Syracuse (27-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) drew Western Michigan (23-9, 14-4 Mid-American Conference) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 14th-seeded Broncos enter March Madness having won their last four games and 12-of-13. After clinching a double bye in the MAC tournament, top-seeded WMU used an 18-0 run to beat Akron in the semifinals. The Broncos then cruised by Toledo to capture their first conference title since 2004.

Senior guard David Brown is Western Michigan’s leading scorer at 19.4 points per game. He scored 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting against Toledo on Saturday. Senior Shayne Whittington — who hails from Paw Paw, Mich. — has been a force down low for the Broncos. He’s averaging 16.3 points per game on 52.6 percent shooting and has snagged 9.1 boards per contest. WMU shoots 46.6 percent from the field, which is 61st in the country.

The Orange and the Broncos will square off Thursday at approximately 2:45 p.m. in Buffalo, N.Y. Here are some things you may want to know about Western Michigan:

About the 2013-14 Broncos: Brown’s stats have consistently improved in his five-year career. He averaged 2.4 points per game back in 2009-10 before taking a medical redshirt nine games into his second season, in which he averaged 4.1 points. He scored 4.2 points as a sophomore, 11 as a junior and he’s up to 19.4 this year. Along with Whittington, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Connar Tava also does damage in the paint. He averages 12 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but is also the Broncos’ lead assist man, posting 2.8 per contest.

The head coach: Steve Hawkins is in his 11th season leading Western Michigan and has a 204-154 (.570) career record as a head coach. He coached high school ball in California for a while before serving as an assistant at South Alabama, Quincy (Ill.), St. Andrew’s (N.C.) and Quincy again, where he earned his first head-coaching gig. Then he went to Western Michigan in 2000 before taking over in 2003. WMU has only had three losing seasons in his 11-year stint.

Best wins: Toledo (twice) (38 RPI), New Mexico State (77)

Worst losses: Bowling Green State (193), Drake (168)

How they got in: In the Broncos’ win over Toledo, Brown dropped 32, Tucker Haymond scored 21 and Whittington finished with 20 and 13 rebounds. Western Michigan outrebounded the Rockets 46-27 and shot 68 percent in the second half.

About Western Michigan:

Colors: Brown and gold

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Facility: University Arena (seats 5,421)

Mascot: Buster Bronco. On Western Michigan’s website, it says Buster has been the official mascot since 1988 and is part of the cheer team. However, he is not officially sanctioned or governed by the NCAA.

A bronco horse statue designed by artist Veryl Goodnight was built on campus in 1997. It stands at 9.5 feet by 14 feet and weighs 1,800 pounds. Bet you didn’t know that. If you did, seriously, find some hobbies.

Additionally, Western Michigan used to be the Hilltoppers because the school rests on Prospect Hill. That led to some confusion, though, because other schools shared the same moniker. And when the school expanded off the hill, the nickname soon created confusion with the nicknames of other schools and was consequently changed to Broncos in 1939. At that point, it wasn’t Western Michigan, but rather Western State Teachers College.

Glad we cleared all of that up.

NCAA Tournament history: This is the Broncos’ fourth trip to the Big Dance. They made the Sweet 16 in 1976 before losing to Marquette, 62-57. They also qualified in 1998, upsetting Clemson in the first round before getting bounced by Stanford. In 2004, they lost to Vanderbilt in the first round. So, they’ve actually gotten past the first round two-thirds of the time.

Broncos in the pros: Don Boven, Dillard Crocker, Paul Griffin, Ben Handlogten, Reggie Lacefield, Walker Russell

Boven played for the NBA’s Waterloo Hawks in 1949-50 and averaged 10.6 points per game. Handlogten played for the Utah Jazz in 2003-04 and 2004-05. He averaged just 4.3 points per game in his brief two-year NBA stint, but shot 52.3 percent from the floor. Russell bounced around from the Detroit Pistons to Atlanta Hawks to Indiana Pacers and was an 80 percent career free-throw shooter.

Most notable player: Stane’s Bufford. His name is Stane’s Bufford. That’s pretty notable if you ask me.

About Western Michigan University:

Type: Public

Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.

Enrollment: 25,086

Founded: 1903

President: John M. Dunn

Director of Athletics: Kathy Beauregard

Famous alumni: Luther Vandross (singer-songwriter and producer), Tim Allen (actor, stand-up comedian), John Harbaugh (NFL head coach for the Baltimore Ravens), Greg Jennings (NFL wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings), John Saunders (sports television personality)

Fun Facts:

1.) The Broncos play in Kalamazoo, Mich., which is the original home of Gibson guitars.

2.) Syracuse head football coach Scott Shafer was the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan in 2005-06.

3.) When the Broncos last made the Tournament, in 2004, Tyler Ennis was 9 years old and Syracuse was the reigning national champion.

4.) Western Michigan’s College of Aviation has more than 700 undergrads and is one of the largest flight science programs in the nation. It occupies 92,000 square feet on 20 acres and boasts the second longest runway in the state of Michigan (more than 10,000 feet long).

Published on March 18, 2014 at 3:28 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass