Eastern Michigan Athletics
Men's Hoops Back Out on the Road
11/23/2008 1:58:28 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles head to New York for consolation round of Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Tip-Off
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EMU-ST. JOHN’S MEET FOR FIRST TIME: The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team will continue play in the 2008 Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off when it travels to Jamaica, N.Y. Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24-25. A total of 16 teams were invited to play in this year’s Tip-Off and the winners from four regionals advanced to the semifinals, Nov. 26 and 28 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The remaining 12 teams are scheduled to play Nov. 24-25 at three different sites. The Eagles were assigned to an East Regional hosted by St. John’s University at Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, N.Y. The Eagles are slated to meet St. John’s in an 8 p.m. game Monday, Nov. 24, with the second game an 5:45 p.m. tilt Tuesday, Nov. 25, against Cornell University. The other Monday matchup will have Cornell meeting Loyola University of Chicago at 5:45 p.m. St. John’s and Loyola are scheduled to play the second game Tuesday, at 8 p.m. EMU and St. John’s will be meeting for the first time in history, while EMU has a 2-1 lead in the Cornell series. EMU captured a 59-42 win, Dec. 4, 1976 at home in Bowen Field House against Cornell and traveled to Ithaca, N.Y. Dec. 3, 1977 and Eastern posted a 68-55 victory. Cornell returned to Ypsilanti, Dec. 2, 1978, and recorded a 91-82 overtime win in Bowen.
CHECKING THE LEAGUES: The Eagles will be playing against teams from two different leagues over the next week. Monday’s, Nov. 24, opponent, St. John’s is a member of the Big East Conference and the Eagles have a 3-15 record against teams from that league. EMU has never met St. John’s on the hardcourt. Tuesday, Nov. 25, EMU will square off against Cornell of the Ivy League. Eastern has a 2-1 record against Cornell and a 3-3 record versus Ivy League schools over the years. After the two games in New York Monday and Tuesday, the Eagles move on to Providence, Rhode Island for a Saturday, Nov. 29, matchup with Brown University, also an Ivy League member.
BIG TEN LOOK: The 2008-09 EMU men’s basketball non-conference schedule has a strong Big Ten Conference look with three schools from that league on the slate. The Eagles are scheduled to play at Purdue, Nov. 17, in the first round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Eastern also has road games at Michigan, Dec. 13, and at Illinois, Dec. 28. EMU has a 9-63 record against the Big Ten. EMU has never played Illinois or Northwestern, but has played every other conference school. Eastern is 1-0 against Penn State, 2-3 versus Wisconsin, 4-25 against Michigan State, 2-25 against Michigan, 0-1 against Purdue, Ohio State and Iowa, 0-3 versus Indiana, and 0-4 versus Minnesota.
THREE IN DOUBLES: EMU had three players turn in double-figure performances against Purdue, Nov. 17. Junior center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) scored 16 points while sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) added 15. Sophomore guard Solomon Farris (Detroit, Mich.-Osborn) turned in a career-best 10 rebounds.
FOR THE 112th TIME: The 2008-09 season is the 112th of intercollegiate basketball for the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. Eastern played its first season in 1897-98 and split games with Detroit, losing a 2-0 decision before coming back for a 4-0 victory. The 2007-08 season will also be the 34th for the Eagles in 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 tournament title in 1997-98.
RECORD-SETTING OPENER: The EMU men’s basketball team set several records in Friday’s, Nov. 14, 2008-09 season opener at home against Marygrove College. Eastern’s 71-point winning margin (119-48) broke the mark of 59 against Western Ontario (100-41) set on Dec. 3, 1966. The win also gave the Eagles seven consecutive victories in the Convocation Center, dating back to the last six games of the 2007-08 season.The record for a winning streak in the home confines of the Convo was six games, something that has been done four times since the arena opened in time for the 1998-99 season. Three of the four six-game winning streaks have been over a two-season period. The 1998-99 team won its last home game and the 1999-2000 won five in a row before losing. The 2002-03 squad won six straight during that season before losing. The 2003-04 team won its last game and the 2004-05 team followed up with five consecutive wins to start the season.
BOWDRY ON THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) shook off a year’s rust by turning in the first double-double of his career when he scored 26 points with 14 rebounds in the Eagles’ 119-48 win over a visiting Marygrove College team Friday, Nov. 14. Bowdry, a Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team member after the 2006-07 season, missed the entire 2007-08 campaign with a broken foot.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: All 12 EMU players that saw action in Friday’s, Nov. 14, 119-48 season-opening win over a visiting Marygrove College team made it into the scoring column.
