The Central Michigan basketball team bounced back from a disasterous 2002 season, winning a school-record 24 games on the way to an NCAA Tournament bid. The following are some of the more memorable games of the season:

CMU 61, George Mason 58
Junior Chris Kaman had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Chippewas to a season-opening victory. Down by seven with more than four minutes to play, CMU’s defense did not allow another basket. Senior J.R. Wallace added nine points for the Chippewas.

CMU 74, Illinois State 69
Kaman’s 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks led CMU to its second consecutive win. Senior Mike Manciel added 15 points, including 11-of-13 from the free throw line.

CMU 85, Michigan 78
Kaman had a career night with 30 points and 21 rebounds, leading CMU to a major road victory. Manciel also had 28 points and nine rebounds in the win. In the first half, CMU shot 61 percent from the field and Kaman and Manciel had 29 of the Chippewas 39 points.

CMU out-rebounded Michigan 41-29 in Head Coach Jay Smith’s homecoming. Smith was an assistant for three Final Four teams with the Wolverines.

CMU 74, Bradley 71
Manciel hit three free throws in the final 2:20, leading CMU to a road victory. Wallace had a career high for the second consecutive game, scoring 23 points. Kaman had his sixth double double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out.

The win put CMU at 6-1, marking their best start since 1980-81.

CMU 51, Valparaiso 65
The Chippewas struggled, shooting just 25 percent from the field. Kaman was the only Chippewas in double figures, with 22 points and 11 rebounds. It was his seventh double double of the season. The loss snapped a four game winning streak for CMU.

Breakdown

Creighton Blue Jays
Name	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%
Kyle Korver F Larry House G Mike Grimes F Brody Deren C Michael Lindeman F Deanthony Bowden Joe Dabbert C Tyler McKinney G Nathan Funk G	17.7 11.1 8.2 7.9 7.7 7.0 5.2 4.8 3.1	6.3 3.2 3.9 5.2 3.5 2.0 2.6 1.8 1.1	3.0 1.3 0.3 1.2 1.9 2.1 0.4 4.1 1.8	47 51 66 58 47 47 57 44 50
Central Michigan Chippewas
Name	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%
Chris Kaman C Mike Manciel F J.R. Wallace G Whitney Robinson G T.J. Meerman G Tony Bowne F Kevin Nelson G Joe Carr G	22.7 16.5 14.4 7.3 5.9 4.6 2.5 1.8	12.3 4.9 2.9 1.5 1.9 3.2 0.9 0.8	1.3 1.2 3.3 1.6 3.0 3.3 0.9 0.9	63 54 50 37 51 47 40 26

CMU 62, Miami 71
In the final 3:52 CMU was outscored 17-1 in losing its MAC opener. The Chippewas had three players in double digits, with Kaman scoring 16 and grabbing 14 rebounds, Robinson had 12 points and Tony Bowne had a career-high 10 points off the bench.

In the first half, CMU had 13 turnovers and 20 in the game.

CMU 80, Western 75
The Chippewas moved to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in the MAC behind Manciel’s 23 points. Wallace added 17 point.

CMU 87, Ohio 74
J.R. Wallace hit a three point shot from half court as time expired to give CMU its first conference win. The win moved CMU to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the MAC.

Kaman led the charge for CMU with 22 points and eight rebounds. Manciel and Wallace both scored 19 and Robinson added 16 off the bench.

CMU 81, Marshall 78
Tony Bowne’s two free throws with 25 seconds remaining was what CMU would need to secure the win at Marshall. The Chippewas improved to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the MAC, and snapped Marshall’s five game winning streak at home.

CMU 68, Eastern 84
Three starters fouled out down the stretch and the Chippewas could not continue their comeback without them. T.J. Meerman, Wallace and Kaman all fouled out and Eastern improved to 7-1 at home.

CMU 78, Kent State 82
For the first time this season, CMU lost two games in a row. Manciel led CMU with 22 points and Kaman added 20 points along with 10 rebounds.

The Chippewas 17 turnovers led to 24 points for Kent State, and Kent State had just nine turnovers in the game.

CMU 99, Akron 92
The Chippewas started off strong, with a 21 point second half lead. Kaman had his fourth double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Manciel had 23 points and Wallace had 19 points. The in put the Chippewas at14-5 overall and 7-3 in the MAC.

CMU 77, Western 58
Kaman had another career night, with 37 points and 14 rebounds. With the win, CMU improved to 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the MAC. The Chippewas shot 57.8 percent from the floor and forced 15 turnovers by Western.

CMU 94, Ball State 92
In another career night, Kaman had 43 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. Five and a half minutes into the game, Kaman scored his 1,000 point on a slam dunk over Cardinal defenders.

The win moved CMU into a West Division tie with Northern Illinois.

CMU 87, Northern Illinois 75
Junior Adam Dentlinger scored 14 points off the bench to make up for Kaman’s lack of scoring. Wallace led CMU with 27 points, as CMU moved into sole possesion of first place in the West Division.

CMU 73, Northern Illinois 57
With the win the team clinched their second MAC Championship in the past three years and received the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament. In their final game at Rose Arena Wallace scored 19 and Manciel added 16.

CMU 86, Ball State 66
CMU ended an 18-game losing streak at Ball State led by the customary double double from Kaman. He finished with 39 points and a career high 22 rebounds in just 24 minutes.

MAC Tournament
Central rolled through the tournament, winning their three games ever in Cleveland. The team defeated Bowling Green, Northern Illinois and Kent State in successive fashion. Kaman was named the tournament MVP, while Wallace was on the All-Tournament team.