EMU to Take On Rochester in 2016-17 Home Opener

Men's Basketball vs. Rochester (Future Eagles Day)
Date	Tuesday, Nov. 15 \| 11 a.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	No Audio Available
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Following a pair of road losses in the campus site games of the 2K Classic to open the 2016-17 campaign, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the Convocation Center for the first time this season Tuesday, Nov. 15, for an 11 a.m. game with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponent Rochester College. The game with the Warriors (9-0) is the first of four matchups for the Eagles (0-2) with NAIA opponents and has been dubbed Future Eagles Day. The Green and White enter the contest following a 91-64 loss at Moody Coliseum, Sunday, Nov. 13, versus Southern Methodist University.

Rochester comes into the contest without losing a regular season contest this year. For the Warriors, Tuesday's game will be considered an exhibition, while Eastern Michigan will look to grab its first win of the season before heading to Indianapolis, Ind. for the subregional round of the 2K Classic this weekend, Nov. 18-19.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Rochester matchup can only be found on ESPN3 this Tuesday. Normally, fans could dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet to the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call this season will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

Following the addition of its own brand new mobile television unit a season ago, all EMU men's and women's basketball games will be streamed live on ESPN3. Ryan Wooley will provide the play-by-play coverage for the ESPN3 broadcast, while Hostetter will step away from the radio and take a seat alongside Wooley for analysis on the broadcast.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE WARRIORS: Tuesday's contest with the Warriors will be the ninth time that Rochester and Eastern Michigan will square off on the hardwood. The Eagles own an 8-0 edge all-time versus RC and look to remain perfect versus the NAIA foe. The last time these two squads met, the Green and White cruised to an 86-58 victory, using a balanced offensive attack from a multitude of Eagles.

James Thomspon IV posted a final stat line of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Willie Mangum IV had a very efficient night from the floor, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from downtown, while Ray Lee chipped in 11 points on the night and Tim Bond narrowly missed a double-double of his own, as he had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a career-best nine rebounds.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE WARRIORS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
3	Paris Pereira	G	Sr.-Sr.	5-10	160	9.4	4.7	4.6	Rochester Hills, Mich.-Rochester
5	Justin Nafso	G	So.-So.	5-10	175	10.2	3.2	4.8	Walled Lake, Mich.-Central
15	Jaylen Larry	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-8	230	14.1	6.7	0.7	Flint, Mich.-Kalamazoo Valley C.C.
22	Cap Wilson	F	Fr.-Fr.	6-6	180	8.3	3.9	0.6	Davison, Mich.-Goodrich
32	Angelo Griffis	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-5	200	20.7	8.6	3.1	Kalamazoo, Mich.-Ferris State

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan dropped its second straight contest to open 2016-17 Sunday, Nov. 13, at Southern Methodist, 91-64. EMU was led by Ray Lee offensively as he scored 26 points, doing a large majority of his legwork at the charity stripe, hitting 14 of his 15 attempts from the free throw line. Willie Mangum IV connected on four three pointers and six field goals overall to grab 16 points in the contest. The Eagles were stymied offensively, hitting just 34 percent of their shots, but did knock down 83.3 percent of their free throw opportunities.

SCORING IN BUNCHES: Redshirt senior Ray Lee has shown why he is one of the top-10 scorers in EMU history over the early portion of the 2016-17 campaign. Lee has scored 27 and 26 points in the Eagles' first two contests, respectively. His average of 26.5 points per game ranks as the second-best in the Mid-American Conference to just Central Michigan's Marcus Keane who notched 32 points in a single game versus IU Kokomo. The next closest MAC student-athlete who has appeared in more than one game is Bowling Green's Wes Alcegaire at 15.5 points per game. Additionally, of players who have competed in two-or-more games, Lee owns the fourth-best scoring average in the country.

ROAD WARRIORS: Eastern Michigan has four of its first five games away from the Convocation Center this season. The last time the Eagles have been on the road in four of the first five was during the 2010-11 campaign when they were on the road for six of their first seven games of the season. In that stretch, that EMU squad went 1-6.

CHARITY CHAMPIONS: A season ago, EMU convert 72.1 percent of its free throw attempts, marking the third-best free throw percentage as a team in Eastern Michigan history. Through the first two games of the season, the 2016-17 Eagles are hitting their free throws at an 83 percent clip which would shatter the EMU all-time record of 72.9 percent.

In addition, EMU's Ray Lee has continued to show his worth at the free throw line in the early goings of this year. The Detroit, Mich. native ranks 10th overall in EMU history for free throws made (377), while also ranking 10th in career free throw percentage (.785). This season, the 6-foot-3 combo guard connected on his first 19 free throw attempts and is 21-for-22 overall at the charity stripe. Lee's 21 free throw makes currently leads NCAA Division I basketball.

CHASING 100: EMU Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy begins his sixth season at the helm of the Eagles' men's basketball program. Over his first five seasons, he has amassed a record of 91-81 for Eastern Michigan. Should Murphy and his 2016-17 squad win nine games this season, the Detroit, Mich. native will become just the fourth coach in Eastern Michigan history to cross the 100-win mark.

AMONG THE ELITE IN EMU SCORING HISTORY: EMU redshirt senior guard Ray Lee put together another stellar offensive season during the 2015-16 campaign. Lee, who led the Eagles in scoring last year (15.1 ppg), has scored 1,471 points in his career. That number ranks him as the 10th-most prolific scorer in Eastern Michigan history. Currently, Kennedy McIntosh is the all-time scoring leader with 2,219 and Earl Boykins is second with 2,211. Lee needs to score 749 more points this year to become EMU's all-time leading scorer.

DOUBLE OT THRILLER: The Eagles' game with Pittsburgh was EMU's first double overtime game since last season when Eastern ended up on the wrong side of an 88-87 decision, Jan. 23, 2016, versus Ball State. The finish of that game was controversial and ended up with three officials being suspended and banned from postseason play due to the final few seconds of the game.

HIGH LEVEL SCORING: Eastern Michigan was able to score 90 points in its 93-90 loss to Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. Those 90 points were the most scored by an Eagle team in a season opening game during the Rob Murphy era. The last time the Green and White posted 90-or-more points in a lid lifter came when they notched 119 in a victory over Marygrove, Nov. 14, 2008.

OT IN MURPHY ERA: Eastern MIchigan has gone to nine overtime games since Rob Murphy took over as head coach of the Eagles prior to the 2011-12 campaign. In those nine games, Murphy's squad has been to three double overtime contests. The Green and White is 3-6 in those nine extra time games.

BOND BLOWS UP: EMU guard Tim Bond put together his best offensive performance as an Eagle Friday versus Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. The junior notched a career-high 21 points, shooting at a 77.8 percent (7-of-9) clip. Additionally, Bond went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Picking up right where he left off a season ago, Bond was no slouch on the defensive end either, swiping the ball from the Panthers' on a pair of occasions and blocking two Pitt shots.

TWO WITH 20-PLUS: A pair of Eagles scored 20-plus points in the season opener at Pitt, Nov. 11. The last time two members of the Eastern squad notched that mark was in the Green and White's double overtime loss to Ball State a year ago. Ty Toney and James Thompson IV each poured in 23 points for EMU in that game.

NOT A NORMAL SCENARIO: The Eagles went to double overtime for the second consecutive season in their matchup with Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. In fact, that is the first time the Green and White had posted two seasons in a row with double overtime contests since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Green and White went to two overtimes with Central Michigan, Jan. 13, 2008, and won, 84-77, before falling, 97-89, in the MAC Tournament to Akron the following season, March 11, 2009.

ON THE HORIZON: Following its Tuesday matchup with Rochester, Eastern Michigan will return to the road for a pair of games in as many days when it heads to Indianapolis, Ind. to finish up the 2K Classic at the subregional, hosted by IUPUI. The Eagles will take on Gardner-Webb Friday, Nov. 18, at noon before squaring off with either IUPUI or Howard depending on how both games shakedown. The winners of each game will take on each other Saturday, Nov. 19, while the losers of each will do the same.

ABOUTH THE 2K CLASSIC: The 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, the nation's premier season-opening college basketball tournament, is celebrating its 21st anniversary this season and returns to Madison Square Garden for the 19th consecutive year. Teams from across the nation will compete with Marquette, Michigan, Pittsburgh and Southern Methodist serving as regional hosts. The remainder of the field includes Eastern Michigan, Garnder-Webb, Howard and IUPUI. IUPUI will host the subregionals, Nov. 18-19, while the Championship Rounds will take place, Nov. 18-20.

EMU PICKED TO WIN THE MAC WEST: After receiving votes from the conference's 12 head coaches and a 24-member media panel, the Mid-American Conference announced Friday, Oct. 28, that the Eastern Michigan men's basketball team was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division for the 2016-17 campaign. The Eagles received 178 total points, which was 20 points more than the next closest in the West. Additionally, the Green and White took home 16 first places votes, while also nabbing three votes to win the 2017 MAC Tournament. In addition, EMU sophomore James Thompson IV was named to the preseason All-MAC West Division Team.

THOMPSON NAMED TO LOU HENSON PRESEASON WATCH LIST: James Thompson IV was selected to the Lou Henson Preseason Player of the Year Award Watch List Wednesday, Nov. 9. The award is annually given out to the best mid-major student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's basketball. Thompson was one of 30 players listed and just one of three from the Mid-American Conference.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER: Eastern Michigan returns quite the offensive arsenal for the 2016-17 campaign. The Green and White bring back its top-four scorers from a year ago and lose just one of its top-six point getters. Ray Lee (15.1 ppg) leads the way, while James Thompson IV (14.8 ppg), Willie Mangum IV (12 ppg) and Ty Toney (11 ppg) each make their return to the squad. Additionally, Tim Bond returns to the lineup after posting 8.8 points per contest. In total, the Eagles bring back 60.7 points per game from a year ago which is good for 78.4 percent of last season's offensive output. Of those 60.7 points per contest, 46 points came from returners in the starting lineup.

THE GUILD OF THIEVES: A year ago, the Eagles were one of the most prolific defensive lineups across the country. The Green and White led the Mid-American Conference in steals (9.5 spg) by over two per game. That number ranked as the third-best in the country, while the Eagles 312 total steals was tied with UNC-Asheville for the third-most. However, the Big South based institution needed an extra game to reach that total.

THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME: The 2016-17 season opener at Pittsburgh marked a first in the Rob Murphy era. It will be the first time since the Detroit, Mich. native took over that the Eagles will begin the season on the road. In each of his first five seasons, the Green and White has began the season within the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. The last time Eastern began the year on the road was during the 2010-11 campaign when Eagles traveled to East Lansing, Mich. to take on the No. 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

KING OF THIEVES: EMU junior guard Tim Bond had one of the best defensive seasons in Eastern Michigan history during the 2015-16 campaign. Bond picked up 67 steals on the season. That number is the third-most in a single season in Eastern Michigan history. He led the MAC in steals at two per game, while he was 29th in the NCAA for that category.

A RECORD YEAR: Eastern Michigan saw a lot of lines filled in the record book by the 2015-16 sqaud. As a team, the Green and White set records for the most free throws made in a season (616), the most steals in a season (312) and the highest steals per game (9.5) average in EMU history. In addition, the 2015-16 squad posted the third-best free throw percentage (72.1 percent), while blocking the sixth-most shots (123), knocking down the seventh-most three pointers (187) and scoring the seventh-most points (2,533) in the history of the Eastern Michigan program.

THOMPSON NAMED MAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: The Mid-American Conference announced, March 8, that freshman James Thompson IV was named the MAC's Freshman of the Year in a landslide. Thompson earned 33 of a possible 38 first place votes on his way to becoming the first member of the EMU basketball program to earn the award since Lorenzo Neely was named the conference's best freshman back in 1988. In addition, the Baton Rouge, La. native became just the second Eastern Michigan student-athlete to earn the award.

Thompson averaged 14.7 points per game, good for 11th in the league, while leading the conference in rebounds at 10.7 per contest. Thompson connected on 64.5 percent of his field goal opportunities which was the highest mark in the conference, while his 47 blocks was the third-highest total in the MAC. The 6-foot-10 center corralled 352 total rebounds last year which was the third-most in a single season in EMU history, while his field goal percentage ranked second-best in a single campaign.

FOR THE 119th TIME: The EMU men's basketball team kicked off its 119th season of competition, Friday, Nov. 11, when the Eagles travel to Pittsburgh. Eastern played its first season in 1897-98 and split games with Detroit.

THREE EAGLES EARN CONFERENCE HONORS: Along with being named the MAC Freshman of the Year, Eastern center James Thompson IV earned Second Team All-MAC honors, while Ray Lee garnered honorable mention accolades. Additionally, Tim Bond was named to the MAC's inaugural All-Defensive team following the 2015-16 regular season.

It was the second consecutive season that Lee earned postseason accolades from the MAC. The Detroit, Mich. native averaged 15.1 points per game, good for 10th in the conference, while connecting on 82.1 percent of his free throw attempts, which was the fourth-best mark in the MAC. Additionally, Lee was strong on the defensive end for EMU, posting 1.3 steals per contest, marking the 8th most in the MAC.

