Eastern Michigan Athletics
Men's Hoops Opens MAC Play Sunday on Comcast Local
1/3/2008 3:20:07 PM | Men's Basketball
Game time set for 2 p.m. at Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Click Here for Complete Game Notes (PDF).
Click Here for Live Stats.
Click Here to Listen to the Game via WEMU.
COMCAST TELEVISION: The EMU-CMU game will be televised live on Comcast Local TV with Dave Zoran on play-by-play and former Detroit Pistons great Rick Mahorn handling the analyst duties.
Series Record: Central Michigan leads the series with Eastern Michigan, 91-81. The two teams split last year’s games with CMU taking a 74-68 win, Jan. 6, in Ypsilanti and the Eagles coming back to record an 87-83 overtime win, March 2, in Mount Pleasant.
CHECKING THE CHIPS: Central Michigan is currently 5-7 on the season. The Chippewas own wins over Detroit (70-66), Robert Morris (83-72), Cal State-Fullerton (79-76), Michigan (78-67) and Tiffin (100-34). CMU losses have come at the hands of Missouri (76-87), Central Missouri (70-75), Niagara (73-79), Minnesota (59-77), UIC (52-65), UWM (71-74) and Clev. State (70-86).
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.
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.
MAC RANKINGS: The latest Mid-American Conference statistical report shows EMU at the top of several categories. Eastern is the second-leading free-throw shooting team in the league (.725; 174-of-240) and the third-best three-point shooting team (8.25 per game). The Eagles’ Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) is the leading three-point shooter in the league at 3.2 per game while junior point guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) is second in assists (4.75). Medlock and Bunkley are tied for 15th in scoring at 13.0 per game.
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.
CAPTAINS CHOSEN FOR 2007-08: EMU head coach Charles E. Ramsey has announced that seniors Nenad Banjanin (Belgrade, Serbia-Lon Morris (Texas) J.C.) and Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) will join junior Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) as the captains for 2007-08.
HALFTIME LOOK: In EMU’s four wins, the Eagles have led at the half in just two games. In its eight losses, the Eagles have led at the half in just three games.
EXTRA TIME: EMU’s 75-72 overtime loss to Texas A&M Corpus Christi Saturday (Dec. 29) in the consolation game of the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic was the first overtime game for the Eagles this season. EMU is 1-3 in overtime games over the past three years.
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 48th in career scoring (729), 12th in three-point field goals (98) and 22nd in assists (209). Bunkley is now 86th in EMU scoring (494), and tied for 10th place with Charles Thomas (1987-91) in threes with 116.
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.
DOBBINS EARNS MAC AWARD: Sophomore center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for Nov. 26, after leading the Eagles to back-to-back wins in the state of New York. Dobbins turned in the first double-double of his career with 22 points and 14 rebounds in EMU’s 61-57 win at Manhattan College (Nov. 21). He followed that up with 13 points and nine rebounds in a 63-60 win at St. Bonaventure (Nov. 24).
THE COACHING STAFF: The Eagles return all but one coach from last year’s staff. Head coach Charles E. Ramsey (EMU, ‘92) returns for his third season as the head coach while assistants Derrick McDowell (Stetson, '83) and Carl Thomas (EMU, '92) are in their third seasons. Rich Marion (Michigan, '96) returns for his third year as the director of basketball operations. The newcomer to the staff is assistant coach Dave Donnelly (Northern Illinois, '97).
