East Meets West in a Battle of First-Place Squads

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EAST MEETS WEST IN A BATTLE OF FIRST-PLACE SQUADS: Eastern Michigan University and Bowling Green State University will battle for bragging rights Saturday, Jan. 23, in a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional battle at Anderson Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Eagles enter the game with a mark of 14-3 (4-1 MAC), deadlocked with the University of Toledo for the top spot in the MAC West Division. Meanwhile, the Falcons are 15-4 (5-0 MAC) and have won their last six games including an 85-65 decision Tuesday night, Jan. 19, over Miami University.

A BULLSEYE ON BOWLING GREEN: Saturday afternoon's contest marks the 57th meeting between the Falcons and Eagles, who first met during the 1976-1977 season. BGSU has dominated the all-time series, 42-14, including winning the last six meetings between the two schools. Last season, the Falcons captured a 69-55 victory at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Mich., Jan. 24, 2009.

NIGHTMARES ABOUT “THE HOUSE THAT ROARS”: Bowling Green State University's Anderson Arena has been a building that has caused EMU coaches to have nightmares. The Green and White have posted an all-time record of 4-22 in the venerable building. Eastern's last victory at Bowling Green was Jan. 12, 2005, when the Eagles took home a 51-48 victory. Prior to the 2005 victory, the most recent EMU victory in Bowling Green was Feb. 12, 2000, when the Eagles recorded a 92-69 victory.

MAC TITANS AT IT AGAIN: When the Eagles and Falcons have tangled over the past seven seasons, it has almost been a guarantee that one of the teams (if not both) will be on top of the MAC standings. Including Saturday's contest, a streak of 10 consecutive meetings have featured the league's divisional leader. The last time neither side was in first place was Jan. 27, 2004. Ironically, EMU and BGSU would next square off in the MAC Tournament title game, March 13, with the Eagles advancing to the NCAA Tournament with a 65-56 victory.
BGSU has been in first place in nine of those games with EMU holding down the divisional lead in four contests. Additionally, both teams have been first in their respective divisions three times (2006, 2008 and 2010).

EAGLES VERSUS THE EAST DIVISION: The 2009-10 season is the fifth utilizing the current Mid-American Conference scheduling format for women's basketball. Each of the 12 schools opens league action with five divisional games, followed by six cross-divisional games and then five more divisional contest to close the regular season.
Eastern Michigan has posted a 21-17 record versus MAC East Division opponents since the 2004-05 campaign. Eastern finished 2-5 last season and was 4-3 in cross-divisional games in 2007-08, 4-4 in 2006-07, 6-2 in 2005-06 and 5-3 in 2004-05.

IN THE NCAA RANKINGS: In the most recent NCAA Division I statistics rankings, junior Cassie Schrock cracks the list at ninth in assists per contest with 6.5 dimes while sophomore Tavelyn James is 10th nationally in points per game at 21.4. James is also seventh in three-point field goals per game.

TIED FOR THE BEST 17-GAME START IN SCHOOL HISTORY: The Eagles' 14-3 start to the 2009-10 season is tied with the 2004-05 EMU squad for the best 17-game beginning of a season. The 2004-05 crew dropped its 18th game at Kent State University to fall to 14-4.

LEADING THE PACK: Eastern Michigan has been the most dominant team statistically in the Mid-American Conference this season, leading the league in nine categories and ranking in the top five in seven others. The Green and White are tops in the MAC in: scoring offense (73.6 ppg), scoring defense (58.6 ppg), scoring margin (+15.0), field goal percentage defense (37.0 percent), rebounding offense (45.2 rpg), rebounding margin (+6.8), steals (12.06), turnover margin (+5.29) and offensive rebounds (18.59).

IT'S MILLER TIME: Freshman Chenise Miller has made an immediate impact on the Eagles and can be considered a strong candidate for the Mid-American Conference's Freshman of the Year honor. Miller is the only freshman to rank in the league's top 15 in field goal percentage (fifth – 51.4%), blocks (6th – 1.24), rebounds (10th – 6.5), offensive rebounds (12th –2.71) and defensive rebounds (13th – 3.76).
Akron's Rachel Tecca cracks the list at eighth in field goal percentage (47.1%), 13th in rebounding (6.1) and 13th in offensive rebounds (2.67) , while Miami's Kristen Olowinski earns a fifth place ranking with 1.44 rejections. per game.

FINDING THE GAME ON YOUR RADIO DIAL: With the EMU men's basketball team at home Saturday for a 2 p.m. game versus Ball State, the women's contest will only be broadcast on Eagle All-Access rather than WEMU (89.1 FM). Chad Bush will have the call beginning at 1:50 p.m. from Anderson Arena. As always, on-demand replays of most EMU basketball games are available to subscribers at EMUEagles.com/showcase.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan is 8-0 at the Convocation Center this season. The Eagles have a nine-game winning streak at home, dating back to last year.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Three is the magic number when predicting the Eagles success this season. EMU is shooting 36.5 percent (101-of-277) from three-point range in its 14 wins, as opposed to 19.1 percent (9-of-47) in its three losses. Perhaps more notably, EMU opponents are averaging nearly two more made three pointers in wins (6.3) than in losses (4.6).

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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