KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team closes out the 2025-26 regular season on Friday night at Kent State.
GAME INFO
Matchup: Western Michigan (10-20, 4-13 MAC) at Kent State (22-8, 13-4)
Date/Time: Friday, March 6 – 7 pm
Site: M.A.C. Center (Kent, Ohio)
Video: ESPN+
Radio: Bronco Media Network
Live Stats: SIDEARM
OPENING TIP
- Western Michigan wraps up its road swing on Tuesday night at Bowling Green.
- The Broncos are coming off of an 83-70 loss at Central Michigan on Saturday.
- Brady Swartz posted 10 points and 10 rebounds against CMU to collect his first collegiate double-double.
- Swartz is the fourth different Bronco to record a double-double this season.
- He also became the first WMU true freshman to record a double-double since Brandon Johnson in 2016-17.
- Jayden Brewer (16) and EJ Ryans (15) were also in double-figures for WMU.
- Bowling Green holds a 79-52 advantage in the all-time series with the Broncos.
- The Falcons won this season's first meeting, 72-54, back on Jan. 20 in Kalamazoo.
- Western Michigan has won three of its last four visits to the Stroh Center.
- Last season, WMU won 64-63 at Bowling Green on the final night of the regular season to clinch a MAC Tournament spot.
END OF THE ROAD
Western Michigan wraps up the 2025-26 regular season on Friday night with its lone meeting of the year with Kent State.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a 74-71 overtime loss to Ball State on Tuesday evening to wrap up their 2025-26 home slate.
Justice Williams paced Western Michigan with 22 points, while
Jayden Brewer racked up 20 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. It was WMU's first overtime game since March 2, 2024, when it knocked off BSU in Muncie on an Anthony Crump buzzer beater.
20/20 VISION
Justice Williams led the Brown and Gold with 22 points on Tuesday and
Jayden Brewer was right behind him with 20. It marked the fifth time this season a pair of Broncos scored 20 or more points in the same game and the second time Brewer and Williams had done so. The prior instance for Brewer and Williams was on Jan. 17 at Akron, when Williams poured in 28 points and Brewer netted 23.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Jayden Brewer tallied 20 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds on Tuesday against Ball State for his third consecutive double-double. For the season, the senior leads Western Michigan in double-digit scoring performances (19), double-digit rebounding games (9) and double-doubles (8). The senior is WMU's top rebounder this season at 7.0 per contest, which ranks eighth in the conference.
CLEANING THE GLASS
Always a strong suit under head coach
Dwayne Stephens, Western Michigan ranks fourth in the conference in overall rebounding at 36.4 per game, led by
Jayden Brewer, who is eighth in the MAC at 7.0 per contest. In league play, the Broncos are third in both total rebounding (35.4/game) and on the offensive glass (11.0).
BALANCED BRONCOS
Western Michigan has featured a balanced attack all season long, with 12 of 14 players having scored in double-figures at least once and five having posted at least one game with 20 or more points.
Jayden Brewer has led the charge for WMU with 19 double-digit scoring performances. Six different players have been the top scorer in a game this season, led by Brewer, who has paced the Broncos in scoring nine 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 ranked second in the MAC and 47th in NCAA Division I at 28.5 bench points per game. A total of 10 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.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE
WMU enters Friday having made at least one three-pointer in 485 straight games, dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Jalen Griffith has been Western Michigan's top sharpshooter at 40.6 percent, the ninth-best mark in the league, and has upped his percentage to 43.4, the eighth-best mark in the MAC, in conference action.
SERIES HISTORY
Kent State heads into Friday night with a 72-59 lead in the all-time series. The Broncos and Golden Flashes met three times last season, with each team winning on the other's home floor, and KSU then eliminating Western Michigan in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. WMU's win in Kent last year was its first road victory in the series since Jan. 23, 2014, and also snapped a six-game skid in the overall series for the Brown and Gold.
FOCUS ON THE FLASHES
The Golden Flashes come into Friday night locked into the No. 3 seed for next week's MAC Tournament in Cleveland. Kent State leads the conference in rebounding (39.8) and ranks third in scoring offense (85.6) behind senior Delrecco Gillespie. The big man ranks fourth nationally in rebounding (11.3), fifth in the MAC in scoring (18.3) and is the nation's leader in double-doubles (21).
