Battle of the Birds in Oxford

Men's Basketball at Miami
Date	Saturday, Jan. 27 \| 3:30 p.m.
Venue	Oxford, Ohio \| Millett Hall (6,400)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Looking to snap a two-game skid, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team remains on the road Saturday, Jan. 27, with a trip south to Miami University. The Mid-American Conference cross-divisional affair is the second leg of a doubleheader at venerable Millett Hall and is expected to begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.
   The Eagles (11-9, 2-5 MAC) could not overcome a 22-point first half deficit handed to them in an 83-69 setback at MAC East leader Buffalo, Jan. 23. Meanwhile, the RedHawks have rolled off back-to-back victories to improve to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in the league following a 70-61 victory at Central Michigan, Jan. 23.
   As always, fans can watch Saturday's contest on ESPN3 as a part of the campus connection initiative, or catch Chad Bush's perspective on WEMU (89.1 FM).

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 53 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 73 points away from becoming the 31st player in EMU's history to join the 1,000 point club.
   Thompson became the 30th Eagle to eclipse the 1,000 point threshold earlier this season, and would become just the third player all-time to join the exclusive 1,000 point, 1,000 rebound club. Only all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry (2006-11) hold spots in both 1,000 clubs.

COLDER THAN BUFFALO: In the 83-69 setback at Buffalo, Jan. 23, the Eagles went ice cold from the field. EMU was held without a field goal for 11 straight minutes before half, as UB went on a 28-4 run to put the game away before halftime. Despite outscoring the Bulls, 52-44, in the second half, EMU could not recover from the extreme deficit.

AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.2) and blocks per game (6.1). EMU is the only team in the NCAA that is ranked in the top nine in both categories.     The Eagles are also in the top three in team field goal percentage (2nd - .466), defensive field goal percentage (2nd - .416), and scoring defense (3rd - 70.2).
   Individually, James Thompson IV leads five categories (double-doubles, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, total rebounds, and field goal percentage), while also being in the top four in blocks per game. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks ninth in scoring with an average of 15.9 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.7 average, and third in free throw shooting at 85.5 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.5) and eighth in scoring (15.9).

THOMPSON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior James Thompson IV is among the upper-echelon of big men in all of college basketball. Not only does he rank second nationally in rebounds per game (11.9), he's also sixth in double-doubles (13) and fifth in field goal percentage (67.8).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the NCAA Division I active career leader in rebound average at 11.1 caroms per game, while he is fifth in career rebounds (947), trailing four seniors.

WAY TO GO, PAUL: Paul Jackson led EMU's comeback effort against Buffalo with an electric second half performance, Jan. 23. Jackson scored all 20 of his points in the final half, going 7-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-7 from distance. The Stone Mountain, Ga. product is the first Eagle to score 20-or-more in the final half of play since Ray Lee dropped 24 points at Central Michigan, Feb. 28, 2017.
   Jackson has established himself as one of the top point guards in the Mid-American Conference, currently sitting in second in the league with a 4.5 assists per game average. He has had four or more assists in 15 of Eastern's 20 games and has poured in double-digit scoring efforts in 18 of the 20 EMU contests.

SECOND HALF SCORING: Eastern Michigan put up 52 points in the second half at Buffalo, Jan. 23, marking the fourth time this season the Green and White have scored 50-or-more in a period. EMU notched 52 in the second frame of its season opener against Spring Arbor, Nov. 10, 53 at home against Oakland, Dec. 6, and 50 in the final 20 minutes of play at Oakland, Dec. 22.

FROM DOWNTOWN: Rob Murphy's team is well-known for its tenacious 2-3 zone defense, however, in EMU's setback at UB, Jan. 23, the Eagles showed off their three-point shooting ability. The Green and White tied a season-high with 11 triples, registering 10+ three-pointers for the fourth time this season, while pushing its season total to 136 makes. EMU's four games with double-digit threes are the most in the Murphy era, as well as the most since recording 10-or-more treys five times during the 2010-11 season. Additionally, with an average of 6.8 threes a game, Eastern Michigan is on pace for 218 three-ball's, the most since making 230 in the 2014-15 campaign.

THOMPSON BULLYING MU: In two career games against Miami, junior James Thompson IV has put up some gaudy numbers. The big man is averaging 20.5 points and 14 rebounds in two career games, including a 26 point, 20 rebound performance last season, the first 20-20 game since Kareem Carpenter went for 20 points and 26 rebounds against Central Michigan inside Bowen Field House, Jan 14, 1995.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MIAMI: EMU and Miami have met 74 times in their respective histories, with MU leading in the all-time series, 48-26. Recent history shows that the Green and White has the RedHawks' number though, as Eastern has won four in-a-row and six of the last eight contests in the series. Last season, the Eagles knocked off Miami in Millett Hall for the first time since 1996 with a commanding 74-57 victory, Jan. 28, 2017.

LAST SEASON IN OXFORD: Last year, Eastern Michigan went into Millett Hall and defeated the RedHawks, 74-57, Jan. 24, 2017. It was the first win inside of Millett Hall for EMU since the 1995-96 campaign and its first in 12 tries. The RedHawks had no response for James Thompson IV, as the big man had 26 points and 20 rebounds. Joining Thompson in double figures was Tim Bond who had 10 points, while also adding a game-high seven assists, six steals, and two blocks, while Jordan Nobles led EMU in blocks with a career-high four.

ROAD WOES: The Eagles have struggled on the road thus far, amassing a record of 2-7 while falling in both away MAC contests this season. EMU is averaging more than 10 points less on the road than at home, notching an average of just 69.2 points per game while wearing the green jerseys.

ELITE COMPANY FOR MR. BOND: With Tim Bond's first steal against Ohio, Jan. 20, he became just the second player in EMU history to tally 200 steals in their career. Bond, who trails only Earl Boykins, needs just 18 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
   Bond currently has 50 steals on the year with an average of 2.5 per game, which ranks second in the conference. The tally also puts him on pace for 80 to surpass Lorenzo Neely, who holds the EMU single-season record for steals with 78 in the 1988-89 season.

I'LL TAKE THAT: After leading the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.6) last year, Eastern has continued that trend, currently averaging a conference-high 9.2 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.50 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 184 thefts thus far.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU returns home Tuesday, Jan. 30, to host rival Western Michigan at 7 p.m. The Glow Night contest will feature free glow in the dark t-shirts, necklaces and brackets for fans.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

Jordan Nobles

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics