What to Watch For: Chippewas, Rockets clash in MAC Tournament semifinal


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Sophomore guard Braylon Rayson (Photo Daytona Niles | Photo Editor) 

Entering the postseason as the league’s No. 1 seed, the Central Michigan University men’s basketball team begins the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a semifinal showdown at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

The Chippewas (12-6, 22-7) will face the University of Toledo (11-7, 19-12) with the winner earning a spot in the MAC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night. The MAC Tournament Champion will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Toledo lost three of its last five regular season games but topped Eastern Michigan University in the MAC Tournament’s third round 78-67 on Thursday night.

In their most recent action, the Chippewas lost their regular season finale to Western Michigan University 74-62 on March 6.

CMU vs. Toledo 

The Rockets finished second in the MAC West Division regular season standings behind CMU and is second in scoring offense in the conference at 74.6 points per game.

Three-point shooting has been a point of emphasis for both teams this season.

The Chippewas converted 38.2 percent of their 3-point attempts during the regular season. Toledo was second in the conference in 3-point field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot a league-low 32 percent from beyond the arc.

Senior forward John Simons, a Third Team All-MAC selection, made 74 3-pointers during the regular season. Simons is also CMU’s top rebounder, as he brought down 6.4 boards per game.

Junior point guard Chris Fowler, a First Team All-MAC selection, leads CMU in scoring with 15.3 points per game.

The starting five for CMU has been the same for all 27 games this season including Fowler, Simons, sophomore guard Braylon Rayson, junior guard Rayshawn Simmons and freshman forward Luke Meyer.

Senior guard Julius Brown leads the Rockets in scoring with 16.4 points per game while senior forward J.D. Weatherspoon leads UT in rebounding with eight per contest.

First Meeting

The Chippewas won a thriller at Savage Arena 65-62 on Jan. 6.

A 3-pointer by Simons with 1:08 remaining broke a 62-62 tie and led to CMU’s first conference win of the season.

Struggling to make drives at the basket, CMU attempted only eight free throws in the two teams’ first meeting, making six. The Rockets finished with 13 turnovers, which led to 17 Chippewas points that night.

Simmons led CMU with 16 points and five assists while Fowler brought down seven rebounds.

Second Meeting

The Chippewas claimed the MAC West title with an 85-77 victory over the Rockets on March 3.

Three players scored more than 20 points for CMU including Simons, who scored a career-high 28 points and Fowler, who finished with 24.

The turning point in the game was a slam-dunk by freshman forward DaRohn Scott off an alley-oops pass from Rayson early in the second half.

CMU then orchestrated a 12-2 run pushing the lead to 56-46 with 12 minutes remaining.

UT pulled to within four points with 4:39 to play, but a 3-pointer by Simons and a bucket by Fowler pushed the lead back to nine at 73-64 with less than four minutes remaining.

What to watch for Friday

The Chippewas were able to gain momentum early and often in both wins over UT during the regular season.

As they did in both regular season games against the Rockets this year, the Chippewas will need to commit few turnovers and rebound the ball effectively against a struggling Toledo post game. 

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