Bond earned all-defensive team accolades following an exceptional season for the Green and White. The sophomore led the Mid-American Conference in steals at 2.0 per game and 67 in total. The 67 steals cemented Bond's spot in the EMU record book with the third-most in a single season. On the year, the sophomore recorded a steal in all but two games, and versus Toledo, March 4, Bond swiped the ball on eight occasions, which tied for the second most in a game in EMU history.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: A year ago we saw then-freshman James Thompson IV lead the Eagles in points scored, rebounding and field goal percentage. Thompson's 490 points scored surpassed Ray Lee's 380 for the most points scored by a freshman in Eastern Michigan history. In addition, Thompson pulled down 352 rebounds, good for the third-best total in a single season at EMU. Finally, his 64.5 field goal percentage ranks second all-time in single season history for Eastern and if the Baton Rouge, La. native can keep that pace through his career, he will hold the all-time career record at EMU. After one season donning the Green and White, Thompson has already placed himself inside the top-100 in EMU history for both rebounding and scoring. The 6-foot-10 front-court player begins the 2016-17 season 98th on the all-time scoring list and 51st on the rebounding list.

EAGLES ALREADY TABBED FOR TV: EMU men's basketball has already been scheduled to appear on the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Network when it travels to Pittsburgh to open the 2016-17 campaign, Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. Additionally, the Eagles are scheduled to appear live on ESPNU versus Syracuse, Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. In Mid-American Conference play, the Green and White will take on Bowling Green, Jan. 10, which can be seen on the American Sports Network (ASN) at 7 p.m., while the EMU matchup at Toledo, Feb. 7, will air on the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN),at 7 p.m. In addition to these contests appearing live on their respective television channels, each of these games will also be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

MAC AND BIG TEN TO TEST REPLAY: The NCAA approved an experimental rule allowing Big Ten and MAC officials to use instant replay within the restricted arc for the 2016-17 season. This is the first-ever NCAA rule that will allow coaches to initiate replay in college basketball. The rule can be used when an official thinks an incorrect call was made on the block/charge or if a coach appeals for a review on the call. Should the coach's appeal be incorrect, the team will be charged a timeout. The rule is only used in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime. Additionally, it can only be applied to determine whether a defensive player was inside or outside of the restricted arc on a block/charge call.

THE EAGLES IN LID LIFTERS: Eastern Michigan has played 119 seasons to this point in the university's existence. The Eagles are 70-49 in those 119 season opening games. The Green and White's first campaign was in 1897-88 when they dropped a contest to Detroit. EMU did not win a season opener until its third year, 1899-1900.

NEW FACES ON THE FLOOR: Despite losing just two seniors from a season ago, the Eagles have seven new additions to this season's squad, three of which are coming off of redshirts from a season ago. Quaran Jones, Nick Madray and Lamar Wofford-Humphrey sat out a season ago, but will see their first action donning the Green and White this year. In addition, freshman Jalen Brown will join the Eagles, while sophomore Baylee Steele has transferred from Des Moines Area Community College to compete for Eastern Michigan. Additionally, Terry Harris, Paul Jackson and Elijah Minnie will sit out the 2016-17 season after transferring from NCAA Division I schools.

43rd MAC SEASON: The 2016-17 season will be the 43rd for the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference. The first year of MAC play for EMU was 1974-75 when the then-Hurons went 12-14 and 4-9 in league play.

Eastern has won three Mid-American Conference championships: 1987-88, 1990-91 and 1995-96. The Green and White captured MAC Tournament crowns in all three of those seasons, in addition to winning the tournament title in 1997-98.

MURPHY VERSUS NON-DI OPPONENTS: Although it comes as no surprise, EMU Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy has led the Eagles to a cool 15-0 record in both exhibition and regular season games against non-NCAA Division I opponents during his tenure.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, head coach Rob Murphy has shown sustained success versus other NCAA Division I mid-major programs. Over the last four seasons, Murphy holds a 23-11 record versus mid-majors in non-conference matchups. The last three seasons, Murphy is 16-4 against other mid-major programs outside of the MAC

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Jalen Brown

Terry Harris

Paul Jackson

Quaran Jones

Ray Lee

Nick Madray

Willie Mangum IV

Elijah Minnie

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Lamar Wofford-Humphrey

Eastern Michigan Athletics