Eastern Tangles with Green Bay in 2013's Final Home Game

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is in the midst of a three-game losing streak after a loss on the road at Purdue University, 69-64, Dec. 7. Things do not get any easier for the Eagles as their next contest, they will host the Phoenix of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Tuesday, Dec. 10, at the Convocation Center. Green Bay is ranked in the top-15 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, currently holding the 14th spot in the poll. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.

In the loss to the Boilermakers, Karrington Ward was an offensive juggernaut, pouring in 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while knocking down a career-high four three-pointers. Ward also corralled eight rebounds in the contest. Glenn Bryant was one carom shy of his first double-double of the season after recording 11 points and a season-best nine boards. Raven Lee contributed nine points and five rebounds, while Darell Combs added seven points of his own. As a team, the Green and White went 21-of-50 (42.0 percent) from the floor, while connecting on 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) of its three-point opportunities. Eastern Michigan got its free throw shooting in order versus the Big Ten opponent, going 15-of-21 (71.4 percent), just one-of-two games that EMU has shot over 70 percent from the free throw line.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Phoenix 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 internet web streaming service of Eagle All-Access. Packages for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 for a one 24-hour pass.

Veteran "Voice of the Eagles" Chad Bush will serve as EMU's play-by-play announcer and Sean Hostetter will handle the analyst duties for the WEMU broadcast. EMU Assistant Athletic Director, Greg Steiner, will be the broadcast's engineer and in-game producer.

WHAT'S TO COME: Following its contest with Green Bay, the Green and White hit the road for three-straight games. None of the three games away from Ypsilanti will be a cake walk for the Eagles. EMU will first take on in-state rival Oakland University, Dec. 21, before heading out of Michigan for a pair of tilts against two teams ranked in the Associated Press' top-10. Eastern will take on No. 8-ranked Duke University in Durham, N.C., Dec. 28, before heading to Syracuse, N.Y. for a New Year's Eve battle with the No. 2 Orange of Syracuse University, Dec. 31.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE PHOENIX: The Eagles and Phoenix have only met on the hardwood 10 times prior to Tuesday's contest. The last time these two teams squared off, the Green and White traveled to Green Bay during the 2011-12 season as part of the Sears' Bracketbuster matchup.

The Eagles' only game with Green Bay came on Feb. 18, 2012, when the Phoenix snuck by EMU, 54-49. Eastern was led by Darrell Lampley with 13 points while junior guard Derek Thompson added 12 points. Green Bay, which improved to 12-14 with the win, was paced by guards Sykes and Kam Cerroni with 10 points each. Brown had nine points with 13 rebounds.

Eastern shot 32.7 percent from the field, making 18-of-55 field goals and 6-of-21 triples for 28.6 percent. The Eagles made just 7-of-14 free throws for 50 percent and were out-rebounded, 41-29. Green Bay shot 40 percent from the field, making 18-of-45 field-goal attempts and the Phoenix were red-hot from the free-throw line, making 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.

A LONG DECEMBER: Head Coach Rob Murphy has not had much luck in the month of December after taking the reins of the men's basketball team at EMU. So far this season, the third-year head coach is 0-2. In all three seasons as the head man, Murphy's teams have struggled, posting just a 2-12 record over the past three seasons. In 2011-12 Murphy managed a 1-6 record in the final month of the calendar year, while he went just 2-4 last season.

NOT THE STREAK WE WANT: Eastern Michigan is currently on a three-game losing streak heading into its matchup with Green Bay. During those three games, the Eagles are shooting just 39.1 percent, but the alarming numbers have come beyond the arc and at the charity stripe. EMU is hitting just 27.8 percent of its three-point attempts, while shooting at a 57.9 percent clip during the unfortunate streak.

HAPPY AT HOME: The Eagles have enjoyed much success within the friendly confines of the Convocation Center this season. With a 5-1 record, EMU has shot 47.2 percent from the floor, while hitting 42.1 percent of its shots from three-point land. Eastern is scoring 75.5 points per contest, while holding its opponents to 61 points per game.

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, since Murphy has taken over the EMU program, he holds a 27-10 record inside the Convocation Center.

ROAD WOES: Since Rob Murphy took over as the head coach of the Eagles, the team has struggled on the road. Overall, Murphy's teams are 7-27 on the road in his first three seasons. In non-conference play, the Green and White holds a 2-16 record away from the Convocation Center.

Murphy is looking for his team to answer the call and win on the road for the first time in non-conference play by topping one of its next four-of-five opponents. The Green and White will take on Oakland, Duke and Syracuse on the road in the next three weeks.

Last season, the Eagles' first road win came late in the season, Feb. 16, to be exact, when the Green and White traveled to Muncie, Ind. for a contest with Ball State. EMU was a 56-50 victor at John E. Worthen Arena.

CHECK THE SPECIALTY STATS: The Eagles are averaging 28.8 points per game in the paint, 39.2 points off the bench, 19.0 points per game off turnovers, 9.5 second-chance points and 11.2 fast break points per game.

BENCH WORK: The Eagles' bench is providing 29.6 points per game through its first eight contests. Those 29.6 points per game account for 40.8 percent of the Green and White's scoring this season.

LOOKING FOR HIS FIRST: Since becoming the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Eastern Michigan Rob Murphy has gone 0-6 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. This year, EMU has fallen twice to top-25 competition. Eastern Michigan first fell to No. 3-ranked Kentucky, before dropping a contest with No. 21 Massachusetts. The Eagles could reverse that trend this season as they have two 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 16.5 points per contest, while Lee is scoring 12.9 and Bryant has scored 10.3 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.

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 10 different student-athletes for at least 10 minutes per game, including eight that have seen at least 15 minutes of action per contest.

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 eight games this season, the Eagles are averaging 72.5 points on the offensive side, while allowing just 64.5 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.

EMU FOR THREE!: Eastern's offense has clicked on all cylinders in its first eight contests. The Eagles have knocked down 43 three-pointers in their first three games of the season, but what is more impressive is that they are shooting second-best in the MAC at 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.

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 13.4 assists per game this season, which is tied for second in the conference, 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 dishing out 3.6 assists per game, while Darell Combs posts 2.4 and Raven Lee averages 1.7.

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 16.5 points a game, while also pulling down a team-best 6.1 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.

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 seven games, EMU has blocked 66 shots, the third-most in the nation, while they average 8.33 per contest which is the third-best in the country.

Da'Shonte Riley has led that defensive block party. The senior who transferred from Syracuse just two seasons ago has racked up 32 blocks already this season. The Detroit, Mich. native is also earning his spot in the EMU record books. The seven-footer has blocked 128 shots in his career, good for the third-most in EMU history. He is 39 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 is tied for the No. 5 spot in the country with his four per game this season.

Glenn Bryant has been no slouch at turning away the opposition. He is averaging 2.6 blocks per contest, good for the 44th-most in the nation. His 62 career blocks rank him as the 14th-best shot blocker in EMU history.

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 a game on the floor Bryant is averaging 10.3 points a game, good for the third most on this highly explosive offensive attack from the Eagles.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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