Chippewa Pregame: Lineups, how to follow along and what to watch for
The Chippewas host Alma College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at McGuirk Arena.
Playing its second home game in five days, the Central Michigan men's basketball team takes on Alma College at 7 p.m. tonight at McGuirk Arena.
Probable Starting Five:
CMU: Guard Rayshawn Simmons, guard Braylon Rayson, guard Austin Stewart, forward John Simons, forward Luke Meyer
Alma: Guard Chase Fairchild, guard Scott Nikodemski, center Doug Bradfield, forward Trevor Gernaat, forward DJ Beckman
Other MAC games tonight:
— San Diego (0-0) at Western Michigan (0-1) 7 p.m. on ESPN3
— Kenyon College (0-0) at Miami (Ohio) 7 p.m. on ESPN3
In case you missed it:
The Chippewas defeated Jacksonville State 89-83 in both teams' season opener on Friday. Senior point guard Chris Fowler sat out with a minor injury and was replaced by Stewart. Simmons and Rayson combined to score 58 points during CMU's first victory of the year. The 30 points Simmons scored earned him Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors.
The Scots lost their first game of the season to Northeast Ohio University 69-67.
Three Questions:
1. Will Fowler play?
Head Coach Keno Davis would not share the details of Fowler's injury late last week and said he was day-to-day heading into tonight's matchup. Whether CMU's leading scorer from a year a go plays tonight or not, it is already obvious Davis and his staff are being extra careful with their biggest offensive weapon.
2. Can CMU's bigs stay out of foul trouble?
Sophomores DaRohn Scott and Luke Meyer were asked to play extended minutes during CMU's first game of the season. Meyer committed three personal fouls, while Scott — who showed some foul tendencies last season — was tagged with two against Jacksonville State. If the Chippewas can keep Alma off the free-throw line, CMU should cruise to victory.
3. What will attendance be like?
Alma College is a small Division III school less than 20 miles from CMU's campus. Residents of Mid-Michigan have heard of some of the Alma players, many of whom played high school basketball at local high schools.
A total of 3,116 fans attended CMU's home opener.
The student crowd will be something to watch, as CMU basketball fans could wander into McGuirk Arena looking to a kill a few hours before the weekly social gathering know affectionally as Pint Night at O'Kelly's Sports Bar and Grille.
Preseason Coverage:
— Chips look to get back to MAC title game in 2016: http://bit.ly/1LGngup
— Fowler focused heading into senior season: http://bit.ly/1OItMVu
— For players, CMU basketball has become a family: http://bit.ly/1PMhUjS
— COLUMN: Chippewas in good hands with Davis: http://bit.ly/1kAepll
Dominick Mastrangelo covers Central Michigan football and men's basketball for Central Michigan Life. You can follow him on Twitter @DomMastrangelo1 or contact him at dommastrangelo1@gmail.com.
