Wofford will make its first-ever appearance in then CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) Friday night when it hosts Mid-American Conference member Central Michigan (20-14) at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Terriers finished 2017-18 season with a 21-12 record, which included trip to the Southern Conference Tournament Semifinals with a heartbreaking, 56-55 loss to eventual SoCon Tournament champion UNCG.
The Terriers, of course, raised plenty of eyebrows around the college basketball landscape, with a 79-75 win at No. 5 North Carolina in late December--Wofford’s first-ever win over a nationally-ranked NCAA Division I foe since joining the ranks prior to the 1995-96 season. SoCon teams are 0-1 this season against teams out of the MAC, with Chattanooga dropping a 75-70 decision to Akron in non-conference play.
The Terriers and Chippewas will be meeting for the first time in program history. Wofford has competed in NCAA Tournament four times and the College Basketball Invitational once, posting an 0-5 mark all-time as a Division I member in postseason tournaments. The Terriers have made NCAA Tournament appearances in four of the past eight seasons and have won 20 games four times under 16th-year head coach Mike Young (269-238).
The Terriers will meet a Central Michigan club that enters Friday night’s contest coming off its 20th win of the season, having opened the CIT with a hard-fought, 94-89, win at Fort Wayne. The Chippewas finished with an 7-11 mark in the MAC, which was good enough to see them finished fourth in the MAC West Division.
The Chippewas are making their second all-time appearance in the CIT, having posted a 1-1 record in the postseason tournament. In all non-conference sponsored NCAA Division I postseason tournament appearances, the Chippewas hold an all-tme mark of 4-7 mark, including a 3-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. The Chippewas are also 0-2 all-time in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Coming into this year’s CIT, Central Michigan’s top RPI win this season came back on Feb. 27, when the Chippewas defeated RPI No. 125 Ball State, 75-51. The Chippewas have claimed their first 20-win season since the 2014-15 campaign, when Central Michigan finished 23-9 and were MAC champions.
One note of interest is the Chippewas had a close loss at home to Buffalo, which anhilated No. 4 seed Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday, losing 88-82 in early February.
One note of interest is the Chippewas had a close loss at home to Buffalo, which anhilated No. 4 seed Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday, losing 88-82 in early February.
Head coach Keno Davis is in his sixth season with the Chippewas, and broke .500 as head coach of the Chippewas last time out with the win over Fort Wayne, and is now 97-96 at the helm of the Central Michigan basketball program.
Matchups To Watch:
When you start to talk about the Wofford backcourt, every conversation obviously begins with Malcolm U Pitt Southern Conference Player of the Year Fletcher Magee (21.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG). Magee split this year’s SoCon’s top individual award with ETSU’s Desonta Bradford, who was named the coaches’ player of the year.
Magee was almost the hero in Asheville for the Terriers, missing a couple of shots that were both good looks, but couldn’t get the ball to go down and the Terriers dropped a heartbreaking 56-55 decision to eventual champion UNCG. It was the game of the 2018 Southern Conference Tournament.
Coming into Friday night’s clash, Magee has a nation-leading 140 three-pointers and trails former Davidson great Stephen Curry by 22 triples for the all-time single-season record. Curry canned 162 triples in a season—an NCAA record for a freshman—and a SoCon single-season record in 2006-07. Magee’s 45-point performance in a win over Chattanooga earlier this season is a Wofford Division I era record. Magee’s 21.6 PPG leads the Southern Conference and ranks 17th nationally.
Magee will be joined in the Wofford backcourt by point guard Storm Murphy (6.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG), and wings Trevor Stumpe (10.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG) and Nathan Hoover (10.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG). Hoover has been a player to watch over the past month of the season, as he has been a major supplement to the scoring to Magee.
Hoover, with his ability to shoot the basketball, has taken a lot of pressure of Magee. Derrick Brooks (3.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG), who is the only senior on the roster, is a major leader off the bench for the Terriers, possessing great athleticism and is one of the best defenders in the SoCon.
Central Michigan counters with Josh Kozinski (6.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG) and Shawn Rountree Jr. (15.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG). Rountree is the Chippewas’ second-leading scorer, and has done well in his first season for Central Michigan since transferring in from Mineral Springs Junior College.
Kozinski is a tremendous perimeter shooter, and ranks No. 1 in school history in three-pointers attempted (854) and three-pointers made in a career (294).
In the frontcourt, Wofford relies heavily on senior Cameron Jackson (11.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG), who has pretty much done it all in the paint for the Terriers this season on both ends of the floor, will be the key cog in the paint.
The second-team all-conference performer will also look for added depth off the bench from junior forward Matthew Pegram (5.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG). Keve Aluma (2.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG) has also given the Terriers some good minutes under the basket this season, and he is a great athlete for Mike Young to be able to rely on coming off the bench.
Central Michigan will employ the services of a talented trio in its frontcourt. Two double-figure scorers will feature in the Chippewas frontcourt, with 6-6 senior Cecil Williams (15.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG ) and 6-7 sophomore David DiLeo (11.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG) featuring in the starting five. Williams posted 21 points and 13 boards in the 89-75 MAC Tournament loss to Buffalo.
Like Kozinski, DiLeo is a danger from the perimeter, ranking third in school history in single-season three-pointers attempted (253) and is sixth in school history in single-season three-pointers made (86).
Rounding out the starters in the paint for the Chippewas will be 6-10 senior Luke Meyer (9.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) at center. In a game in mid-January, Meyer enjoyed one of his best games of his career, posting 26 points and 14 boards in 82-76 loss at Ball State.
Rounding out the starters in the paint for the Chippewas will be 6-10 senior Luke Meyer (9.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) at center. In a game in mid-January, Meyer enjoyed one of his best games of his career, posting 26 points and 14 boards in 82-76 loss at Ball State.
Who Wins:
Wofford 77, Central Michigan 70
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