Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, February 10
Bowling Green, Ohio
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Bowling Green
EMU Hoops Travels to Bowling Green Saturday Afternoon
2/8/2018 4:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles look to avenge an OT loss at home Saturday at 4 p.m.
| Men's Basketball vs. Bowling Green | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 10 | 4 p.m. |
| Venue | Bowling Green, Ohio | Stroh Center (4,387) |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | ESPN3 |
| Listen | WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) | TuneIn Radio |
| @EMUHoops | @EMUAthletics | |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team looks to make it three straight wins with the final leg of a two-game road trip at Bowling Green State University in an inter-division Mid-American Conference bout, beginning at 4 p.m., Feb. 10, at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio.
The Eagles (14-10, 5-6 MAC) are coming off their first victory at Kent State in nearly 20 years, Feb. 6, when they won 71-67 over the Golden Flashes. Meanwhile, Bowling Green (14-10, 5-6 MAC) fell on a last-second Ball State three-pointer, 59-56, Feb. 6.
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 and broadcasted by Brad Woznicki on play-by-play.
ITS BEEN A WHILE: Eastern's 71-67 win at Kent State Tuesday, Feb. 6, was the first time since Feb. 7, 1998 that the Eagles were able to pull out a victory in the M.A.C. Center, a span of 11 games.
All-time EMU great Earl Boykins led the Green and White with 30 points and eight assists, while Derrick Dial added 20 points. The 1997-98 team is the last Eastern squad to make the NCAA Tournament.
Of the 16 active players on the Eagles' 2017-18 roster, just eight were alive the last time Eastern defeated Kent State.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 2 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 38 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, joining all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry.
DOMINATING DEFENSE: Since the start of MAC play, the Eagles have the conference's best defense, allowing opponents just 65.8 points per game. They're also holding opponents to a .396 percentage from the floor, and .322 from beyond the arc, both a league-best.
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.
Since Rob Murphy's arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles have let 38 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.
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 occassions 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.
AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (8.9) and blocks per game (6.3). Eastern ranks eighth in the NCAA in steals, fourth in blocks, and is the only team in the country ranked in both top eights. The Eagles are also in the top three in defensive field goal percentage (1st - .407), scoring defense (1st - 67.9), and defensive field goal percentage (1st - 40.7).
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 eighth in scoring with an average of 15.6 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.8 average, and fifth in free throw shooting at 83.3 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is third in assists per game (4.3) and 15th in scoring (15.0).
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 rebounds per game (12.0) and offensive rebounds per game (4.3), he's also fourth in double-doubles (16) and seventh in field goal percentage (67.6).
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 (998), trailing three seniors.
ALL-TIME VERSUS BOWLING GREEN: The Eagles are 43-49 all-time against the Falcons, with Bowling Green having most recently won in the Convocation Center in overtime, 75-71, Jan. 6 of this season. A season ago, Eastern Michigan took the road win, 81-53, but historically have struggled on the trip south, with just a 14-30 record.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 55th career double-double with his 14-rebound and 11-point output against Ball State, Feb. 3. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 23 on EMU's all-time list.
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 12 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
The Baltimore, Md. native currently has 56 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.
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 9.0 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.33 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 204 thefts thus far.
RARE AIR: When Thompson reaches the 1,000 rebound plateau, he'll become just the 16th player in the history of the Mid-American Conference to have 1,000 career points and rebounds. He is the first player to reach the coveted club since fellow Eastern Michigan great, Brandon Bowdry (2006-11)
ON THE HORIZON: EMU returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for a single game, welcoming Miami to town Tuesday, Feb. 13 for a 7 p.m. game on Super Hero night.
The Eagles (14-10, 5-6 MAC) are coming off their first victory at Kent State in nearly 20 years, Feb. 6, when they won 71-67 over the Golden Flashes. Meanwhile, Bowling Green (14-10, 5-6 MAC) fell on a last-second Ball State three-pointer, 59-56, Feb. 6.
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 and broadcasted by Brad Woznicki on play-by-play.
ITS BEEN A WHILE: Eastern's 71-67 win at Kent State Tuesday, Feb. 6, was the first time since Feb. 7, 1998 that the Eagles were able to pull out a victory in the M.A.C. Center, a span of 11 games.
All-time EMU great Earl Boykins led the Green and White with 30 points and eight assists, while Derrick Dial added 20 points. The 1997-98 team is the last Eastern squad to make the NCAA Tournament.
Of the 16 active players on the Eagles' 2017-18 roster, just eight were alive the last time Eastern defeated Kent State.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 2 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 38 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, joining all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry.
DOMINATING DEFENSE: Since the start of MAC play, the Eagles have the conference's best defense, allowing opponents just 65.8 points per game. They're also holding opponents to a .396 percentage from the floor, and .322 from beyond the arc, both a league-best.
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.
Since Rob Murphy's arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles have let 38 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.
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 occassions 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.
AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (8.9) and blocks per game (6.3). Eastern ranks eighth in the NCAA in steals, fourth in blocks, and is the only team in the country ranked in both top eights. The Eagles are also in the top three in defensive field goal percentage (1st - .407), scoring defense (1st - 67.9), and defensive field goal percentage (1st - 40.7).
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 eighth in scoring with an average of 15.6 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.8 average, and fifth in free throw shooting at 83.3 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is third in assists per game (4.3) and 15th in scoring (15.0).
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 rebounds per game (12.0) and offensive rebounds per game (4.3), he's also fourth in double-doubles (16) and seventh in field goal percentage (67.6).
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 (998), trailing three seniors.
ALL-TIME VERSUS BOWLING GREEN: The Eagles are 43-49 all-time against the Falcons, with Bowling Green having most recently won in the Convocation Center in overtime, 75-71, Jan. 6 of this season. A season ago, Eastern Michigan took the road win, 81-53, but historically have struggled on the trip south, with just a 14-30 record.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 55th career double-double with his 14-rebound and 11-point output against Ball State, Feb. 3. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 23 on EMU's all-time list.
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 12 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
The Baltimore, Md. native currently has 56 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.
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 9.0 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.33 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 204 thefts thus far.
RARE AIR: When Thompson reaches the 1,000 rebound plateau, he'll become just the 16th player in the history of the Mid-American Conference to have 1,000 career points and rebounds. He is the first player to reach the coveted club since fellow Eastern Michigan great, Brandon Bowdry (2006-11)
ON THE HORIZON: EMU returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center for a single game, welcoming Miami to town Tuesday, Feb. 13 for a 7 p.m. game on Super Hero night.
Players Mentioned
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