EMU Hoops Welcomes Miami to the Convo Tuesday Night

Men's Basketball vs. Miami
Date	Tuesday, Feb. 13 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Stroh Center (8,754)
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) -- Eastern Michigan University will attempt to bounce back from a tough road loss over the weekend when it welcomes Mid-American Conference East Division foe Miami University to the Convocation Center Tuesday, Feb. 3 for a 7 p.m. game.
   The Eagles (14-11, 5-7 MAC) lost in overtime for the second time to Bowling Green this season, 70-63, at the Stroh Center. Miami (13-12, 6-6 MAC) on the other hand, fell in a tight contest at home to MAC West-leading Toledo, 73-67,
   Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM), with Kyler Ludlow joining as analyst. 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.

JAMES THOMPSON IV, MR. 1,000: On Saturday, Feb. 10, junior James Thompson IV became just the third player in Eastern Michigan history to join the 1,000 rebound club. The Baton Rouge, La. native, who joined the 1,000 point club against Arkansas State, Nov. 16, 2017, is just the 17th player in the history of the Mid-American Conference to eclipse the 1,000 mark for both points and boards.
   The feat puts him in rare company, as only Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry (2006-11) are in the exclusive club in EMU laurels.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Another Eagle is closing in on an impressive career milestone, as senior Tim Bond is now just 33 points away from 1,000 for his career.
   The Baltimore, Md. native would become the 31st member of the 1,000 point club, and is currently on pace to reach the milestone on Senior Day, Saturday Feb. 24, against Northern Illinois.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: EMU has thoroughly enjoyed playing in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center, producing a 10-3 record in Ypsilanti this season. The Eagles seem to play better basketball at home, averaging 75.6 points per game while allowing just 64.8 to opponents.
   A closer look at the numbers shows that the Green and White not only shoot better overall at home (.489 to .437), but they also defend at a higher level, holding opponents to a lower shooting percentage from the floor (.393 to .419) and from three (.324 to .376).

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE: If the season were to end today (and why would it?) Eastern Michigan would hold the No. 8 seed and host the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Currently in the No. 9 spot is Akron, who EMU stymied defensively to the tune of a 63-49 victory, Jan. 16.
   Miami, with its 6-6 conference record, would be just outside of the first round bye at No. 5, and would host rival Ohio in the opening round. The Redhawks are tied with Bowling Green and Kent State in record, and are just a game ahead of the Eagles.

AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (8.9) and blocks per game (6.2). Eastern ranks eighth in the NCAA in steals, fifth in blocks, and is the only team in the country ranked in both top eights.     The Eagles are also in the top three in the conference in scoring defense (1st - 68.0).
   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 13th in scoring (14.9). Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks eighth in scoring with an average of 15.6 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.7 average, and fifth in free throw shooting at 82.4 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.4) and 15th in scoring (14.7).

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 third nationally in overall rebounds per game (12.0) and offensive rebounds per game (4.3), he's also fourth in double-doubles (17) and sixth in field goal percentage (67.1).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the NCAA Division I active career leader in rebound average at 11.2 caroms per game, while he is fifth in career rebounds (1,009), trailing four seniors.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MIAMI: The Eagles are just 26-49 all-time against the Redhawks, but have had the upper hand in the ornithological battle of late. Including a 58-48 victory at Millett Hall earlier this season, Eastern Michigan has won each of the last five matchups against Miami.
   The EMU Big Three of Paul Jackson, James Thomspson IV, and Elijah Minnie put up impressive numbers in the Jan. 27 victory, scoring 15, 12 and 12 points, respectively, while Thompson made it a double-double with 11 rebounds.

MILLETT MAGIC: Historically, the Eagles have not fared well when playing at Millett Hall, however, you would not know that after their last two visits to the venerable arena. In fact, the Green and White had not entered Oxford, Ohio, and walked away victors in over 20 years ahead of last season's trip to Miami. Eastern topped Miami, 74-57, Jan. 14, 2017, before winning its second straight, 58-48, Jan. 28.
   It marked the first time the Eagles have won back-to-back trips to Millett in program history.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: Eastern's 13-block performance against Ball State Feb. 3 etched a new place in the EMU record book, tying three other occasions in which the Eagles had 13 rejections. It also catapulted the Green and White into the NCAA elite when it comes to shot blocking. Eastern Michigan's 6.3 blocks per game leads the MAC and ranks fourth in Division I, while their block total of 151 leads the league and is fifth nationally.
   The 151 total is already good for fifth all-time in the EMU record books, and if the Eagles are able to keep their current pace of 6.3 per game, they'll finish second all-time with 202 blocks.
   Eastern now has double-digit team blocks in three games this season (11 vs. Rochester, Dec. 29, 10 vs. Akron, Jan. 16). No other team in the Mid-American Conference has had double-digit team blocks since league play began.

DOMINATING DEFENSE: Eastern has held five opponents to less than 50 points in a game. EMU added a season-low 41 point effort, Feb. 3 against Ball State to go along with impressive performances against South Florida (47), Rochester (48), Miami (48), and Akron (49) to a combined 233 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.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 56th career double-double with his 11-rebound and 10-point output against Bowling Green, Feb. 10. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 23 on EMU's all-time list.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU hits the road for a quick trip to rival Central Michigan, Saturday, Feb. 17 as part of a double-header with the Eastern women's team. Action is set to begin at 4:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics