Three takeaways from Central Michigan's victory over Mississippi Valley State
Central Michigan guard Deschon Winston and forward David Dileo celebrate against Mississippi Valley State Nov. 10 at McGuirk Arena.
The ball was forced to the corner and Mississippi Valley State coach Lindsey Hunter took a timeout.
Senior guard Dallas Morgan clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Let's go."
Central Michigan overwhelmed the Delta Devils with energetic defense and strong shooting. In their 134-78 victory Sunday afternoon, the Chippewas made 13 3-pointers and forced 23 turnovers.
Every Chippewa who took the floor in the contest scored at least two points. They outrebounded the Delta Devils 60-37 and turned the ball over just six times.
It was a dominant performance.
Here are three takeaways from the contest:
Increased defensive intensity
Senior guard Kevin McKay slid between two defenders and scored a layup. While most projected the Chippewas to simply sprint back on defense, junior guard Travon Broadway Jr. had other ideas.
Broadway Jr. swiped the inbound passes and dropped in a layup for his first points of the afternoon. He drew the foul and ended up converting the 3-point play. Those three points were his only points, but each of his four steals showed a new dimension that he brings to the table.
He brings defensive intensity.
The Chippewas have forced over 20 turnovers in each of their first two games, not hesitating to turn up the defensive pressure. Coach Keno Davis had his team defending from baseline to baseline for multiple spurts in the first half.
"Our ability to continue to run, to continue to press, to continue to keep that tempo up," Davis said, "that can really wear down teams."
"We're kinda undersized," said senior forward Rob Montgomery. "Being undersized, we're going to be quicker. If we can get up and press them, they'll turn the ball over to get us a couple of quick buckets. That gets us going."
Central Michigan forward Romelo Burrell fights for possession against Mississippi Valley State Nov. 10 at McGuirk Arena.
Bench shines, might be deeper than expected
Outside of the three returning starters, not much was known about the rest of the roster. Sure, junior forward Romelo Burrell led all bench players in rebounds, and Dallas Morgan gained a reputation as a streaky shooter. But nothing was for certain.
The hidden talent is starting to shine through.
Central Michigan got double-digit scoring from three players off their bench, headlined by Morgan's 17. Junior guard Deschon Winston had 16 and senior guard Corey Redman chipped in 10 on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Winston looked extremely comfortable from the point guard position in relief of Lane, while Morgan is becoming a focal point of the offense. Morgan looked relentlessly for his shot, and to his credit, knocked it down at a consistent clip.
Burrell finished with a game-high 11 rebounds while redshirt junior Kevin Hamlet added seven boards of his own. Hamlet scored six points while Burrell added four.
Contributions like this from their bench will be pivotal if Central Michigan wants to make a run in the postseason. When looking down his sideline, Davis feels good about what he sees on his bench.
"We don't just have the defensive stopper or just the shooter or just the rebounder," he said. "When we have mismatches we're going to be able to take advantage."
Granted, Mississippi Valley State is a young team that has allowed over 100 points in each of its games to this point in the season. However, the Chippewas are able to use non-conference games against lesser opponents such as this one to evaluate all of the moving parts within their team – such as the bench.
"As we continue to use our bench, it's a great opportunity for guys to come in who might not be playing as many minutes to get the tempo up," Davis added. "They can exert more energy with the pressure on other team's starters."
Central Michigan guard Travon Broadway Jr. steals the ball from Mississippi Valley State guard Michael Green Nov. 10 at McGuirk Arena.
Offensive balance, efficiency much improved
After the win over Michigan-Dearborn to start the season, questions about the ball movement were abundant. The Chippewas had assists on just 47% of their baskets and showed signs of lots of "isolation ball," which could simply be a product of lack of experience within this new squad.
While the assist numbers were down in the win over Mississippi Valley State, the offensive balance was much improved. The ball moved well, especially in transition. The ball flowed well from the hands of forwards like Montgomery to Broadway Jr. or Lane and then to shooters like senior forward David DiLeo, who finished with a career-high 30 points on 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.
"I found some success trailing the play," DiLeo said. "They were sagging in trying to help on some of the driving lanes."
Two other factors led to increased offensive efficiency.
One was the fact that the Chippewas turned the ball over just six times, giving them a total of ten on the season. When a team has as many possessions as the Chippewas do over the course of a game, usually the turnover numbers will skyrocket.
That's not the case with this team.
"That's a really good sign," Davis said of the low turnover numbers. "We have to continue to do that."
The Chippewas were also able to pull down 22 offensive rebounds after securing just seven in their season opener.
"If you want to be a championship-level team, you've gotta be able to dominate certain games on the glass," Davis said. "This was one that we needed to (dominate)."
The Chippewas move to 2-0 with the victory. They next take the floor Nov. 16 at home against Sam Houston State.
