Men's basketball works to scrap inconsistencies
Senior forward Cecil Williams fights for the basketball during the game against Buffalo on Feb. 6 at McGuirk Arena.
When the Central Michigan men’s basketball team started the season with a program record 11 wins in nonconference play, it left plenty of signs for promise.
Now as the team closes out Mid-American Conference play, CMU is searching for ways to eliminate inconsistencies that have haunted them in conference action.
“A month ago, we talked about a lot of things we had to change,” said head coach Keno Davis. “Rebounding to get more possessions and cutting down turnovers, you’re talking about a couple of areas where you get more possessions. More possessions can only help you win a game.”
CMU (16-10, 5-8 MAC) hasn't won more than two games in a row in conference play.
Davis believes the 3-point shooting has been underwhelming in conference play.
“We have multiple players on this team who can shoot the 3-pointer but we haven’t shot it as well as we would've liked lately,” Davis said. “Part of it is just making sure you have your confidence and another part is just getting good shots because we know to contend in this conference, we have to make those shots.”
The Chippewas currently rank No. 10 in the MAC from three-point-range — making 33.2 percent of their 3-point attempts.
Transfer guard Shawn Roundtree agreed with Davis by saying “shooting slumps” have been difficult for CMU to overcome.
“We haven't been shooting the ball well in every game this season and we’ve struggled to stay persistent at times,” Roundtree said. “Closing out games has been something we have been focusing on and that starts with some of that stuff and playing out the whistle.”
Through all of the adversity and the realization of a MAC West Division regular season title being out of reach, Roundtree said there are still positives.
“At this time of the year certain losses have an effect on how people feel and their energy level,” Roundtree said. “With this team, everyone is still focused and understands that everything we want to accomplish is still in tact.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Corey Redman said one struggle the team has had since day one is getting used to filling different roles.
“It’s still a process getting used to playing with everyone and playing hard at the same time,” Redman said. “Sometimes we are one of the best teams and others we struggle, it really just depends on the night and we are working on fixing that.”
With five games left in the regular season, CMU can earn as high as the third overall seed for the MAC Tournament.
Roundtree said there’s no reason the Chippewas cannot accomplish even more.
“I think we could win a MAC Championship,” Roundtree said. “You never know what can happen at the end of the year. The right guys start hitting shots and things start clicking. We definitely have the potential to do so."
