Basketball
Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Miami (Ohio) and the win they were favored to collect coming into this afternoon. After one quarter their offense has really been able to impose its will, dominating Western Michigan 54-23.
Miami (Ohio) entered the matchup having won four straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it five, or will Western Michigan step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Western Michigan Broncos @ Miami (Ohio) RedHawks
Current Records: Western Michigan 3-11, Miami (Ohio) 10-4
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. ET
- Where: John D. Millett Hall — Oxford, Ohio
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $8.00
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Mid American matchup on schedule as the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks and the Western Michigan Broncos are set to tip at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at John D. Millett Hall. The Broncos are crawling into this matchup hobbled by seven consecutive losses, while the RedHawks will bounce in with four consecutive wins.
Last Tuesday, Miami (Ohio) was able to grind out a solid win over Ball State, taking the game 80-72.
Kam Craft was the offensive standout of the game as he went 12 for 18 en route to 28 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Eian Elmer, who went 5 for 6 en route to 11 points plus six rebounds.
Even though they won, Miami (Ohio) struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That’s the fewest offensive rebounds they’ve managed all season.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Western Michigan last Tuesday, but the final result did not. They took an 83-79 hit to the loss column at the hands of Bowling Green. The Broncos got off to an early lead (up 14 with 2:27 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Brandon Muntu, who went 5 for 7 en route to 11 points. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in field goal percentage (71.4%). Max Burton was another key player, earning 11 points.
Miami (Ohio)’s victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-4. As for Western Michigan, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-11.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday’s contest: Miami (Ohio) has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 11.3 threes per game. It’s a different story for Western Michigan, though, as they’ve been averaging only 5.5. Given Miami (Ohio)’s sizable advantage in that area, Western Michigan will need to find a way to close that gap.
Going forward, Miami (Ohio) is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by ten points. For those looking to play the spread, keep Miami (Ohio)’s opponent in mind: they have a subpar 3-6 record against the spread vs Western Michigan over their last nine matchups.
Odds
Miami (Ohio) is a big 10-point favorite against Western Michigan, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the RedHawks, as the game opened with the RedHawks as a 8.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 149 points.
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Series History
Miami (Ohio) has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Western Michigan.
- Feb 20, 2024 – Western Michigan 77 vs. Miami (Ohio) 58
- Jan 02, 2024 – Western Michigan 83 vs. Miami (Ohio) 74
- Feb 28, 2023 – Miami (Ohio) 77 vs. Western Michigan 62
- Feb 07, 2023 – Miami (Ohio) 85 vs. Western Michigan 78
- Feb 08, 2022 – Miami (Ohio) 62 vs. Western Michigan 57
- Jan 15, 2022 – Miami (Ohio) 70 vs. Western Michigan 62
- Feb 25, 2021 – Miami (Ohio) 74 vs. Western Michigan 66
- Jan 30, 2021 – Miami (Ohio) 65 vs. Western Michigan 56
- Feb 04, 2020 – Western Michigan 64 vs. Miami (Ohio) 60
- Feb 16, 2019 – Western Michigan 84 vs. Miami (Ohio) 79
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