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The calendar year comes to an end for Detroit as the Titans head north for a contest against in-state rival Central Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 23 in Mount Pleasant. The ball is set to drop at 7:00 p.m.
Matt Dery will have all the action live from Rose Arena on WDTW-AM 1310.
Fans can watch a live web stream of the game though Central Michigan's Sports Zone package, although a paid subscription of the service is required. Fans can also catch the action with a live stats feed through CMU's athletic website.
Detroit (3-7) will look to get back to winning ways before the conference slate gets underway again in January. The Titans have not had much success on the road dropping their last 19 games away from Calihan Hall, but UDM is 7-8 all-time as the away team in the series, including three straight wins in Rose Arena.
Central Michigan (3-7) has also had some tough moments to start the year. The Chippewas have lost two in a row, including a 73-60 decision to Robert Morris on Saturday. They will be without their top scorer in senior forward Chris Kellermann (14.4 ppg.) who is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan has dropped two in a row and comes into the contest at 3-7 on the year. The Chippewas have already played two Horizon League teams defeating Wright State, 70-68, at home, while falling on the road to UIC, 77--67.
CMU is led by senior forward Chris Kellermann who tops the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game, but he has not played in the Chippewas last three games due to a foot injury.
Central did recently welcome back a pair of starters in senior forward Marcus Van and junior guard Jordan Bitzer. Van missed the first five games due to a team suspension, but has come back to average 12.2 ppg., and 8.2 rpg. Bitzer missed the first eight games due to academics and is tallying 10 points per contest to go with four boards a night.
As a team, CMU is shooting 41 percent from the field, but just 57 percent from the free throw line.
Ernie Zeigler is in his third year at CMU with an overall record of 30-42.
DETROIT VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Tuesday's match-up will be the 30th time the two programs have faced each other, with Detroit owning an 18-11 advantage. The Titans have won five of the last six meetings, but Central Michigan did take last year's contest in the Motor City, 70-66.
UDM is 7-8 all-time in Mount Pleasant, including winning its last three trips to Rose Arena.
AGAINST THE MAC
The Titans own an overall record of 165-103 (.618) against current teams from the MAC, and are 1-2 against the conference this season. UDM fell at Western Michigan, 71-62, and at Bowling Green, 68-48, while downing Eastern Michigan at home, 62-47. Since the 2000-01 season, UDM has played at least four games against the conference every year.
UDM VS. THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
The Titans own an all-time mark of 255-136 (.650) against school's from the “Great Lakes State”. Even deeper, first-year head coach
Ray McCallum has always had success against Michigan schools tallying a 33-20 mark as a head coach, with his first Titan win coming against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 12.
UDM also has a winning all-time record against all four of the Michigan Mid-Major programs with a 56-15 margin over EMU, an 18-11 record against CMU, a 24-23 tally verses WMU and an 11-1 ledger against Oakland.
WELCOME HOME JAY SMITH
Tuesday's game will be a homecoming for Titan assistant coach
Jay Smith. Smith coached Central for nine years, and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading CMU to the regular season title in both 2001 and 2003. CMU was 95-160 in nine seasons under Smith. The 95 victories rank fourth in Chippewas history, while the nine seasons rank as the school's fourth-longest coaching tenure.
CAUSING MISCUES
The Titans forced Illinois into 20 turnovers, the second time this year the tough UDM defense forced 20+ turnovers in a game (Detroit forced 26 EMU errors on Nov. 22). On the year, the Titan “D” is causing opponents into 14.6 mishaps per contest.
