Limp to the finish: Men's basketball falters down stretch, new era awaits
From being tied for first place to plummeting to an eight-game losing streak — that’s how the season ended for the Central Michigan men’s basketball team.
The Chippewas’ 2016-17 campaign ended on March 6 with a loss at Kent State in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The No. 11 CMU fought to keep its season alive, but fell 116-106 in overtime.
CMU finished the season 16-16 overall and 6-12 in MAC play.
It was a season that began with questions, provided optimism, but ultimately ended in disappointment.
Defying the critics
The Chippewas were predicted to finish in last place in the MAC West Division before the season began. After losing star players Chris Fowler, Rayshawn Simmons and John Simons, several unknowns surrounded the program.
However, senior Braylon Rayson and junior Marcus Keene — a transfer from Youngstown State — took over the reins and led one of the country’s top scoring offenses.
In his first season as a Chippewa, Keene not only led the nation in scoring, but became the first Division I player since 1996-97 to average 30 points per game.
At only 5-foot-9, Keene electrified the college basketball world with his remarkable shooting range and ability to get to the basket.
The San Antonio, Texas native finished the season with seven 40-point games and a 50-point performance against Miami (OH) on Jan. 21.
Keene broke the CMU and MAC records for points in a single season with 959. He was selected to the All-MAC First Team and was runner-up for MAC Player of the Year to Akron’s Isaiah Johnson.
His backcourt counterpart Rayson finished the season second in the MAC in scoring (21.2) and was selected to the All-MAC Third Team. Rayson broke Simons’ program-record for career 3-pointers on Feb. 21 against Northern Illinois. He finished third in CMU history in scoring with 1, 885 career points.
After a dismal start to conference play (1-4), the top scoring duo in the country helped the Chippewas crawl back into a four-way tie in the MAC West with two weeks left in the season.
Following a 10-point win at Ohio on Feb.7, CMU was arguably the hottest team in the league. But that’s when the season began to fall apart.
The fallout
After a loss at Miami (OH) on Feb. 11, the Chippewas returned home for a three-game home stand and a chance to regain control in the west. Central Michigan, however, trailed by double-digits early in all three games and was never able to make up the difference.
Losses to Buffalo, Ball State and Northern Illinois sent the Chippewas into a tail spin they couldn’t recover from.
CMU was blown out in its next two games against Toledo and Eastern Michigan on senior night. Central Michigan finished the regular season with a close loss at rival Western Michigan.
Lack of defense
Despite Keene and Rayson’s unique scoring, the Chippewas were still being out-scored due to a lack of a third option and team defense.
Freshman David DiLeo was the team’ third leading scorer (8.5), followed by junior Cecil Williams at eight points per game.
Overall, the dynamic scoring duo averaged 51 points per game while the rest of the team only averaged 30.
CMU’s lack of a post presence was a big factor on the glass too where CMU was out-rebounded in almost every game. In addition, the Chippewas finished seventh and ninth in the MAC in both steals and blocks per game, respectively.
New look Chippewas
Following CMU’s season-ending defeat to the Golden Flashes, head coach Keno Davis hinted that both Keene and Rayson had played their final game at CMU.
“We’re not going to be able to replace the scoring of Rayson and Keene and our team is going to look a lot different next year,” Davis said postgame on 98.5 UPS. "That doesn’t mean we can’t look better, but we’re going to look different. At times, we are going to miss the scoring out-put of those guys and they were definitely electric to watch.”
Rayson and Keene both graduate in May, but Keene still has another year of eligibility left if he decides to return.
Without the duo and senior Blake Hibbitts, the Chippewas are undoubtedly a much different team.
Freshman point guard Matty Smith will be looked upon to take over for Keene, while Rayson's spot will be up for grabs.
CMU does, however, return all of its big men and could have a dangerous front court with seniors Luke Meyer, DaRohn Scott and freshman Innocent Nwoko.
DiLeo will be the team's retuning leading scorer and could be in for a special sophomore season with his size and 3-point shooting. Guard Corey Redman will return after redshirt last season.
With how the season ended and the potential departure of Keene and Rayson, CMU will most likely be predicted to finish in the bottom half of the MAC once again and will have a lot to prove.
The Chippewas are still in search of their first MAC Championship since 2014 and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.
“It’s unfortunate the season ended the way that it did, but at least we had an opportunity to play on the road,” Davis said. “We knew that if we got to Cleveland we had a great shot. I give our guys credit to play as hard as they did and just disappointed they didn’t get a chance to continue the tournament run.”
