Central Michigan basketball travels to Wisconsin’s most populous city, Milwaukee, to face the 18th-ranked Golden Eagles in what ESPN dubs the “Marquette Challenge.”
Both teams come into the matchup with wins on their resumes, but Marquette remains undefeated.
General Information:
Teams: Central Michigan (1-1) at Marquette (2-0)
Tip-Off: 8 PM CST (9 p.m EST)
Watch: FS1
Listen: 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee
What to know about Marquette
After last year’s heartbreaking loss to NC State in the Sweet 16, and losing two cornerstones of their success to the draft in Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, Marquette has not been fazed by any of this noise so far this season.
A dominant opener win vs. Stony Brook helped propel them to a late surge against George Mason last Friday to move to 2-0 on the season. Marquette’s key to success in this non-conference game is having continued success from their other starters, not just Jones. This helped in both of their wins, in which Chase Ross scored 23 against Stony Brook, and David Joplin put up 27 against George Mason.
The Golden Eagles must not overlook a gritty CMU team looking for an early season upset to make a statement in the ever-changing college basketball scene.
The latest on Central Michigan basketball
The Chippewas are looking to repeat the similar success they found in 2023-2024, winning 18 games overall. Both games they have played so far have ended in very similar scores. After beating South Alabama 74-70, they narrowly lost to Stony Brook 73-72, a team Marquette took down by 40. CMU will look for a big game from their leading scorer, Jakobi Heady, who’s shooting 44% from the field and leading the team in rebounds.
Central Michigan’s main goal on the defensive side will be to contain one of the country’s elite guards, Kam Jones. Jones has scored 32 and 24 in his first two games, respectively, and leads the team in points and assists.