Eastern Set to Host No. 21/22-Ranked Minutemen

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Despite being handed its first loss of the 2013-14 season at the hands of the No. 3/4-ranked University of Kentucky, 81-63, Nov. 27, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will not shy away from top notch competition this week. The Eagles return home Tuesday, Dec. 3, for a 7 p.m. matchup with another team ranked in the national top 25 as the University of Massachusetts Minutemen come into the game ranked 21st in the Associated Press Poll and 22nd in the USA Today Coaches' Poll in the nation.

Although it was the Eagles' first loss, the Green and White was led by junior college transfer Darell Combs in the 18-point loss at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. Combs posted a career-best 23 points, along with a pair of rebounds, while Daylen Harrison tied his season-high of nine points in the setback. Glenn Bryant posted eight points off the bench, along with three rebounds and a trio of blocked shots. The Eagles shot 36.4 percent after going 24-for-66 from the floor and just 4-of-19 from three-point land which was good for 21.1 percent. EMU did manage to cause 20 Kentucky turnovers, while notching nine steals, including a pair each from Daylen Harrison, Mo Hughley and Mike Talley.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Minutemen 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 Eastern Michigan's live streaming program, Eagle All-Access.

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 UMass.

WHAT'S TO COME: Following its contest with Massachusetts, the Green and White hit the road again to take on a familiar foe of late. EMU will trek to West Lafayette, Ind. for a game with Purdue University for the third-straight season. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Mackey Arena on Gene Keady Court. In addition, the contest with the Boilermakers will air on ESPN3.

LOOKING FOR REVENGE: This is the second-straight season the Eagles and UMass will square off, completing a home-and-home series for the Eagles and Minutemen. Last year, Eastern Michigan saw its 2012 portion of the season come to an end with a disappointing 75-61 loss at the hands of Massachusetts.

J.R. Sims came within a point of his personal-best with 12 and was one-of-three EMU players to reach double figures. Glenn Bryant turned in his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards. Despite early foul trouble, Jamell Harris recorded 10 points for EMU. As a team, the Eagles went 23-of-53 (43.4 percent) from the field which included a 6-of-15 (40 percent) showing from beyond the arc. EMU edged the Minutemen on the glass, 35-30, but committed 20 turnovers which led to 28 UMass points.

UMass had four players score 10-or-more points including Freddie Riley, who threw down 18 on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Chaz Williams (14 points), Maxie Esho (13 points) and Jesse Morgan (11 points) were the other Minutemen to reach double digits. The Minutemen finished the game shooting 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) overall and 11-of-25 (44 percent) from long range.

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 owned the 25th spot for a week, 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.

COMBS TURNS IT UP AGAINST THE BEST: In the Eagles 81-63 loss to what could possibly be the the most highly-touted team on EMU's 2013-14 schedule, Darell Combs emerged as another offensive threat for the Green and White. Combs notched a career-high 23 points after converting on 9-of-19 shooting on the afternoon. The Chicago, Ill. native knocked down 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, while going 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.

LOOKING FOR HIS FIRST: Since becoming the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Eastern Michigan Rob Murphy has gone 0-5 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 three more 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 16.0 points per contest, while Lee is scoring 15.3 and Bryant has scored 11.4 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.

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.

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 12 minutes per game, including eight 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 went on to its best start in the 21st century. The last time the Eagles opened up the season with five 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, each 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 five games this season, the Eagles are averaging 76.5 points on the offensive side, while allowing just 63.0 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.

SEND IN THE SWAT TEAM: 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 five games, EMU has blocked 54 shots. Those rejections are already 31.9 percent of last season's total of 169 swatted shots.

Da'Shonte Riley has led that defensive block party. The senior who transferred from Syracuse just two seasons ago has racked up 27 blocks already this season. The Detroit, Mich. native is also earning his spot in the EMU record books. The seven-footer has blocked 123 shots in his career, good for the third-most in EMU history. He is 44 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 4.5 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 2.8 blocks per contest, good for the 37th-most in the nation. His 58 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 16.0 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 14 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 3.8 assists per game, while Darell Combs and Jalen Ross are each averaging 2.3.

EMU FOR THREE!: Eastern's offense has clicked on all cylinders in its first four contests. The Eagles have knocked down 32 three-pointers in their first three games of the season, but what is more impressive is that they are shooting a MAC-best 39.5 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 11.4 points a game, good for the third most on this highly explosive offensive attack from the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos