The Western Michigan Broncos came into the game needing to win to have a shot at a top 4 seed in the MAC tournament, and the first round bye that comes with it. They were also riding a 7 game winning streak.
On the other side of the court, the Central Michigan Chippewas were trending to the other way, having lost 6 in a row. One bright spot for the Chippewas, Marcus Keene came in averaging 29.4 points per game, good enough to be tops in the nation. To be the first player to finish a season averaging 30 per game in 20 years, he needed 49 points, which was under his season high.