Topping the charts: Men’s basketball among the nation's leaders in many statistical categories
In addition to having the best winning percentage in the Mid-American Conference with a 14-3 overall record, the Central Michigan men’s basketball team boasts it’s name in many other statistical categories.
Here’s are the biggest accomplishments for the Chippewas on the stat sheets out of the 345 Division I teams.
Points per game: 83.9 per game, ranks 2nd
Only BYU has more points per game than the Chippewas and the Cougars have played four overtime sessions while the Chippewas haven’t played extra time yet.
“There’s been a lot that you’ve seen about us being nationally ranked in a lot of different offensive categories,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “Some nights when we’ve been shooting the way we’ve been able to, that stands out.”
CMU has scored more than 100 points three times this season, against Alma, Central Penn and Miami (Ohio).
Field goal percentage: 49.5 percent, ranks 8th
Even after the Chippewas shot 36.5 percent from the field in Saturday’s 65-51 win over Eastern Michigan, they still rank in the top 10 shooting the ball.
Davis said EMU’s unique zone defense is tricky to simulate, which is why the Eagles are ranked in the top 10 in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents under 36 percent on average.
“I think when I look at those offensive numbers, that doesn’t surprise me,” Davis said. “I might have even taken those numbers. We played them three times last year and I don’t know that we had those numbers.”
3-Point field goals per game: 11.3, ranks 1st
The 3-point shooters have been hot most of the season, helping the Chippewas lead the nation in 3-pointers per game and ranking fourth shooting 41.8 percent on 3-pointers.
CMU set a conference record Dec. 6 when they hit 20 3-pointers against SIUE.
Junior forward John Simons came into the weekend second in the country among eligible players in 3-point field goal percentage, leading all forwards.
Simons and redshirt freshman Josh Kozinski combine for 92 of CMU’s 192 3-pointers this season, both hitting higher than 45 percent of shots from beyond the arc.
Kozinski, a 3-point specialist, has only taken two shots from 2-point range this season.
Individual assists per game: Chris Fowler with 6.3, ranks 12th
Junior guard Chris Fowler ranks fourth all-time in CMU program history with 446 assists and has 107 this season already.
Fowler is hovering around the top 10 in the country with his 6.3 assists per game, although junior guard Rayshawn Simmons isn’t far behind with 4.7 assists per game, which ranks 63rd in the country.
Giordan Watson is CMU’s all-time assists leader with 489.
Field goal percentage defense: 41.6 percent, ranks 132nd
The Chippewa defense is nothing special according to the stat book. Right in the middle of the pack.
But Davis said the improved defense is the main reason the Chippewas are 14-3.
“I think really the story of this year’s team has been going from a poor defensive team last year to a much-improved defensive team,” Davis said. “(It) doesn’t mean we’re a great defensive team, but we do show signs of being able to be a lock-down defensive team, a rebounding team.”
CMU allowed opponents to shoot 49.1 percent from the field last year. The Chippewas ranked 339th out of the 345 teams last year.
“We know we have a long way to go in that area, but we’ve been able to show this year that we’ve been able to win in different ways,” Davis said. “I think that’s unique of a college basketball team. On a given night they don’t know exactly what they need to do to win, but they can do it in a variety of ways.”
