Central Michigan (16-10, 6-7 MAC) will open a pivotal five-game stretch versus MAC West opponents to close out regular season play when it hosts division frontrunner Ball State (16-10, 7-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 18 in a 4:30 p.m. game at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
- First place in the MAC West is on the line when the teams clash on Saturday, as Ball State resides atop the division standings, one game ahead of a logjam of four teams including CMU.
- The Chippewas are coming off a tough 99-93 home loss to Buffalo on Feb.