Link to Chicago St. preview

Central Michigan Life Assistant Sports Editor Tim Ottusch's preview for Tuesday night's game against Chicago State can be found here.

No. 6 Purdue 64, Central Michigan 38

Purdue 64, CMU 38, FINAL

AP Photo by Michael Conroy/Purdue's Chris Kramer defends CMU's Robbie Harman

What we saw: CMU simply was overmatched and never established an offensive rhythm. Running down the shot clock (mostly in the first half) and shooting 28.3 percent will do that. It was the Chippewas' lowest scoring output in Ernie Zeigler's tenure and the least amount CMU has scored since a 61-36 loss at Dayton on Dec. 7, 2005 in Jay Smith's final year as coach.

This game was eerily similar to a 64-43 loss at Akron on Jan. 31. In that game, CMU shot a little better (32.6 percent), but also scored only 14 points in the first half. They committed 17 turnovers in that game compared to 16 today.

What is the common denominator, you ask? Well, we all know Robbie Harman makes this offense go. He only had six points today (after averaging a team-high 16.4 coming in) and played only 24 minutes (he was averaging 36.8 coming in) because of foul trouble. Against Akron last season, Harman fouled out after scoring only three points in 10 minutes. Harman sparks the Chippewas offense not just because of his scoring, but he also knows where to go with the ball. Without him, CMU turns largely stagnant, and backcourt mate Jordan Bitzer, another guy who gets most of his production with Harman on the floor, stumbled to just three points on 1-of-9 shooting. He forced a lot of shots early after finally hitting a 3-pointer late in the second half. Bitzer ranked second on the team with 14.0 points per game entering today's game.

Scouting Purdue

Next up: Purdue, 11: 30 a.m. Saturday at Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
TV: Big Ten Network

More than anything, the Chippewas need: Senior forward Chris Kellermann (right) to step up. Since returning after missing the majority of last season with an ankle injury, the senior forward has been less than stellar. He has averaged 9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and recorded only four assists. He and center Marko Spica (7.2 points-2.6 rebounds-1 total assist) must get their teammates involved by finding the open man if they're smothered down low. Coach Ernie Zeigler has been less than impressed, as Kellermann only averages 23.2 minutes per game, tied for fourth on the team. Kellermann started CMU's first game, a 71-68 loss to Princeton, but has come off the bench in three of the past four games. He also is shooting only 3-of-16 from 3-point range (18.8 percent). Also watch out for foul trouble with Kellermann, whose 18 personal fouls lead the team. He averaged a team-high 14.4 points per game in seven games before his injury last season (including 15 3-pointers).

Trey Zeigler's predicament

Trey Zeigler, 18, is months away from one of the most interesting decisions a high school kid can make.

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Mount Pleasant High School, Zeigler is ranked as the No. 7 player at his position for the class of 2010 by Scout.com. He's been to nearly every top prep basketball camp in the past few years, and his impressed people with his fundamentally-sound play. Here's an excerpt from draftexpress.com, which evaluates players for NBA stock. That's right, the National Basketball Association.

2 things we learned from the first 3 games

According to ESPN.com columnist and author Bill Simmons, basketball is a game that can't be measured by statistics. But after not making it to Mount Pleasant for any of the team's first three regular-season games, I now will attempt to analyze the statistics from those games to get an indication of what kind of team we might expect during this season.

A 2-1 start isn't bad considering CMU hasn't started that way since coach Ernie Zeigler's first season in 2006-07. But the competition wasn't up to par. A 3-0 start was entirely possible and almost should have been expected. But a 71-68 loss to Princeton marred the start.

Here's what I learned.

CMU 85, Marygrove 38

The men's basketball team got off to a good start in their first showing of the season in a convincing 85-38 win against a Marygrove team that was simply, and obviously, overmatched.

Coach Ernie Zeigler was happy with the way his team played, especially on defense, after the game. Marygrove had 23 turnovers, while CMU had 13 steals.
Audio is included in this post.

First Exhibition game underway

The men's basketball team's exhibition season began today against Marygrove at Rose Arena.

As expected, coach Ernie Zeigler started the following five: