EMU Hoops Hopes to Bounce Back Against Central on Tuesday

Men's Basketball vs. Central Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 9 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,783)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team looks end its losing skid and pick up its first Mid-American Conference victory Tuesday, Jan. 9 when it welcomes Central Michigan University to the Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. game.
   Fans can watch Wednesday's game on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Greg Steiner (analyst) on the call. Chad Bush will handle the broadcast duties for WEMU, joined by Kyler Ludlow as analyst.

SECOND HALF SWOON: In the Eagles' previous two losses, the second half has been the achilles' heel. Eastern is allowing opponents to shoot .500 (28-of-56) from the floor on the defensive end in the second stanza after holding opponents to a .379 (22-of-58) mark from the floor in the first half.
   The damage doesn't end there, however, as Eastern Michigan also sees its own production dip in the second half. After shooting .421 (24-of-57) from the floor in the first half, the Green and White are averaging just .370 (20-of-54) in the second.

ALL TIME VS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Eagles are 94-100 all-time against the Chippewas, with EMU winning four straight match ups with CMU. The Green and White are averaging an eye-popping 91 points per game against Central during that four-game span. Eastern won both meetings in the 2016-17 season, outscoring the Chips by an average of 25 points in the two contests. They won in the Convo, Jan. 3, by an 85-63 final, and picked up the road win Feb. 28, 109-81.
   Both teams come in to the night's game after losing in Mid-American Conference play on Saturday. The Eagles lost their first home game of the season to Bowling Green in overtime, 75-71, while the Chippewas traveled to Kent State and fell by a final score of 85-69.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 115 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 116 points away from becoming the 31st player to don the Green and White and 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.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 85 of its 110 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball, and have started the 2017-18 season 7-1 in the friendly confines of the Convo. The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage since the doors opened on the Convocation Center during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White have won 60 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 177-116 all-time mark.

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 9.7 steals per game through its first 15 contests. Led by Tim Bond's 2.6 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top six in average steals per game, totaling 146 thefts thus far.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern dropped its Mid-American Conference home opener in heartbreaking fashion, falling 75-71 in overtime to Bowling Green State University Saturday, Jan. 6, inside the Convocation Center.
   The Eagles (9-6, 0-2 MAC) erased a late four-point deficit to force the extra session and had the ball and an opportunity to win the game on the final possession of regulation. Eastern fell victim to a shot clock violation, however, and the Falcons (10-5, 1-1 MAC) rode the momentum in the extra session, as EMU fell for the first time this season inside the Convocation Center.
   Redshirt junior Paul Jackson paced the Eagles with 21 points and five assists, while pulling down four rebounds. James Thompson IV played all 45 minutes and recorded his 10th double-double of the campaign, tallying 14 points to go with a team-best 14 boards. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of steals, while senior Tim Bond added 16 points and was one of four Eagles with at least two assists.
   EMU shot 40 percent from the floor, connecting on 22-of-55 field goal attempts, including 9-of-25 from beyond the arc. BGSU had a slim advantage on the offensive end, shooting at a 41.3 percent clip on 26-of-63 shooting. EMU out-blocked BGSU, 5-2, but the Falcons narrowly out-rebounded the Eagles, 38-37.

AMONG THE LEADING LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.7), blocks per game (5.9), and team field goal percentage (.468). The Eagles are also in the top three in turnover margin (2nd - +2.5) scoring margin (2nd - +5.9), scoring defense (3rd - 70.2), and defensive field goal percentage (2nd - .418).
   Individually, James Thompson IV leads five categories (double-doubles, defensive rebound avg., offensive rebound avg., total rebound avg., and field goal percentage), while also being in the top five in blocks per game. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks eighth in scoring with an average of 17.0 per game, and leads the MAC in free throw shooting with a 89.2 percentage. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.7) and 10th in scoring (16.3).

DOMINATING DEFENSIVE DUO: Both the men's and women's basketball teams at Eastern Michigan have become known for their stifling defense over the years. In fact, the stout defensive play of seniors Tim Bond and Sasha Dailey puts the pair in limited company across the country.
EMU is the only school in the nation to have players ranked inside the country's top-16 in steals and steals per game for both men's and women's basketball. Bond is 11th in steals per game (2.6) and 13th in total steals with 39, while Dailey is ranked 12th in steals per game (3.43) and 16th in steals (48).

(NOT) SORRY MR. JACKSON: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson has established himself as one of the top point guards in the Mid-American Conference, averaging 16.3 points per contest as well as leading the team with 4.7 assists per game on the season. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native is currently second in the MAC in assists per game, sixth in steals per game, and 10th in scoring average.

JAMES THOMPSON IV IS GOOD: Junior James Thompson IV, who comes into the game averaging 15.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest, picked up his Mid-American Conference-leading 10th double-double of the season with a 14-point, 14-rebound performance in the Eagles' loss against Bowling Green.
   Thompson IV was named MAC West Division Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 17 after he registered his ninth double-double in 10 games against Long Beach State, Dec. 16. The Baton Rouge, La. native scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while shooting 9-of-12 (.750) from the floor and adding two blocks and a steal in the Eagles' 85-80 road victory.

LIKE, REALLY, REALLY GOOD: Thompson is among the upper-echelon of big men in all of college basketball. Not only does he rank fourth in rebounds per game (11.7), he's also sixth in double-doubles (10), and is 11th in field goal percentage (65.7).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the national leader in rebound average for a career (11.1 rebounds per game), and is fifth in NCAA Division I in career rebounds (885), trailing four seniors.

MINNIE STAYS HOT: With his 15-point performance against Bowling Green, Jan. 6, Elijah Minnie has scored double-digits in 13 out of the 15 Eagles' games this season. He currently ranks eighth in the conference in scoring average at 17.0 points per game.
Minnie's 25-point output in the Mid-American Conference opener at Ball State gives the redshirt junior 20-or-more points in seven of the Eagles' first 14 games.
Minnie scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, had three blocks, and swiped three steals in his debut against Spring Arbor, and has averaged 16.8 points per game since. The 22 points were the most scored in a debut-game since Willie Mangum IV score 18 in 2015, and the 49 combined points is the most by a new player in the modern statistical era (1998-present).
The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also put on a show at Indiana, Nov. 24, scoring 20 points and burying a career-high five triples in the EMU loss. Minnie was named to the Hoosier Tip-off Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 13 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal per game. He also logged his first double-double of the season against North Florida, Nov. 29, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards.

#DEFENDTHENEST: Eastern Michigan's defense has been one of the keys to its success to start the 2017-18 season, with the Eagles swiping 146 steals and blocking 89 shots (both totals lead the MAC) in the first 15 games. EMU is second in the conference with a +2.5 turnover margin, and also ranks second in the league with a defensive field goal percentage of 41.8.

MID-MAJOR TOP 25: Eastern Michigan saw itself ranked in the collegeinsider.com Top 25 for two weeks this season. The Eagles debuted in the poll as the no. 22 team in the week of Nov. 20, and slid to the no. 24 spot in the Nov. 27 poll. They have already played two opponents that have been ranked (Oakland and Ball State), and welcome No. 22 Central Michigan to the Convocation Center this week.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern hits the road for one game, traveling to MAC West foe Northern Illinois, Saturday, Jan. 13. The Eagles and Huskies do battle at 3:30 CT.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics