Eagles Square Off with No. 3/4 Kentucky in First Road Test

UK Game Notes

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After its first 5-0 start since the 1996-97 campaign, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will hit the road for the first time in the 2013-14 season. EMU will head to Lexington, Ky. for a matchup with the No. 3/4-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats Wednesday, Nov. 27. The Green and White will tangle with Kentucky for the second-straight season inside Rupp Arena. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. on Cawood's Court.

The Eagles were led by the dynamic performance of redshirt-freshman Raven Lee who had a career night with 38 points, going 12-for-15 from the field, 9-for-12 from the free throw line and a perfect 5-for-5 on three-point attempts. The Detroit, Mich. native's high-scoring output was the most points scored by an Eagle since Carlos Medlock put up 42 points against Akron, March 11, 2010 in the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Sophomore Darell Combs contributed 18 points and dished out three assists, while junior Karrington Ward dropped in 11 points, handed out two dimes and came away with one block and a steal. Defensively, senior Da'Shonte Riley led the team with seven rebounds and turned away four Maverick shots.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Wildcats will hit the airwaves of 89.1 FM (WEMU). In addition to the WEMU broadcast, the game will be available for fans to watch on the Fox Sports South affiliate, as well as ESPN3.

Veteran "Voice of the Eagles" Chad Bush will serve as EMU's play-by-play announcer while Sean Hostetter will handle the analyst duties for the Green and White's contest with Kentucky. For the FS South and ESPN3 broadcasts, Dave Baker will give all of the play-by-play action, Kyle Macy will serve as the analyst and Tom Werme is the courtside reporter.

WHAT'S TO COME: Following its contest at Rupp Arena, the Green and White will return to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Tuesday, Dec. 3, for a 7 p.m. matchup with the University of Massachusetts, before hitting the road for its second road contest of the 2013-14 campaign when Eastern heads to West Lafayette, Ind. to tangle with the Boilermakers of Purdue University Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m.

LOOKING FOR REVENGE: Eastern Michigan and Kentucky have only met on the hardwood one time since the Eagles started competing in varsity basketball. That contest came last season when the Green and White traveled to Lexington for a Jan. 2, 2013 game at Rupp Arena. The then-defending National Champion Wildcats earned a 90-38 victory over EMU.

Redshirt junior Glenn Bryant scored a team-best 10 points for an EMU squad which managed to go just 15-of-62 (24.2 percent) from the floor. Junior Da'Shonte Riley also hauled down nine rebounds. Six Wildcats had double-figure scoring efforts, but only two of those student-athletes, Willie Caulie-Stein and Alex Poythress, remain with their 2013-14 squad. Ryan Harrow, Julius Mays, Nerlens Noel and Kyle Wiltjer all departed following last season.

COLLEGEINSIDER.COM RANKS EMU FOR FIRST TIME EVER: As of the Nov. 25 poll, the EMU men's basketball team earned a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Men's Mid-Major Top 25 rankings for the first time in program history. Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles own the 25th spot CollegeInsider.com announced Monday, Nov. 25, as voted on by a 31-member panel of head coaches from different mid-major universities across the nation. It is the 15th season CollegeInsider.com has provided the nation with a mid-major top 25 ranking.

RAVEN GETS LEETHAL WITH MAVERICKS: Redshirt-freshman guard Raven Lee single-handedly pushed the Eagles to a 74-69 win over UT Arlington Saturday, Nov. 23. The Detroit, Mich. native had a career night with 38 points, going 12-for-15 from the field, 9-for-12 from the free throw line and a perfect 5-for-5 on three-point attempts. The combo guard's high-scoring output was the most points scored by an Eagle since Carlos Medlock put up 42 points against Akron, March 11, 2010 in the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

LOOKING FOR HIS FIRST: Since becoming the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Eastern Michigan Rob Murphy has gone 0-4 against nationally ranked opponents. Last season, he fell in three contests to then-No. 4-ranked Syracuse, No. 2 Michigan and No. 23 Kentucky, while also losing to No. 4 Syracuse in 2011-12. The Eagles could reverse that trend this season as they have four teams on the 2013-14 schedule that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

LOOK AT THE THREE-DEEP: Eastern Michigan has a dynamic scoring trio in Glenn Bryant, Raven Lee and Karrington Ward this season. Ward is leading the way posting 18.2 points per contest, while Lee is scoring 18 and Bryant has scored 12.3 points a game, respectively. This is the first time since the 2009-10 season that the Green and White have had three Eagles average double-digit scoring. That season, Carlos Medlock led the way, posting 16.9 points per game, while Brandon Bowdry and Justin Dobbins notched 16.3 and 12.1 points per contest in 32 total games.

GOING FOR THE CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP: After both Eastern and Kentucky have started the Keightley Classic with three victories apiece, the two will play for the chance to be named the 2013 Keightley Classic Champions. Both teams have defeated Cleveland State, Robert Morris and UT Arlington this season. The Wildcats are averaging 80 points per contest in those three games, while allowing 62 per game, good for an +18 scoring margin. Eastern, on the other hand, is scoring 74.6 points per game and surrenduring 67.3, for a scoring margin of +7.3 points per contest.

STRONG START FOR THE MAC THIS SEASON: The Mid-American Conference has more teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 than any other mid-major conference: (Toledo ( No. 9), Akron (No. 14), Kent State (No. 21) and Eastern Michigan (No. 25)). The conference not only has four teams ranked in the poll, but a pair of teams, Ohio and Western Michigan, are each receiving votes. The West Coast Conference has the next most with three, while the Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Ivy League, Colonial League and Horizon League each have a pair of teams ranked. There are eight other conferences that have teams ranked in the mid-major poll.

