WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS
LAST TWO WEEKS: L @ EMU, 86-80; L @ BUF, 66-54; L vs. AKR, 90-80; L @ BSU, 84-78
OVERALL RECORD: 6-14, 2-6 MAC
On paper, it was not a good stretch by any means for Western Michigan. But let’s consider the opposition they were pitted against. Three of the four games were on the road, two of which were against teams over .500 at the top of their division. And they managed to hang with the conference favorite Akron on the road. Losses are losses, but close results like these do not go unnoticed.
And there was seemingly a different notable reason contributing to the losses for Western during this recent stretch. Against Eastern, Western was a +6 in scoring when it came to field goals made. But at the free throw line, EMU was a +12 over WMU. Against Buffalo, the Bison simply shot better from the floor. And both Akron Ball State jumped out to a big first-half lead, too big for the Broncos to overcome. These are close games for Western, the 2-6 league record is not totally indicative of the kind of team they are.
Western just has to keep fighting and that lucky bounce, some extra three-pointer or two will fall in their favor. Here’s what the Broncos have coming up to try and snap their losing skid:
- Tuesday, January 31 – vs. Ohio (13-6, 5-3 MAC) | 6 p.m. ET
- Friday, February 3 – @ C. Michigan | 6:30 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, February 7 – @ Miami-OH | 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3
- Saturday, February 11 – vs. No. Illinois | 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3
2016/17 DSN MICHIGAN MID-MAJOR COLLEGE HOOPS POWER RANKINGS
[Last week’s ranking]
- Oakland [1]
- C. Michigan [3]
- E. Michigan [2]
- Detroit Mercy [5]
- W. Michigan [4]
