THURSDAY'S GAME: Miami returns to Millett Hall for the second of two-straight home games amidst a three-game, five day stretch when the RedHawks host Central Michigan University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24. This is a make-up date from a previously postponed date and is the first time the teams are meeting this season. 

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas enter Thursday's game with a 6-19 overall record and 5-9 Mid-American Conference mark. CMU has lost its last five and is coming off a 76-50 loss at Ohio on Tuesday. Kevin Miller leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 ppg and averages a team-leading 4.32 apg, while Ralph Bissainthe leads CMU on the boards at 6.3 rpg.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE CHIPPEWAS: Thursday marks the 78th meeting between Miami and Central Michigan with the RedHawks holding a 55-22 lead in the all-time series. When playing in Oxford, Miami is 28-8 against the Chippewas. The RedHawks have won the last two meetings between the teams, including a 96-54 win in Mount Pleasant on Feb. 23, 2021. The RedHawks' last win against CMU in Millett Hall was on Feb. 27, 2020, 76-57. CMU's last win in the series was on its homecourt on Jan. 4, 2020, 93-71, and its last win in Millett Hall was on Jan. 5, 2019, 84-77.   

UP NEXT: Miami rounds out an action-packed week when the RedHawks travel to Toledo for a noon game on Saturday, Feb. 26. The game will be aired on ESPNU.

TELEVISION: Thursday's game will be aired on ESPN3. Steve Baker and Randy will call the action.

RADIO: In its third year of its partnership with Van Wagner, the Miami Sports Network continues its coverage of Miami men's basketball with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. Terry Bridge will call the action. Tune-in to one of Miami's gameday affiliates:
WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.)
WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio)
WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)

GRANT SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT: Junior guard Dae Dae Grant became the 39th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, achieving the feat on Feb. 12 against Bowling Green. He joins senior guard Mekhi Lairy and senior forward Dalonte Brown as the three active players to reach the milestone. Lairy scored his 1,000th career point on his final bucket during overtime in a thrilling 85-82 win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 22 earlier this season. Brown reached the milestone on Jan. 12, 2021 at Ohio and currently ranks eighth on Miami's all-time scoring list.

CRAZY EIGHTS: Three times this season junior guard Dae Dae Grant has recorded career highs of eight assists in a game (Nov. 20 vs. Heidelberg, Dec. 21 vs. Spalding, Jan. 29 vs. Eastern Michigan). Although Grant is MU's leading scorer at 17.3 ppg, he also leads the team in assists at 4.0 apg. He had 61 assists in 32 games as a freshman and 55 in 23 games as a sophomore. Through 27 games this season, he is at 107 assists.

STAND AND DELIVER: One of the most efficient free throw shooters in the conference, senior guard Mekhi Lairy ranks second in the MAC in free-throw percentage in all games (.899) and leads the MAC in conference-only games (.911). His .899 free throw percentage would rank first on Miami's single season list, while junior guard Dae Dae Grant's .864 free throw percentage ranks third in the MAC and would rank fifth on MU's single-season list. As a team, Miami leads the MAC and ranks seventh nationally in free-throw percentage (.789). Lairy hit 29 consecutive free throws from Nov. 27 through Jan. 29. He has been perfect from the free-throw line in 14 of the 20 games where he has had a free-throw attempt. Grant hit the go-ahead free throws with eight seconds left in Miami's 78-75 win at Northern Illinois on Feb. 19.

BROWN BREAKS BOTH GAMES STARTED AND PLAYED CAREER RECORDS: Breaking Ron Harper's record of 118 for career starts with a start at Indiana State on Dec. 4 and Geovonie McKnight's record for career games played of 126 on Dec. 14, senior forward Dalonte Brown is now the Miami career record holder in both categories. Brown's 133 career starts and 140 career games played are the new Miami records. 

CHART CLIMBER: Senior forward Dalonte Brown is climbing several Miami career top-10 lists and continues to climb the points scored list. Here is where he stands entering Miami's next game:

• Starts: 133 (1st, set record Dec. 4)
• Games Played: 140 (1st, set record Dec. 14)
• 3-Point FG: 188 (5th, 10 away from No. 4)
• Rebounds: 805 (6th, 1 from No. 5)
• Scoring: 1,498 (7th, 17 from No. 6)

ODDS 'N ENDS

• Senior forward Precious Ayah leads the MAC in field goal percentage, shooting 67.3 percent from the floor. His current percentage would rank second on Miami's single-season list.
• Sophomore forward Kamari Williams notched his first career double-double at Miami with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Buffalo on Feb. 22. Williams notched 10 of his rebounds in the first half. He is the third RedHawk to post a double-double this season, joining senior forward Dalonte Brown and Precious Ayah.
• Five Miami players—Dalonte Brown, Precious Ayah, Isaiah Coleman-Lands, Mekhi Lairy, Elijah McNamara—have played in more than 100 games during their Miami career. Brown owns the record for games played (140). Ayah broke onto Miami's top 10 list and ties for eighth with 120 appearances. Coleman-Lands is one appearance away from cracking the top 10 at 119.
• Miami players have scored 20 or more points 19 times this season with junior guard Dae Dae Grant leading the way with 10 20-point scoring games. Senior guard Mekhi Lairy follows with six, senior forward Dalonte Brown has two and senior guard Isaiah Coleman-Lands has one. 
• Miami ranks among the top three in the MAC in 10 statistical categories, leading the league in four categories: free-throw percentage, 3-point field goals per game, fewest turnovers and turnovers per game. 
• Miami ranks among the top 25 nationally in three statistical categories, including ranking seventh in free throw percentage and 16th in turnovers per game and 25th in fewest turnovers. 
• Senior forward Precious Ayah amassed a career-high six blocked shots against Toledo on Jan. 11, tripling his previous career-high and tying for third on Miami's all-time, single-game chart. Ayah paced Miami in a nine-block performance as a team, which tied for sixth on the RedHawks' team single-game chart.
• Miami drained 15 three-pointers against Bowling Green on Jan. 8, which ties for fifth on the program's single-game charts. Earlier in the season, Miami hit 17 triples against Lamar, which ties for second all-time in a single game at Miami.