EMU to Host Buffalo Sunday Evening

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EAGLES HOST BUFFALO FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE CROSS-DIVISIONAL GAME: The men’s hoops squad will host Buffalo for a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional tilt, Sunday night, Jan. 28, at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The game will be the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU women’s basketball team taking to the court first at 4:30 p.m. hosting nationally ranked BGSU. The Eagles are 7-12 (2-4 MAC) on the year and enter tonight’s game on a three game MAC skid after suffering a 67-61 setback on the road against Ohio, Jan. 24. Meanwhile, the Bulls are 9-10 (1-5 MAC) following a 78-62 home loss to Toledo, Jan 24.

THE SERIES: This is the 13th meeting between the two schools with the series deadlocked 6-6. Eastern opened the series on a 4-0 run but Buffalo has bounced back and has won the last three meetings and holds a 5-6 advantage over the last 11 games. Last season, the Bulls defeated the Eagles, 78-62, at Alumni Arena, Jan. 4, 2006, in Buffalo, N.Y.

SCOUTING THE BULLS: Buffalo has two players averaging double figures paced by sophomore forward Yassin Idbihi who leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 points-per-game which ranks sixth in the MAC standings. Idbihi also leads the Bull from the free throw line hitting 65-of-82 at a 79.3 percent clip. Sophomore guard Eric Moore is second on the team in scoring ,averaging 13.3 points which is 11th in the league in scoring. Moore also leads the team in three-point percentage at 40.6 percent connecting on 56-of-146 shots from beyond the arc. As a team, Buffalo ranks first in rebounding margin as the Bulls average 37.1 boards per game while their opponents average 31.2 rebounds per game for a + 5.9 differential.

TODAY’S GAME ON SIRIUS RADIO: The EMU-Buffalo men’s basketball game will be also broadcast on Sirius Radio channel 125.

THIRD SUNDAY OUTING: Tonight’s battle with Buffalo is the first of three Sunday outings for the Eagles in the 2007 portion of the schedule. Eastern is slated to host Ball State Sunday, Feb. 25, in a 2 p.m. game that is scheduled for Comcast Local television coverage. The Eagles will close out the regular season with a Sunday, March 4, date at Northern Illinois.

THREE OF NEXT FOUR IN THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: After tonight’s game with Buffalo the Eagles will stay in the Convocation Center for a Wednesday, Jan. 31, home date with Akron. Following that Akron game the Eagles play at Kent State, Feb. 3, before returning for a Feb. 7 home matchup with Miami.

HOME SWEET HOME: The EMU men’s basketball team currently has a 5-3 home record. It is the best home start since the 2004-05 campaign when the team went 5-1 against Marshall, Rochester College, Canisius, North Dakota State and Cleveland State. At home the Eagles average 63.9 ppg, shooting 39.1 percent from behind the arc while their opponents average 63.4 ppg hitting 33.6 percent from three-point range. Conversely, the Eagles are 1-6 on the road, scoring 58.6 ppg while their opponents are averaging 73.7 ppg.

THE LAST TIME OUT: The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team put forth a valiant effort but could not overcome a slow second-half start falling, 67-61, at Ohio on Wednesday night (Jan. 24) in the Convocation Center. Freshman Devon Dumes (Indianapolis, Ind.-Decatur Central) came out of a recent slump to cut Ohio’s lead to five, 54-49, with 6:06 to go but the Bobcats then increased its lead to 10 over the next five minutes at 67-57. Dumes hit a jumper with 1:13 remaining to pull EMU within eight, 67-59, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get as the team only notched a pair of free throws and missed its last two shots from the field to drop its third consecutive conference game.

HALL OF FAME FEB. 10: The 31st Annual EMU Athletic Hall of Fame, sponsored by the E-Club Alumni Chapter, will be held Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007, in the atrium of the Convocation Center. The Class of 2006 includes: Greg Howe (baseball), Carole Huston (athletic administration), Dazel Jules (men’s track), Peter Linn (men’s-women’s swimming head coach), Bob Lints (football), Nikki Stubbs (volleyball), and Gary Tyson (men’s basketball). Tickets for the Hall of Fame are $35 and can be ordered by calling 487-2284

EMU MEN’S BASKETBALL GAMES TO BE TELEVISED ON COMCAST LOCAL: The EMU men will have at least four games televised during the upcoming 16-game Mid-American Conference schedule. The league has dropped from an 18-game ledger down to 16 games this season. Comcast Local (channel 8 in Ypsilanti) is available in approximately two million households throughout the state of Michigan along with the markets of Muncie, Ind., Indianapolis, Ind. and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Date Opponent Result/Time
Jan. 13 at Ball State W, 56-52
Jan. 20 at West. Mich. L, 80-84
Feb. 13 at Toledo 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 vs. Ball State 2 p.m.

MEDLOCK LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Carlos Medlock currently leads the team with 60 assists which also ranks ninth in the MAC. As a team, the Eagles have tallied 220 assists which ranks 10th in the league. The point guard has also led all EMU scorers with double digits in eight games this season, tallying 23 points vs. Davidson (Nov. 10), 13 vs. Central Conn. State (Nov. 11) ,11 at Detroit (Nov. 29), 20 vs. N. Colorado (Dec. 21), 23 vs. North Dakota State (Jan. 3), 15 vs. Central Michigan (Jan. 6), 18 vs. Toledo (Jan. 16), and Western Michigan (Jan. 20).

BENCH PLAYERS HELPING OUT: So far this season, the bench players for the men’s basketball team have more then held their own when called upon by head coach Charles E. Ramsey. Bench players have scored 474-of-1,211 (39.1 percent) of the Eagles total points while hitting 57-of-139 total three pointers with 97-of-220 assists. Defensively, bench players have tallied 272-of-603 rebounds, 50-of-13+ steals and 12-of-31 blocks.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Several EMU players are near the top in the latest Mid-American Conference statistical report.
Scoring
19. Carlos Medlock 12.5
24. Jesse Bunkley 11.1
Rebounding
13. Brandon Bowdry 5.4
Assists
9. Carlos Medlock 3.33
Free Throw Percentage
3. Carlos Medlock 65-75 (86.7)
Steals
6. Carlos Medlock 1.72
3-Point Field Goal %
14. Jesse Bunkley 48-125 (38.4)
3-Point Field Goal Made
5. Jesse Bunkley 2.53
Asst./Turnover Ratio
10. Carlos Medlock 0.87
Offensive Rebounding
13. Brandon Bowdry 2.00

MR. INTANGIBLE: EMU junior guard Travis Lewis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) returned home Saturday, Jan. 20, when the Eagles took on Western Michigan. Lewis graduated from Kalamazoo’s Loy Norrix H.S. before signing with EMU and played a complete game tallying seven points, a season -high three steals and six rebounds with one assist and 2-for-2 at the free throw line. Lewis is not asked to score a lot of points but he does everything else with his nonstop hustle and 100 percent effort on every play. Since his return to the basketball team after playing football as a starting wide receiver, Lewis has tallied 26 assists, 18 steals, 51 rebounds and one block in 12 games.

TRIFECTA, YOU BET YA: EMU ranks fifth in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage (35.8 percent) and third in three-pointers made, hitting 139-of-388 attempts. Junior Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.), sophomore Carlos Medlock and freshman Devon Dumes (Indianapolis, Ind.-Decatur Central) have established themselves as the go-to- guys from three-point range. So far, Bunkley has connected on 48-of-125 tries (38.4 percent), Medlock has knocked down 26-of-77 shots (33.8 percent) while Dumes has hit 27-of-90 attempts (30.0 percent). Bunkley also currently ranks fifth in the MAC with his 48 three-pointers (2.53 per game). Defensively, EMU is eighth in three-point field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 35.0 percent from beyond the arc.

COACHES CHECK IN: All 12 Mid-American Conference men’s head basketball coach will take part in a weekly teleconference each Monday morning of the season. The call-in schedule is listed below and the number is 719.457.2679.

Time Coach
10:00-10:07 Steve Hawkins (WMU)
10:08-10:15 Stan Joplin (Toledo)
10:16-10:23 Rob Judson (NIU)
10:24-10:31 Reggie Witherspoon (Buff.)
10:32-10:39 Ernie Zeigler (CMU)
10:40-10:47 Ronny Thompson (BSU)
10:48-10:56 Tim O’Shea (Ohio)
10:57-11:04 Charlie Coles (Miami)
11:05-11:12 Jim Christian (KSU)
11:13-11:20 Charles E. Ramsey (EMU)
11:21-11:28 Dan Dakich (BGSU)
11:29-11:36 Keith Dambrot (Akron)

HITTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: The EMU men’s basketball team is currently fourth in the MAC in free throw percentage connecting on 248-of-354 shots (70.1 percent) from the line. Nick Freer (Stevensville, Mich.-Lakeshore) has not missed from the free-throw line this season going 4-4. Carlos Medlock leads the team hitting 65-of-75 free throws for an 86.7 percent clip which ranks third in MAC free-throw percentage. Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) is 24-for-28 (85.7 percent) while Craig Cashen (Cincinnati, Ohio-St. Xavier) has hit 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.

DEFENSE IS STEALING THE SHOW: The Eagles currently have 139 steals which ranks tied for eighth in the Mid-American Conference. The team notched a season-high 18 steals versus Davidson (Nov. 10) and 12 against CCSU (Nov. 11). The 18 steals was the most tallied by the team since it got 22 rips against Navy, 1-7-04. Sophomore Carlos Medlock ranks sixth in the MAC in steals with 31 on the year.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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