Under the Radar Game of the Day: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3
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The MAC takes center stage tonight as all 12 teams will be in action, including a tough road test for the West Division’s co-leaders from Central Michigan as they travel across the state to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan. CMU enters tonight’s game with a record of 13-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play, tied with surprising Ball State atop the West Division standings. Heading into the season, the Chippewas had been our favorite to win the MAC championship. Unfortunately, the team had a rough non-conference season that included a last place finish in the Gulf Coast Showcase and close road losses at Grand Canyon and William & Mary. Not having their star guard, Chris Fowler, available for the first 7 games of the season (including the Gulf Coast games) certainly did not help. His return to form has certainly helped their resurgence during conference play. In fact, he has averaged over 8 assists per game during his last six games, including a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists last week in a win over Kent State. Fowler is not alone in leading this team as Rayshawn Simmons, Baylon Rayson and Luke Meyer can all score, while Rayson, John Simons and Josh Kozinski are all deadly from long range. This team certainly has the pieces to win the West Division and contend for a top seed in the MAC Tournament. More importantly, they may prove to be the most dangerous team at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland this year, meaning the top teams in the East such as Akron, Buffalo and Kent State better not write off the West.
Today, CMU is heading to Eastern Michigan, a site that the UTR Game of the Day has not visited since the very first day of the 2015-16 season when the Eagles hosted Vermont in the first game of the year. The Eagles currently sit at 11-12 overall but only 3-7 in MAC play, mostly due to a very rough stretch in which they have lost 6 of their last 7 games. Freshman James Thompson has been one of the bright spots for the Eagles so far this season. He has scored in double figures 18 times this year and has 14 double-doubles. He will need to be dominant again tonight if Eastern Michigan wants to pull off the upset victory. However, as we have documented in the past, winning on the road in MAC play is never easy, so do not be shocked if Eastern finds a way to get it done at home tonight.