THIS TUESDAY: The Red and White will travel to battle Western Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich. Miami enters this week's games tied for sixth place in the Mid-American Conference standings. The RedHawks are even with Kent State (Miami owns the tiebreaker) at 6-6 in conference play. With six conference games left in the season, the Red and White are looking to finish in the top eight of the conference standings to secure a spot in the MAC tournament (March 14-16 in Cleveland, Ohio).

RECENT PLAY: Eian Elmer led four RedHawks in double figures with 18 points as the Miami University men's basketball team raced past Ball State 80-59 Saturday afternoon. Anderson Mirambeaux contributed 16 points, Bradley Dean chipped in 15 and Darweshi Hunter added 13 for the RedHawks, who outscored Ball State by 20 points after intermission. 

THE SERIES WITH THE BRONCOS: Saturday will be the 141st all-time meeting between Miami and Western Michigan. The RedHawks lead the series 89-51. The two teams last faced off on Jan. 2, 2024, an 83-74 Western Michigan victory at Millett Hall. The Red and White are 32-37 when traveling to University Arena. 

ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Western Michigan University (WMU) men's basketball team recorded an 8-23 (4-14 Mid-American Conference) record this past season. Head coach Dwayne Stephens enters his second season with the Broncos after taking over the reins in April 2022. Coach Stephens graduated from Michigan State in 1993 and served as an assistant with the Spartans for 19 years. He served as the associate head coach for the Spartans in his last 10 seasons with the team. Prior to joining the Michigan State coaching staff, he spent time with Marquette and Oakland University as an assistant coach. This year, Western Michigan was selected to finish 10th in the 2023-24 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Broncos currently hold an 8-17 (5-7 MAC) record this season. WMU most recently dropped 69-42 to Central Michigan.

This season, Seth Hubbard lead the Broncos' offense in scoring (14.6 points per game). Hubbard also leads the team with an average of 1.1 steals. Anthony Crump (6.4) and Owen Lobsinger (6.3) hold the highest rebounding averages on the team. Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (3.4) and Artis White (3.1) lead the team in assists per game. Javonte Brown holds the highest block average with 1.0 per game. 

UP NEXT: The Miami University men's basketball team will host Central Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 3:30 p.m. during Love.Honor.Care. The RedHawks previously dropped to the Chippewas 71-55 in Mount Pleasant, Mich. earlier this season.

STRONG DEPTH: This season, the RedHawks rank first in the MAC and 23rd in the country in bench points with an average of 28.6 per game, topped by Anderson Mirambeaux who recently started for the first time this season (12.8 ppg) and Ryan Mabrey (7.4 ppg). As Miami's rotation has gotten healthier over the past few weeks, the RedHawks are getting contributions from up and down the lineup. Miami's depth was on display in its most recent game, with 10 different players seeing at least 10 minutes of playing time.

THREE-POINT BARRAGE: Miami is currently ranked 51st in the country (third in the MAC) in three-point shooting percentage (36.5%). The RedHawks have shot at least 50% from the three-point line in three games this year. Against Ohio State, the RedHawks knocked down 58.3% of their shots from beyond the arc (7-of-12). The Red and White hit a season-high 13 triples in a win at Marshall (13-of-26, 50%). Miami has two players in the top 25 of three-point shooting percentage in the MAC (Ryan Mabrey and Darweshi Hunter). The RedHawks hit at least 10 three-pointers in a game for the seventh time this season against Ball State.

FACILITATION: The Red and White currently rank first in the MAC and 65th in the nation in assists per game (15.2). Miami also ranks 93rd nationally and second in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.30).

MARVELOUS MIRAMBEAUX: This preseason, Anderson Mirambeaux was named a Second Team All-MAC player. He is currently averaging 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 blocks and 0.1 steals. Mirambeaux is coming off the 2022-23 season where he earned Honorable Mention All-MAC after ranking 18th in the conference with a 14.2 scoring average. He was 10th in rebounds (5.7), 20th in assists (2.6), sixth in field goal percentage (54.2%), 16th in free throw percentage (76.4%) and seventh in blocks (0.9). He scored in double figures 24 times and recorded two double-doubles last season. Mirambeaux also had a career-high 27 points against Evansville in the first game he ever played for Miami.

HUNTER GAMES: In 25 games with Miami, graduate transfer Darweshi Hunter has totaled 314 points (team-high) and has knocked down 40.4% of his shots from the field. Hunter has recorded 54 three-point field goals (tied for fourth in the MAC) on 36.5% shooting. His 2.2 threes per game is currently tied for fourth in the MAC. He also ranks sixth in the MAC in free throw percentage (81.8%). This season, Hunter hit a dramatic 30-foot buzzer beater to lift Miami past Vermont. He recorded 17 points (tied game-high), one rebound and one assist versus the Catamounts. Against Ball State, Hunter hit a clutch three-pointer in the final second of regulation to force overtime. Miami went on to outscore the Cardinals 15-8 from there to claim a seven-point victory. Most recently, Hunter hit a clutch jump shot in the final seconds of regulation to seal a 70-68 victory over Akron. To learn more about Darweshi's story, click here!

MORRIS MADNESS: Sophomore Jaquel Morris is currently a MAC leader in field goal percentage (71.3%). He is also tied at 10th in the MAC in blocks per game (1.0). This season, Morris finds himself with a total of 25 blocks (tied for 10th in the MAC). So far, Morris has averaged 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 0.8 assists and 0.5 steals. Last season, Morris recorded an average of 1.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.9 blocks, 0.8 assists and 0.3 steals a game. Morris recorded the first double-double of his career against Ohio State with 11 points and 10 rebounds earlier this year.

THE BRADLEY DEAN STORY: Bradley Dean sat down with MiamiRedHawks.com to discuss what drew him to join Miami Men's Basketball when the D2CCA All-American and SAC Player of the Year entered the transfer portal this offseason looking for a Division I opportunity on the hardwood. Dean is currently leading the Red and White with 1.2 steals per game. He also leads the team with a 42.6 three-point shooting percentage (minimum 50 shots or more). Check out the feature story here!

FRESHMEN IMPACT: Miami's 2023-24 roster is one of the youngest Division I teams in the country. The RedHawks have an average age of 20.07 across the entire team. This season, Miami's freshmen have totaled 658 of 1,810 total points scored in 25 games played. 

Mekhi Cooper is currently averaging 6.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists (team-high) and 1.0 steals. Cooper led Miami with three steals (career-high) in a victory over Akron earlier this year. Against Wilberforce, he notched a career-high in rebounds (10) and assists (eight). He also led Miami with a career-high 17 points against Marshall. 

Eian Elmer has averaged 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 assists this year for Miami. On the season, Elmer has led the RedHawks in rebounding on numerous occasions. He put up a career-high 10 rebounds at Ball State. Elmer recorded the most steals of his career against Buffalo (four). He also totaled a career-high 23 points against Eastern Michigan. 

Evan Ipsaro has put up 6.6 points, 2.5 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. He scored the most points for Miami against Eastern Illinois with a career-high 18. Ipsaro led the team with seven assists (career-high) against Western Michigan. He recorded a career-high three steals versus Northern Illinois. He also added a career-high five rebounds against Ohio State. 

Jackson Kotecki has totaled an average of 4.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.3 blocks, 0.3 assists and 0.2 steals. Kotecki led the RedHawks with a career-high in points (19) and blocks (two) versus Spalding. 

Reece Potter has averaged 6.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 blocks and 0.4 steals this season. He scored a career-high 17 points versus Bowling Green. He also recorded three blocks (career-high) against Wilberforce.