Men's basketball travels to Illinois State


The CMU men’s basketball team will look to win its first road game of the season when it faces Illinois State at 8 p.m. Saturday in Normal, Ill.

The Chippewas are coming off arguably their best performance, defeating Chicago State 78-40 Tuesday. Five players scored in double figures, including 16 from senior forward Chris Kellermann, who had struggled coming into the game.

The victory against the Cougars snapped a three-game losing streak, all of which came on the road.

CMU now begins an even longer road stretch. The game against the Redbirds is the first of six on the road. The Chippewas have yet to win a game on the road and went 3-11 last season away from Rose Arena.

“If we can all come together and really be focused on the task at hand, we have a chance to get that first road win of the season,” said coach Ernie Zeigler.

The win against Chicago State also featured the first career start by junior guard Amir Rashid, who finished with five points. The return of Rashid, Zeigler said, has helped add depth to the guard position with senior guards Robbie Harman and Jordan Bitzer and freshman guard Finis Craddock previously seeing major minutes.

The Redbirds

Illinois State comes into Saturday’s game 6-0, including a 69-65 win against the University of Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 23. The Chippewas defeated UIC 67-48 on Nov. 18 at Rose Arena.

The Redbirds defeated CMU 72-69 at Rose Arena last season. Guard Lloyd Phillips, forward Dinma Odiakosa and Osiris Eldridge were three of four ISU players to score in double figures in the victory, finishing with 15, 14 and 18, respectively.

All three players return this year and are averaging double-figure scoring this year. Eldridge is averaging 21.5, Odiakosa 12 and Phillips 11.7. Odiakosa also is leading the team in rebounds, averaging seven per game.

“They’re three seniors that understand how to win,” Zeigler said. “All three bring something different to their team.”

Injury update

Zeigler said he hopes to have junior guard Antonio Weary back for the team’s game against South Florida on Dec. 13 in Tampa, Fla. Weary has missed all six games so far this season with a broken bone in his left hand. Weary’s cast was removed Monday.

He averaged 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season. Junior Jalin Thomas has started in his place, averaging 8.7 points and a team-leading seven rebounds per game.

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