First-ever tourney meeting intensifies Central-Western rivalry for men

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Thursday marks the third meeting of the season between the Central Michigan and Western Michigan men’s basketball teams. But for CMU coach Ernie Zeigler, the other two don’t matter.

It’s ‘win or go home’ time for the rivals, which meet at noon Thursday for the first time ever in the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The quarterfinal matchup between the No. 2 seed Chippewas and No. 7 Broncos only adds to the rivalry, Zeigler said.

“The rivalry is going to bring added spice to this quarterfinal matchup in the tournament,” Zeigler said. “I think (WMU) coach (Steve) Hawkins and myself have a dual respect for each other. We both compete at a high level in terms of how hard our teams play. It’s not going to get any better than Western-Central at high noon in Cleveland.”

The Broncos got past No. 10 seed Bowling Green 75-73 on Sunday in Kalamazoo, while CMU earned the MAC West Division outright title and a first-round bye with a 56-55 win at Eastern Michigan on March 4.

Familiar foes

The rivals meet less than two weeks after CMU’s 74-66 Senior Day win on Feb. 27 in Mount Pleasant, where two senior guards outdueled one. CMU’s Jordan Bitzer and Robbie Harman each scored 22 points, trumping WMU’s David Kool’s 31.

“I think it’s going to be very important that we get contributions from everyone across the board,” Zeigler said. “When you’re in a tournament setup and you’re hoping to put yourself in a position to play consecutive days, you’re going to need more than two guys to be consistent for you.”

The 6-foot-3 Kool also led the Broncos, along with 6-foot-10 center Donald Lawson, in WMU’s 70-61 win on Jan. 16 in Kalamazoo. Each senior scored 17 points in a game in which the Broncos jumped to a 29-12 lead.

“(Kool) is going to do what he does,” said CMU junior forward Jalin Thomas. “We’ve really got to be focused on stopping these other guys.”

Kool, who was named the MAC’s Player of the Year on Monday, averages a conference-best 20.9 points per game.

“It’s extremely hard to limit David Kool because he’s such a smart player and has such a feel for when to get his shots and when to make plays for others,” Zeigler said.

Defensive importance

Consistency has not been a hallmark of the Chippewas (15-14, 9-7 MAC) this season. Currently on a two-game winning streak, they need to win three more in a row to gain a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They have won three consecutive games only once this season, from Dec. 30 to Jan. 13 against Alcorn State, Toledo and Ball State, three teams whose seasons are already done.

“I think we have to be able to be a really good defensive team,” Zeigler said. “The inconsistency or moments during the season that we’ve had our struggles is a definite correlation to our defensive woes.”

Harman said he and the team’s other three seniors feel their task is unfinished and want to end their careers with a MAC title and ensuing bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s big for me because I want to keep playing,” Harman said. “But also the program and just trying to keep gaining respect from everyone else in the conference and getting people excited about the basketball team here.”

With a win, CMU would advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2003 and play either No. 3 Akron or No. 6 Eastern Michigan.

More motivation

As if a single-elimination tournament game against a team’s biggest rival wasn’t motivation enough, CMU is using recent comments by WMU’s Hawkins as an extra push.

After the Broncos beat Ball State on March 4, Hawkins told the Kalamazoo Gazette, “You could hear the collective sigh out of Kalamazoo when you mention the fact that you could get Central in the second round.”

Said Harman: “It’s a motivating factor anytime a team thinks it’s going to be an easier road play you. We want to come out and show them that this isn’t a good draw for them and it’s going to be tough playing us no matter what. It’s going to be like that for any team, but especially for Western.”

Added Thomas: “It’s almost like Western doesn’t respect us despite the fact that we won the MAC West. That’s fine with me — that’s just added a lot of passion and a lot of energy.”

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Thursday’s MAC men’s quarterfinals games
No. 2 CMU vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, noon
No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Eastern Michigan, 2 p.m.
No. 1 Kent State vs. No. 9 Ohio, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Buffalo, 9 p.m.