A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST TOURNAMENT: During the 2012-13 regular season, the Eagles hosted the only tournament that they competed in. Other than the Green and White, the EMU "Ice Man" Classic featured Eastern Illinois, IPFW, Rochester and UT Pan American. The Eagles swept the four games they competed in to be crowned champions.

DEEP GREEN SEA: Head Coach Rob Murphy has the luxury of being "too deep". Murphy has 11 players that he feels could start on any given day for the Green and White. So far this season, the Detroit, Mich. native has played nine different student-athletes for at least 13 minutes per game, including seven that have seen at least 15 minutes of action per contest.

COMFORTABLE AT THE CONVO: Under Head Coach Rob Murphy, the EMU basketball team has been comfortable opening up the season inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. Throughout the past three seasons, EMU holds an impressive 13-1 record at home in the 11th month of the calendar year. Overall since Murphy has taken over the EMU program, he holds a 27-9 record inside the Convocation Center over the last three seasons. Currently, the Eagles are on a six-game winning streak in Ypsilanti.

BEST START THIS CENTURY: With a 5-0 record to start the 2013-14 campaign, the EMU hoops team is off to its best start in the 21st century. The last time the Eagles opened up the season with four straight victories was the 1996-97 season when Earl Boykins and Derrick Dial led EMU to six consecutive wins to begin the season. That season was sandwiched between two trips to the NCAA Tournament for the Green and White.

NO NON-CONFERENCE CUPCAKES: Head Coach Rob Murphy does not shy away from a battle with his squad. The Eagles have a schedule that does not lend them any breaks. There are four postseason tournaments in which NCAA Division I schools participate in; of the Green and White's non-conference competition, EMU will face nine teams that appeared in one of these postseason tournaments. Eastern will square off with Duke and Syracuse, who were a two and four seed, respectively in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. EMU has Kentucky, Massachusetts and Robert Morris on its schedule, rach of which took part in the National Invitation Tournament. The Wildcats were a No. 1 seed, while UMass and Robert Morris earned two and eight seeds. Green Bay, Oakland and UT Arlington each played in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, while Purdue took part in the College Basketball Invitational last season.

DEFYING MURPHY'S LAW: Although defense has been Head Coach Rob Murphy's philosophy since he stepped foot on the campus of Eastern Michigan, the 2013-14 basketball team seems to be showing the third-year head coach that it might be able to win games on the offensive side of the ball as well. Since coming to Ypsilanti, Murphy's squads have averaged 53.2 and 56.6 points per game, respectively. On the other side of the ball, Murphy's Eagles have allowed just 58.7 and 59.1 points per contest in those two seasons. After four games this season, the Eagles are averaging 79.2 points on the offensive side, while allowing just 59.4 points on the defensive side. It seems as though these Eagles are embracing the defensive philosophy while exploding on the other side of the court as well.

STUFF YOU VERY MUCH: Eastern Michigan's defensive prowess is what has allowed the team to be successful the last few years. That stealthy defense includes their shot blocking ability. In its first four games, EMU has blocked 50 shots. Those rejections are already 29.5 percent of last season's total of 169 swatted shots. Eastern ranks third in the country in blocked shots, posting 10 per game, while their 50 rejections are tied for the most with the Virginia Military Institute. However, VMI has played one more game than EMU.

Da'Shonte Riley has led that defensive block party. The senior who transferred from Syracuse just two seasons ago has racked up 24 blocks already this season. The Detroit, Mich. native is also earning his spot in the EMU record books. The seven-footer has blocked 122 shots in his career, good for the third-most in EMU history. He is 45 shy of Jamell Harris, while he trails the all-time leader Theron Wilson by a wide margin. Wilson finished his career with 257 rejections. Riley, however, has only played just over one and a half seasons for the Green and White, while Wilson appeared on the EMU roster for four seasons (1992-96). Riley holds down the No. 3 spot in the country with his 5.2 per game this season, trailing just Khem Birch of UNLV and Chris Obekpa from Saint John's.

Glenn Bryant has been no slouch at turning away the opposition. He is averaging 2.75 blocks per contest, good for the 35th-most in the nation, while his 11 are good for 41st overall. His 55 career blocks rank him as the 15th-best shot blocker in EMU history.

KINETIC KARRINGTON: Eastern Michigan's new wingman, Karrington Ward, is currently leading the Eagles in scoring after the first four games of the season with 18.2 points a game, while also pulling down a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game. The junior college transfer also posted the first double-double for an Eagle this season when he pulled down 12 rebounds and poured in 18 points against Robert Morris, Nov. 14. Ward has become a human highlight reel at EMU, as the two-time junior college All-American has shown his versatility to the fans by dunking, draining threes, rebounding and swiping the ball from the opposition.

DROPPIN' DIMES: The Eagles had struggled the last few seasons to find the open man, but 2013-14 has been a different story. The Green and White is averaging 15 assists per game this season, compared to last season when they notched 10.7 per tilt. Missing a true point guard the last two seasons, it seems Mike Talley has emerged as the 2013-14 floor general for EMU and has dished out four assists per game, while Darell Combs is averaging 2.8.

EMU FOR THREE!: Eastern's offense has clicked on all cylinders in its first four contests. The Eagles have knocked down 28 three-pointers in their first three games of the season, but what is more impressive is that they are shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc.

IT AIN'T NO THING: After starting 30-of-34 games last season for EMU, senior Glenn Bryant finds himself coming off the bench for Rob Murphy's squad. However, Bryant has embraced the role from the bench, doing whatever he can to help the team win.

Despite not starting the game on the floor Bryant is averaging 12.3 points a game, good for the third most on this highly explosive offensive attack from the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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