Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Preps for Miami on Saturday
1/24/2008 3:11:10 PM | Men's Basketball
Game time set for 4 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio
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Series Record: Miami leads the series, 42-19, and the RedHawks have won the last 11 consecutive games. Miami holds a 23-5 advantage in games played in Oxford. The last EMU win came March 4, 1998 when the Eagles recorded a 92-77 win in the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio. The last EMU victory in Oxford was on Jan. 24, 1996, when the Eagles won, 73-60.
CHECKING THE REDHAWKS: Miami head coach Charlie Coles is in his 12th year and he has a 200-151 record. Now in his 18th season overall as a college head coach, Coles has a 292-235 mark. The RedHawks enter the EMU game with a 7-10 overall record and a 1-4 MAC mark after suffering a 55-52 loss at Bowling Green Wednesday (Jan. 23). Tim Pollitz leads the RedHawks at 16.1 ppg.
FOR THE 111th TIME: The 2007-08 season is the 111th year of men’s intercollegiate basketball at Eastern Michigan University. EMU played its inaugural season in 1897-98 and split games with Detroit, losing a 2-0 decision before coming back for a 4-0 victory. This year will also be the 33rd for the Eagles as a member of the Mid-American Conference. The first year of MAC play for EMU was 1974-75 when the then-Hurons went 12-14 overall and 4-9 in league play. EMU has won three Mid-American Conference titles: 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1995-96, and the Green and White captured MAC Tournament crowns in all three of those years in addition to winning the MAC tourney title in 1997-98.
LARGEST MARGIN SINCE 2004: When EMU won by 24 points Tuesday (Jan. 22) against Toledo it marked the biggest winning margin in head coach Charles E. Ramsey’s three-year EMU tenure. It was the largest winning margin over an NCAA Division I team since a 99-52 victory (47 points) over a visiting Navy team, Jan. 7, 2004, under then-head coach Jim Boone.
FIRST EAST DIVISION BATTLE: EMU currently holds sole possession of second place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 3-2 record. The Eagles’ game at Miami Saturday (Jan. 26) will be the first East Division opponent of the season for EMU. The game will also be Miami’s first venture into the West Division this year after five straight East Division matchups.
LUCKY SEVEN: EMU senior guard Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) not only set a career-best with his 23-point effort in the win over Northern Illinois (Jan. 16), but his seven three-point field goals tied for the fifth-best effort in EMU history. His seven triples ties him with Bryant Kennedy (1-4-92 at Rhode Island) and Brian Tolbert (3-16-96 vs. UConn in the NCAA Tournament) for fifth. Derrick Dial (1-5-98 vs. MARSHALL) set the single-game EMU record with nine.
LONG-TIME COMING: EMU’s 65-61 win at Northern Illinois (Jan. 16) broke a nine-game EMU losing streak in DeKalb. The last time EMU had won at NIU was ironically, Jan. 17, 1998.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: EMU is ranked third in the latest MAC statistical report in rebound margin at +2.3 and the Eagles have out-rebounded their opponents in 12 of 17 games this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Eagles have had six different players lead them in scoring and eight in rebounding through the first 17 games. Junior point guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) has led the way in scoring eight times this year while Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) is second with three. Sophomore center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) and junior guard Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet) have been the top scorers in two games while junior wingman Wendale Farrow (Sacramento, Calif.-Mira Loma-American River J.C.) and senior guard Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) have led in scoring once. Travis Lewis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) has led or tied in rebounding nine times with Dobbins a close second with seven. Farrow has led or tied for the top rebound effort four times with five others, Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville), Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet), Kyle Dodd (Rockwood, Ont., Canada-John F. Ross), Medlock and Axon leading in one game.
TWO TWINBILLS: EMU’s Travis Lewis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) and James Matthews (Detroit, Mich., Denby) both turned in double-double scoring and rebounding games in an 81-71 win over Western Michigan (Jan. 12). Lewis scored 15 points with 11 rebounds while Matthews had 15 points with 10 boards. The last time EMU had two players record double-doubles was Feb. 21, 2004, when John Bowler (18-15) and Boo Jackson (14-12) turned the task in an 87-66 win at Cleveland State, a total of 108 games between double-doubles.
MOVING ON UP: Guards Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) and Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) continue to climb in the EMU career record book. Medlock has moved into 41st in career scoring (803), 12th in three-point field goals (108) and 19th in assists (226). Bunkley is now 81st in EMU scoring (521) with Rod Treais, and tied for ninth in threes with Markus Austin (2002-05) at 121.
FIVE IN DOUBLES: In the 81-71 win over a visiting Western Michigan team (Jan. 12) the Eagles had a season-high five players score in double figures. Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) led the way with 16 followed by Travis Lewis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) and James Matthews (Detroit, Mich.-Denby) with 15 each, Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) added 12 and Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet) added 10.
SNAPPING THE STREAK: The 81-71 win over Western Michigan (Jan. 12) not only snapped a five-game Eagles’ losing streak this season, but also ended a nine-game WMU winning streak in the series between the two Mid-American Conference West Division schools. The last EMU win prior to Saturday was Feb. 26, 2003 when the Eagles notched an 80-72 victory here in the Convocation Center.
BUZZER BEATER: EMU junior point guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray) came up with a huge three-point field goal with just 2.4 seconds left in regulation to send the EMU-Texas A&M Corpus Christi game (Dec. 29) into overtime. The Eagles could not maintain that success in overtime, however, falling 75-72 to the host Islanders in the consolation game of the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas.
ALL-TOURNAMENT SQUAD: For his efforts in the two-game Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic (Dec. 28-29), EMU junior point guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) was selected to the All-Tournament Team. He scored 26 points with 10 assists, seven rebounds and three steals in the two games.
CLIMBING THE RANKINGS: When EMU squared off against the University of Rhode Island in the opening round of the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic (Dec. 28), the Rams were ranked 25th nationally in the NCAA Division I ranks. Rhode Island knocked off the Eagles, 92-75, and won the tournament title with an 85-80 win over Georgia Southern in the championship game. Those two wins boosted the Rams to the 22nd spot in the latest national poll.
WORKING THE LEAGUES: EMU has played teams from nine different leagues in its first 11 games of the year. The Eagles have played teams from the Ivy League (Brown), the Horizon League (Detroit Mercy), the Missouri Valley (Illinois State), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Manhattan), the Big East (Notre Dame), the Summit (Oakland), the Big South (Radford), the Atlantic 10 (St. Bonaventure and Temple, Rhode Island), and the Southland (Texas A&M Corpus Christi). Eastern closed out the pre-Mid-American Conference portion of the early schedule against independent Chicago State Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008.
SECOND SHUTOUT: When EMU senior guard Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) was held scoreless at Central Michigan Sunday (Jan. 6) it was just the second time in his 40-game EMU career that he was held without a point. He was also held scoreless at Kent State (Feb. 3, 2007).
MAC TELEVISION SET: The EMU men’s basketball team will have five, and possibly six, games on the 2007-08 Mid-American Conference Basketball Television Package. EMU home games with Toledo (Jan. 22 at 7 p.m.) and Bowling Green (Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.) along with road games at Central Michigan (Jan. 6 at 2 p.m.) and at Ball State (Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.) will all be televised live on Comcast Local. The EMU at Western Michigan game (Feb. 20 at 9 p.m.) will be shown on ESPNU. In addition, the EMU at Toledo game (March 4 at 7 p.m.) could also be picked up as part of the MAC package.
