Eagles Host Buffalo in MAC Cross-Divisional Matchup

Men's Basketball vs. Buffalo
Date	Saturday, Jan. 7 \| 2:30 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (7,784)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| UB Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Riding a three-game winning streak, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 7, when it squares off with the University at Buffalo at the Convocation Center. The contest between the Eagles (9-5, 1-0 MAC) and Bulls (6-8, 0-1 MAC) will begin no earlier than 2:30 p.m. but could be delayed, as it is the second leg of a doubleheader at the Convo. The EMU women's team will take on Kent State at noon to begin the #MACtion on Saturday.

The Green and White come into its second Mid-American Conference tilt following an 85-63 victory over Central Michigan, Jan. 3. Despite a slow start offensively, the Eagles got the offense going, scoring 51 second-half points to cruise to a victory in their MAC opener. For Buffalo, the Bulls are coming off of an 86-54 setback to Toledo in their first conference matchup.

BEER TASTING DAY: For only $15, receive a game ticket, a customized EMU pint glass, and three sample beers at the women's & men's doubleheader Saturday, Jan. 7. The tasting begins at halftime of the Women's game (noon tip-off) and runs through halftime of the Men's game (2:30 p.m. tip-off). Call 734.487.2282 to reserve your package.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Buffalo matchup will have both audio and video on Saturday afternoon. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet at WEMU.org to hear 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 EMU Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner will be alongside Wooley for analysis.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE BULLS: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Buffalo by just a pair of games, 11-13. EMU split the two contests between the programs a season ago. The Green and White defeated Buffalo at home, 81-69, Jan. 12, before falling, 80-70, at Alumni Arena, Feb. 6.

A year ago, the Eagles had four student-athletes put forth double-digit scoring performances to help the Green and White to the 81-69 victory in its MAC home opener, Jan. 12. Ty Toney led the way, scoring 17 points, while James Thompson IV grabbed the ninth double-double of his 2015-16 campaign. In the loss at Buffalo, Thompson again recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while four other Eagles managed double-digit scoring affairs in the 80-70 setback, Feb 6. Despite leading by as many as 15 in the game, Eastern Michigan was unable to maintain the lead in the loss.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE BULLS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Blake Hamilton	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-4	205	16.6	6.1	3.6	Pasadena, Calif.-Mt. San Antonio
2	Willie Conner	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-5	200	13.5	1.7	1.5	Chicago, Ill.-Odessa C.C.
5	CJ Massinburg	G	So.-So.	6-3	170	12.3	3.2	3.3	Dallas, Texas-South Oak Cliff
33	Nick Perkins	F	So.-So.	6-8	225	13.6	6.7	0.6	Ypsilanti, Mich.-Milan
34	Ikenna Smart	F	So.-So.	6-10	225	4.2	3.8	0.3	Umuahia, Nigeria-New Garden Friends

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan won its third game in a row Tuesday, Jan. 3, when it dispatched of Central Michigan at the Convocation Center. The Eagles knocked off the Chippewas, 85-63, in their Mid-American Conference opener.

Baylee Steele had a career game, finishing with a final stat line of 18 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were career-bests, securing his first double-double since joining Eastern Michigan. James Thompson IV matched Steele's stat line with 18 and 10, including a perfect six-of-six from the free throw line. Jordan Nobles continued his strong streak of games, posting 13 points and nine rebounds. Finally, Tim Bond and Willie Mangum IV chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

BULLS ON PARADE: The Buffalo squad comes into Saturday afternoon's game after dropping six of its last eight games. A large part of those woes are the struggles holding on to the ball. Buffalo posts a -3.4 turnover margin which ranks 331st in the country, while their 15.7 turnovers per game marks the 321st-most in the nation. In what they lack in ball security, they make up for by cleaning up the glass. The Bulls average 40 rebounds per contest, which is 39th in the country and individually, they rely on Blake Hamilton, who is a do-it-all type of guard. Hamilton leads Buffalo in scoring at 16.6 points per game, while pulling down 6.1 rebounds and dishing out 3.6 assists per contest in his senior season.

SURPASSING THE CENTURY MARK: With the Eagles' 85-63 win over CMU, Jan. 3, Head Coach Rob Murphy picked up his 100th career win as the bench boss at Eastern Michigan. Murphy became just the fourth head coach in EMU history to surpass the 100-win mark and the first since Ben Braun (1986-96) during the 1991-92 season. Braun owns 185 wins, which is the most in Eastern history.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Following their victory over CMU, the Eagles are looking to begin the Mid-American Conference schedule with two-straight victories for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign. Despite winning seven MAC openers during the 17-year span, the Green and White have yet to notch two wins in a row to start conference action.

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: EMU's Tim Bond was highlighted on ESPN's SportsCenter following Tuesday's 85-63 win over Central Michigan for his thunderous dunk in the second half. The play was named the second-best play of the night according to the SportsCenter Top 10. Bond's dunk marks the fourth straight season that the Eagles have been featured on the ESPN flagship program. In 2013-14, Glenn Bryant put down a "Top 10" dunk versus Western Michigan. During the 2014-15 campaign, Karrington Ward earned the number one spot on the "Top 10" with a high flying throw down versus Oakland, while just last year, Ray Lee earned a spot as Scott Van Pelt's "Best Thing I Saw Today" segment after lighting it up for 46 points versus Miami.

MAN OF STEELE: Sophomore center Baylee Steele put together a Superman like performance in the Eagles' victory over Central Michigan, Jan. 3. The Norwalk, Iowa native erupted for the first double-double of his career against the Chippewas, notching a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 junior college transfer connected on 8-of-10 shots before receiving a hero's ovation from the crowd after fouling out of the game.

EMU OFFENSE ROLLING: Despite being predicated on the patented 2-3 zone defense, the EMU offense has proven to be something special. Averaging 84.9 points per game, the Green and White have a top-20 scoring offense in the country. Not only is that the best offensive output during the Rob Murphy era, but should that average remain, the 2016-17 Eagles will have the fifth-most efficient offense in EMU history. Additionally, it would be the best scoring average for an Eastern Michigan team since the 1967-68 team posted 87.6 points per game.

SHARING THE SUGAR: With the EMU offense rolling along this season, the Eagles' assist numbers are up as well. Averaging 14.6 assists per game, the Green and White is on its way to posting 453 assists in the regular season alone. That number would rank ninth all-time by a team in EMU single season history. The last team to post a higher assist per game average than the 2016-17 squad was the 2002-03 team which posted 15.1 helpers per contest.

MANGUM FOR THREE: Eastern Michigan senior guard Willie Mangum IV has become well known for his success from the long line. This season, the Richmond, Va. native has connected on at least one three-pointer in each of the Eagles' 14 games, while also notching two-or-more in 10. Currently, Mangum leads the Green and White in scoring at 16.7 points per contest, while also ranking fourth in the Mid-American Conference at 2.9 three-point makes per contest.

LEE LIGHTS IT UP: Redshirt senior guard Ray Lee came into his final season donning the Green and White as one of the top scorers all-time in EMU history and the Detroit, Mich. native has continued that trend. Although he is not leading the Eagles in scoring, he is averaging 15.8 points per game. What is more impressive is that he has notched double-digit scoring marks in 10-of-13 games played and has notched 20-or-more in seven contests this season.

NOBLES KNOCKING IT OUT: Redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles has put together six-straight games with impressive numbers. The Canton, Mich. native has averaged 12.2 points per game, while grabbing 7.2 rebounds per contest over that span. He has notched double-digit scoring performances in five of those six games, while adding 10-or-mpore rebounds in a pair of contests during that stretch. Against Long Beach State, Nobles scored a career-best 15 points, while dishing out a career-high six assists. Additionally, the 6-foot-9 forward has shot 61.4 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent from the chartiy stripe during the current six-game span.

BEST IN SHOW: Eastern Michigan has become one of the dominant teams in the Mid-American Conference in multiple categories. Find the updated stats on page five on the EMU game notes here.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Eastern Michigan has become known as one of the most active teams defensively and the numbers back up that claim. The Eagles have racked up a total of 162 steals this season, which ranks as the third-most in the NCAA as of Jan. 4. Additionally, their average of 11.6 steals per game are the second-best in the nation.

Individually, the Green and White boast four student-athletes who average one-or-more steal per contest, including Tim Bond, Ray Lee, Willie Mangum IV, and Ty Toney. Bond, Lee, Mangum and Toney make up four of the top-six spots in the Mid-American Conference. Bond leads the MAC with 2.3 steals per game while Mangum takes second in the league (2.1 spg), Toney is third (two spg) and Lee is in sixth with 1.8 swipes per contest.

STREAKING AT THE CONVO: In the metaphorical sense, the Eagles have been streaking at the Convo, winning its last 14 contests in their home building. Eastern's home win streak dates back to Feb. 2, 2016, when it posted a 25-point, 94-69, win over Miami. Since that win, the Eagles have a perfect record at home. That number is tied as the NCAA's 11th-best winning streak inside a team's home building, while Kansas leads that category with 50-straight victories at Allen Fieldhouse. Akron is the only Mid-American Conference member that has a longer home winning streak with 24 victories in a row at James A. Rhodes Arena, good for third nationally.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: EMU sophomore James Thomspon IV has proven to be one of the premier frontcourt players in the Mid-American Conference and country through his short time at Eastern Michigan. The Baton Rouge, La. native has racked up 27 double-doubles in 46 games donning the Green and White. That number is tied with E-Club Hall of Famer Earle Higgins as the sixth-most double-doubles recorded in EMU history. The 6-foot-10 forward needs five more double-doubles to catch another E-Club Hall of Fame member, John Bowler, who notched 32 double-doubles in his career at Eastern Michigan.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: This season, Eastern Michigan has won the turnover battle in all but three contests. Additionally, the Green and White have forced more than 15 turnovers in 11 of the Eagles' 14 games this season. In total, EMU owns a +6.2 turnover margin, good for the fourth-best in the NCAA. As a team, Eastern Michigan turns the ball over just 12.6 times per contest, while forcing the opposition into 18.9 per game.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Saturday afternoon contest with Buffalo, the Eagles hit the road to continue Mid-American Conference action Tuesday, Jan. 10. Eastern Michigan will travel to Bowling Green for a 7 p.m. contest at the Stroh Center. The game can be seen live on the American Sports Network (ASN) or ESPN3.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Jordan Nobles

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics