EMU Hosts Northern Illinois in First Round MAC Tournament Game

Men's Basketball vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Tournament First Round)
Date	Monday, March 6 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (7,784)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| Toledo Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- For the sixth consecutive season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will be hosting a first round Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament game at the Convocation Center. The Eagles (15-16, 7-11 MAC) will hold the No. 8 seed and welcome in the No 9 seed Northern Illinois University Monday night, March 6. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

The Green and White heads into the game with the Huskies (15-16, 7-11 MAC) following a 60-56 setback to Toledo, Feb. 28, in the regular season finale. That loss marked the second to UT in as many games this season.

Northern Illinois travels to Ypsilanti after dropping three in a row to finish the 2016-17 regular season. Most recently, the Huskies fell in a tight, 87-82, decision on the road in Muncie.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Northern Illinois matchup will have both audio and video on Monday night. Fan 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. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

In addition to the WEMU broadcast, EMU basketball fans can catch all of this season's action on ESPN3. Ryan Wooley will handle the play-by-play duties for the Eastern Michigan versus Northern contest, while Sean Hostetter will step away from his normal radio duties and join Wooley on the call for the MAC Tournament first round game.

ALL-TIME VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Eagles trail in the series with Northern Illinois, as Eastern looks at a tally of 53-41 in favor of the Huskies. Recent history shows that Northern Illinois has had its struggles versus the Eagles. EMU has won 11 of the last 17 games between the two MAC West Division squads.

The Eagles and Huskies hit the floor for the third time this season on Monday night. The two squads have split their two games this year. Each team won on their home court. Most recently, Eastern defeated NIU, 84-68, at home just 10 days prior to the MAC Tournament game. The win over Northern Illinois on Feb. 25 snapped a seven-game losing streak for EMU. Both Ray Lee and Willie Mangum IV grabbed 20-plus point performances, while James Thompson IV notched another double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Thompson went 9-of-11 from the free throw line as well.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE HUSKIES...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
3	Dontel Highsmith	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-2	200	7.1	2.5	1.5	Dowagiac, Mich.-Dowagiac
10	Eugene German	G	Fr.-Fr.	6-0	165	9.0	1.3	0.9	Gary, Ind.-21st Century Charter
23	Aaric Armstead	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-5	195	8.8	5.8	1.6	Chicago, Ill.-La Jolla Prep
34	Marin Maric	C	Sr.-Sr.	6-11	250	14.1	8.1	0.8	Split, Croatia-La Lumiere School
42	Levi Bradley	G/F	So.-So.	6-7	210	8.5	4.1	0.8	Milwaukee, Wis.-Pius XI

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan hosted Toledo, March 3, for Senior Night and the 2016-17 regular season finale. The Eagles dropped a 60-56 decision at the hands of the Rockets, but were able to hold the No. 8 seed in the MAC Tournament.

In the loss, EMU finished the game 23-of-61 (37.7 percent) from the floor, sinking four three-pointers. Eastern controlled the offensive boards to the tune of 11-8, while also winning the battle in the paint, 38-36. Additionally, the Eagles forced 13 Toledo turnovers, turning those into eight steals and 10 points off turnovers. Four Eagles finished in double figures, led by Ray Lee, who totaled 14 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Adding 11 each were Tim Bond and Ty Toney, with Bond also adding six boards, three assists, and two steals. Finally, James Thompson IV notched his 37th career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Although they're not the most potent offense in the league (72.3 ppg), ranking second to last in the MAC, the Huskies make up for their struggles on the defensive end. Northern Illinois leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 70.6 points per game. Additionally, NIU is one of the better rebounding teams in the league, outrebounding its opponents by 2.9 per game. Additionally, NIU's 7.2 steals per contest also ranks as the second-most behind EMU. The Huskies' center, Marin Maric, is a top-tier big man in the MAC, averaging a team-best 14.1 points per game, while also leading the way for Northern Illinois on the glass with 8.1 rebounds per contest.

KEEPING IT IN HOUSE: Eastern Michigan has had the luxury of finishing in the top-eight of the conference since Rob Murphy arrived as the head coach. Since taking over, Murphy has guided his team to a top-eight seed in each of the six years he's been in charge. After winning the MAC West Championship in 2012, Murphy's squad was the No. 5 seed and in 2013 the Green and White held the No. 7 seed. In 2013-14, the Eagles finished as sixth-best in the conference before claiming the No. 8 seed the last three seasons.

MURPHY IN THE MAC TOURNEY: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, Rob Murphy has taken his squad to at least the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in each of the last five seasons. Overall, in his six seasons at the helm, Murphy owns an 8-5 record in MAC Tournament games, while he made his way to semifinal round of the tournament during the 2013-14 season, which was the farthest an EMU team had gone in the tournament since the 1997-98 campaign. Eastern Michigan holds an all-time record of 30-31 since the MAC Tournament's inception.

TOURNAMENT TIME AT THE CONVO: Currently the Eagles have hosted seven MAC Tournament games at the EMU Convocation Center. In those seven contests, Eastern holds a record of 5-2, winning the last four. Under Rob Murphy, the Eagles have hosted six games for the first round. In those six games, EMU has taken on Northern Illinois three times, holding a 2-1 record versus NIU.

GOING FOR NUMBER FOUR: The Eagles have won four MAC Tournament titles since its inception during the 1979-80 season. The most recent title came during the 1997-98 season when the Eagles went into the MAC Tournament after finishing the regular season as the third place team in the West Division, similar to this season. The Milton Barnes coached squad knocked off Miami in the championship game, 92-77. That team fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

STAT YOU VERY MUCH: For the eighth consecutive season the EMU Athletic Media Relations Office will be called upon to serve as the official statistics crew of the 2014 MAC Tournament. Under the direction of Greg Steiner, the office worked the 2010-17 tournament logging more than 60 hours over a four day span at Quicken Loans Arena. The office has also worked as the stat crew for the past six Marathon MAC Football Championship games and the previous seven MAC Baseball Tournaments. The this year's MAC basketball crew consists of Greg Steiner, Sean Hostetter, Chris Puzzuoli, Katie Gonzales, Mark Panhorst, Dan Whitaker and Ken Dewey.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: Junior guard Tim Bond has emerged as one of the best pick pockets in the country, in addition to the best in the Mid-American Conference. The Baltimore, Md. native has a solid chance at being named as the 2017 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Bond leads the leads the league in steals, while he also averages nearly a block per game.

MAC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE: Senior guard Willie Mangum IV has emerged as one of the best three-point threats in the Mid-American Conference. The Baltimore, Md. native has a solid chance at being named as the 2017 MAC Sixth Man of the Year. Mangum leads the Eastern Michigan squad at 16 points per game and has appeared in all 31 for the Eagles. Starting just seven games this year, the Richmond, Va. native is 10th in scoring in the MAC while averaging three triples per game, good for the second best in the league. Additionally, he is eighth in the Mid-American Conference in steals per game at 1.5.

TAKING HOME THE MAC TROPHY: With their 109-81 victory at Central Michigan, the EMU men's basketball team locked up the Michigan MAC Trophy for the first time since its inception in 2006. Prior to Eastern winning the trophy this season, the Eagles saw WMU come away with the trophy 11 times, while CMU has held the hardware on four occasions.

MR. LEE DROPPING 50: It was a historic night for EMU men's basketball and redshirt senior Ray Lee in the Eagles' 109-81 win at CMU, Feb. 28. The Detroit, Mich. native not only led the Green and White to its first ever Michigan MAC Trophy in men's basketball, but he poured in a record breaking 50 point performance in the win. The 50 points were the most scored by an EMU student-athlete in single game history, while he also connected on 10 triples, which marked the most in a single game as well. Lee went 17-of-26 from the floor, recording a tie for the fourth-most field goal makes in a game, while his 26 shot attempts were tied for the second-most (since 1998-99). Additionally, his 65.4 shooting percentage in the contest was the sixth-best in a game for an EMU student-athlete since 1998-99.

The 50 point performance has added to his tear as of late. After scoring 24 points versus Ball State, Jan. 24, Lee had struggled, scoring in single digits for six-straight games. However, over the last four, Lee has turned up the offensive firepower, scoring 20-plus points in each. At Western Michigan, Lee notched 27, before re-entering the starting lineup and recording 22 and 21 points in back-to-back games. Finally we saw the historic game versus CMU. Over the last four games, Lee is averaging 30 points per game and shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and 52.6 percent from beyond the arc. He has been no slouch in other departments either, posting 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and two steals per game over that span as well.

MANGUM MAKES HISTORY: With his five three-pointers in the EMU win over Central Michigan, senior Willie Mangum IV etched his name in the Eastern Michigan history books as one of the best three-point shooters of all-time. The Richmond, Va. native broke the single season three-point record by notching his 91st three point make during the 2016-17 campaign. Mangum's five threes moved him past Carl Thomas' (1990-91) single season previous three point record of 89 for the most in at Eastern Michigan history. As of now, Mangum has 92 triples for his career.

Although Mangum has already broken the single season three-point record for Eastern Michigan with 91 triples made this year, the 6-foot-1 combo guard is also on pace to become one of the top long ball chuckers in EMU laurels. With157 career three-point makes, Mangum ranks ninth on the career list. Additionally, Mangum is shooting at a 37.1 percent clip from beyond the arc for his career. That number ranks ninth for any EMU men's basketball student-athlete.

DUAL GUARD SHOW: EMU's senior guards Ray Lee and Willie Mangum have teamed up to showcase the EMU offense over the last four games. Both have had back-to-back-to-back 20-plus point performances and have been lights out shooting from three. In the last four games, the duo has combined for 187 points and 38 three-point field goal makes. The two guards have shot a combined 47.5 percent from the floor, while scorching the nets from beyond the arc, notching a 48.1 three point field goal percentage over the last two games.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Monday evening game, should the Eagles come away victorious, the regular season MAC Champion Zips of Akron will be waiting in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. The No. 1-seeded Zips will square off with the winner of the Eastern Michigan versus Northern Illinois game at Noon at the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Quicken Loans Arena, March 9.

EMU Hosts Northern Illinois in First Round MAC Tournament Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics

EMU Hosts Northern Illinois in First Round MAC Tournament Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

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