2008 Woodie Awards
Men can rise above .500 with road win
MAC record sits at 4-4; team plays BGSU today in Ohio
By: Robert McLean
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports
The men's basketball team hasn't been above .500 in the Mid-American Conference since winning its conference opener Jan. 6 against Eastern Michigan.
CMU had two chances since then - Jan. 22 against Western Michigan and Jan. 29 against Ohio - but was blown out both times on the road by a combined 35 points.
Central (9-11 overall, 4-4 MAC) again gets the opportunity to fix its road horrors at 7 p.m. today at Bowling Green. The Chippewas have yet to win a conference road contest (0-4), while the Falcons are a comfortable 4-0 in MAC games at Anderson Arena.
"We need to play tougher on the road, because usually that's been our downfall," said junior forward Chris Kellermann. "Our road games haven't been successful and we're going to try to fix that."
The key to beating Bowling Green is by winning the rebound battle and knocking down shots, Kellermann said
Making key jump shots was something CMU did well in Saturday's 100-96 double overtime win against Buffalo at Rose Arena.
Kellermann hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in the first overtime to give the Chippewas an 84-81 lead. CMU countered UB guard Andy Robinson's game-tying 3-pointer to force double overtime by making four-of-five shots to seal its sixth consecutive home win.
Senior point guard Giordan Watson tied a career-high with 34 points in the win, which featured 21 ties and 13 lead changes.
Watson said CMU must to get off to a strong start.
"We can't come out and find ourselves in a hole on the road," he said. "We need to be able to put the other team on their heels and take advantage early."
The Falcons (10-10, 5-3 MAC) similarly struggled to get above .500 in the MAC before winning three straight conference games - a streak which ended Saturday in a 64-50 loss to the Broncos in Kalamazoo.
Junior forward Nate Miller leads Bowling Green with 12.9 points per game, while freshman forward Chris Knight averages 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
CMU had two chances since then - Jan. 22 against Western Michigan and Jan. 29 against Ohio - but was blown out both times on the road by a combined 35 points.
Central (9-11 overall, 4-4 MAC) again gets the opportunity to fix its road horrors at 7 p.m. today at Bowling Green. The Chippewas have yet to win a conference road contest (0-4), while the Falcons are a comfortable 4-0 in MAC games at Anderson Arena.
"We need to play tougher on the road, because usually that's been our downfall," said junior forward Chris Kellermann. "Our road games haven't been successful and we're going to try to fix that."
The key to beating Bowling Green is by winning the rebound battle and knocking down shots, Kellermann said
Making key jump shots was something CMU did well in Saturday's 100-96 double overtime win against Buffalo at Rose Arena.
Kellermann hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in the first overtime to give the Chippewas an 84-81 lead. CMU countered UB guard Andy Robinson's game-tying 3-pointer to force double overtime by making four-of-five shots to seal its sixth consecutive home win.
Senior point guard Giordan Watson tied a career-high with 34 points in the win, which featured 21 ties and 13 lead changes.
Watson said CMU must to get off to a strong start.
"We can't come out and find ourselves in a hole on the road," he said. "We need to be able to put the other team on their heels and take advantage early."
The Falcons (10-10, 5-3 MAC) similarly struggled to get above .500 in the MAC before winning three straight conference games - a streak which ended Saturday in a 64-50 loss to the Broncos in Kalamazoo.
Junior forward Nate Miller leads Bowling Green with 12.9 points per game, while freshman forward Chris Knight averages 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
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