EMU Hoops Takes on Ball State at Home This Saturday

Men's Basketball vs. Ball State
Date	Saturday, Feb. 3 \| 12 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| BSU 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 to get back on the right track Saturday, Feb. 3, as Ball State University pays a visit to the Convocation Center for a Mid-American Conference West Division bout, beginning 12 p.m.
   The Eagles (12-10, 3-6 MAC) came up short against Western Michigan, 71-57, falling at home against the Broncos for the first time since Feb. 27, 2011, snapping a six-game win streak. Meanwhile, Ball State (14-8, 5-4 MAC) took down MAC West-leading Toledo on the road by a 75-63 final.
   Chad Bush and Kyler Ludlow will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM). The game will also be shown on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative, where Ryan Wooley will have the play-by-play and Greg Steiner will provide the analysis.

CRAFT BEER / PLAY 4 KAY: Saturday will give fans an opportunity to enjoy a craft brew tasting as well as donate to the fight against breast cancer. For $15, fans receive a ticket to both the men's game against Ball State and the women's game against MAC West-leading Central Michigan, an EMU pint glass, free popcorn, and beer samples.
   Fans will also be able to bid on silent auction items throughout the game, with all proceeds going to Play 4 Kay, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 24 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 55 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.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Rob Murphy's squad has limited four opponents to less than 50 points in a game this season. EMU held South Florida (47), Rochester (48), Miami (48), and Akron (49) to a combined 192 points in those contests. Furthermore, the remaining 11 Mid-American Conference teams have accomplished the feat a total of six times in 2017-18, as Central Michigan has done it twice while Akron, Kent State, Miami, and Ohio have each done it once.
   Since Murphy's arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles have let 37 opponents score less than 50 points. The 2012-13 squad did it on 11 occasions, while the 2011-12 team did it seven times en route to a MAC West Division title.

AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (8.9) and blocks per game (6.0). Eastern ranks ninth in the NCAA in both categories and is the only team in the country ranked in both top tens.     The Eagles are also in the top three in defensive field goal percentage (1st - .413), scoring defense (2nd - 69.2), and team field goal percentage (3rd - 46.3).
   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 three in blocks per game and sitting eighth in scoring (15.5). Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks ninth in scoring with an average of 15.3 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.6 average, and fifth in free throw shooting at 84.0 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is fourth in assists per game (4.2) and 10th in scoring (15.2).

TREMENDOUS TRIO: Eastern Michigan's "Big Three" of James Thompson IV, Elijah Minnie, and Paul Jackson currently rank eighth, ninth, and 10th in the Mid-American Conference in scoring respectively. The Eagles are the only team in the league to have three players averaging 15 or more points per game on the season.

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 (12.1) and offensive rebounds per game (4.64), he's also sixth in double-doubles (15) and seventh in field goal percentage (67.5).
   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 (976), trailing four seniors.

CHANGING IT UP: EMU shuffled the starting lineup for just the fourth time this season prior to the Western Michigan game, Jan. 30, as redshirt junior Jordan Nobles moved back to the bench due to illness while fellow redshirt junior Elijah Minnie returned to the starting lineup. Before the Miami game, Jan. 27 freshman Malik Ellison earned his first career start at the point guard spot while redshirt junior Paul Jackson shifted to shooting guard.

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 15 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
   The Baltimore, Md. native currently has 53 steals on the year with an average of 2.4 per game, which ranks second in the conference. The tally also puts him on pace for 77 in the season, just behind the all-time single-season record of 78, set by Lorenzo Neely, in the 1988-89 season.

ALL-TIME VERSUS BALL STATE: The Eagles are 42-62 all-time against the Cardinals, with Ball State having won five straight against Eastern, including earlier this season in Muncie by a final score of 72-62. Both teams have had their shares of struggles since conference play began, with EMU coming into the matchup with a record of 3-6 in MAC play, and BSU at 5-4. Eastern's RPI has sunk to no. 200 in the country, while Ball State's has climbed to no. 107 (per NCAA).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 86 of its 113 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball, and have started the 2017-18 season 9-3 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 179-118 all-time mark.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 54th career double-double with his 24-point and 18-rebounds performance against Western Michigan, Jan. 30. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 24 on EMU's all-time list.

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 8.9 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.41 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top seven in average steals per game, totaling 196 thefts thus far.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles hit the road for a pair of contests against Mid-American Conference East opponents next week, squaring off with Kent State, Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. and returning to action at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Bowling Green.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Malik Ellison

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

Jordan Nobles

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics