking up 14 points, a career-high seven assists and six rebounds in the Opening Night victory over Coastal Carolina.

BALANCED BRONCOS
Western Michigan had four players score in double-figures on Tuesday against Akron, with Justice Williams scoring 21 points, Trey Lewis tallying 13, Brady Swartz netting 11 and Jayden Brewer adding 10. WMU has featured a balanced attack all season long, with 11 different Broncos having scored in double-figures at least once, and five having posted at least one game with 20 or more points. Brewer has led the charge with 15 double-digit scoring performances, with Jalen Griffith not too far behind with 12. Six different players have been the top scorer in a game this season, led by Griffith, who has paced the Brown and Gold eight times. 

BENCH BOOST
WMU's depth of scoring has led it to having one of the top bench units in the nation, with the Brown and Gold currently leading the MAC and ranked 37th in NCAA Division I at 29.7 bench points per game. Nine different players have scored in double-figures in a game off of the Bronco bench, with Jayden Brewer, Jalen Griffith, Brady Swartz (twice) and Justice Williams all having posted a 20-plus point scoring performance off of the bench this season.

PROTECTING THE ROCK
The Broncos turned the ball over nine times against Akron on Tuesday night, making it three straight games with single-digit turnovers for WMU. After struggling with turnovers in the early going, Western Michigan has done a much better job of taking care of the basketball during conference play, going from turning it over 14.5 times per game in non-conference action to just 10.0 per contest against MAC foes.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Always a strong suit under head coach Dwayne Stephens, WMU ranks fourth in the league in overall rebounding at 36.5 per game, led by Jayden Brewer, who is ninth in the MAC at 6.4 rebounds per game. In conference play, the Broncos rank third in overall rebounding (35.4) and second in offensive rebounding (11.9). 

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into Saturday evening's contest with a 96-60 advantage in the all-time series against CMU. With the victory over the Chippewas earlier in the season, the Broncos have a chance to sweep their rivals for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. That season also saw the last WMU win in Mount Pleasant, with the Brown and Gold coming away with a 67-65 victory to complete the season sweep.

WHEN LAST WE MET
Back on Jan. 24 at University Arena, a crowd of 4,776 saw Western Michigan win its first matchup of the season with Central Michigan, 77-65. Jayden Brewer led the Brown and Gold with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the contest to collect his fifth double-double of the season. EJ Ryans (15) and Justice Williams (14) were also in double-figures for the Broncos, and Max Burton nearly had a double-double of his own after notching nine points and nine rebounds. 

THE ROAD AHEAD
The Broncos continue their road trip on Tuesday evening at Bowling Green.