EMU Hosts Conference Leading Zips for Midweek Tilt

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - After being downed by the University of Toledo, 60-52, Feb. 9, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will return home for a cross-divisional Mid-American Conference matchup with University of Akron, who leads the conference with an undefeated record in MAC games, Feb. 13, at 7:04 p.m.
     Eastern is now 11-12 on the 2012-13 campaign and 4-5 in conference play, holding down the number three spot in the West Division. Senior guard Derek Thompson is leading the way offensively, posting 10.5 points per game. On the boards junior center Da'Shonte Riley who is pulling down six rebounds per game. Other notables this season have been transfers Glenn Bryant and Daylen Harrison. Bryant is posting 10.2 points per contest, while Harrison has been averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in his first season competing for EMU. Freshman Jalen Ross is dishing out a team-high 2.9 assists per game.
     The Zips come into the contest leading the MAC with a perfect 10-0 record. Akron is 19-4 overall and has seen significant production from Zeke Marshall and Demetrius Treadwell. Marshall is posting 12.5 points per game to lead the Zips, while Treadwell is averaging 11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Marshall also has 81 blocks this season, good for a MAC-best 3.5 per game.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Zips will be broadcast on WEMU (89.1 FM). Veteran play-by-play voice Chad Bush will be on the call from the Convocation Center. Along with Chad will be EMU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, Greg Steiner, who will serve as the analyst for the game.
     In addition to the radio broadcast, EMU faithful are encouraged to purchase a subscription to Eagle All-Access, where they can enjoy live video along with the radio call. The Eagle All-Access stream can be found at EMUEagles.com/showcase and subscriptions start at just $6.95.

ALL-TIME VERSUS AKRON: Wednesday evening's contest will mark the 40th all-time meeting between the Zips and Eagles. Akron holds the all-time series edge by just one game, 20-19. EMU and UA first met during the 1973-74 campaign when Eastern Michigan hosted Akron. The then-Hurons dropped the home contest, 61-49, Jan. 12, 1974.
     Last season, the Eagles dropped a road contest to Akron, 77-47, at James A. Rhodes Arena, Feb. 4, 2012. Matt Balkema led the Eagles with a career-high 15 points while Antonio Green added 13. The Eagles shot 32.1 percent for the game, making 17-of-53 field-goal attempts. Akron shot 44.8 for the game, making 26-of-58 attempts, and the Zips posted a whopping 46-29 edge on the boards.

HARRISON TURNS IT UP AT TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan redshirt junior Daylen Harrison posted one of his best performances, Feb. 9, at Toledo in the Eagles 60-52 loss to the Rockets. Harrison dropped 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds while dishing out a pair of assists. It was Harrison's second double-double of the 2012-13 campaign, as well as a career-best for points in a game. His first double-double came in a 10-point, 57-47, victory over Texas-Pan American to sweep the 2012 EMU “Ice Man” Classic, Nov. 18, 2012. Harrison posted 16 points and 12 boards in that win.

REBOUNDING RAMPAGE: The Eagles had their best showing on the glass this season when EMU grabbed 43 rebounds in their loss to Toledo. This season EMU has grabbed 40-or-more rebounds in just four games. The Eagles first pulled 41 down against Madonna University, Nov. 24, then notched 40 boards against the University of Illinois-Chicago, Dec. 15. Finally, Eastern nabbed 42 caroms against Northern Illinois University, Jan. 26. In games where the Eagles grab 40-or-more rebounrds, they are just 2-2.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO CLEVELAND: With the 2013 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament approaching, teams are jockeying for position, trying to get the best seed possible in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Eastern Michigan would be the No. 4-seed at Quicken Loans Arena. Despite having the fifth-best record in conference play this season, the Eagles would earn a double-bye as the fourth seed because Toledo has the fourth-best record but is ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.

EMU'S CAREER DIVISIONAL RECORD: The Mid-American Conference has had West-East Divisional competition since 1997-98. A complete list of divisional play is listed below.

EMU IN MAC DIVISIONAL PLAY

Year	MAC Record	Overall Record	Divisional Place
1997-98	13-5	20-10	3rd-West
1998-99	5-13	5-20	5th-West
1999-00	9-9	15-13	3rd-West
2000-01	1-17	3-25	6th-West
2001-02	2-16	6-24	6th-West
2002-03	8-10	14-14	T-4th-West
2003-04	7-11	13-15	5th-West
2004-05	5-13	12-18	6th-West
2005-06	3-15	7-21	5th-West
2006-07	6-10	13-19	4th-West
2007-08	8-8	14-17	T-2nd-West
2008-09	6-10	8-24	4th-West
2009-10	8-8	17-15	T-2nd-West
2010-11	5-11	9-22	T-4th-West
2011-12	9-7	14-18	1st-West
2012-13	4-5	11-12	3rd-West

NEXT ON THE DOCKET, BALL STATE: After hosting the Zips, Eastern will hit the road again to take on MAC West foe, Ball State University. EMU will be looking to avenge a home loss to the Cardinals, Jan. 9. Eastern will have some added incentive to win at Ball State as it would be the first road win of the season for EMU, which is now 0-10 away from home.
     Earlier this season, the Eagles were victim of a 60-58 setback at the hands of Ball State. The Cardinals hit a pair of free throws with less than a second on the clock to lock up a victory at the Convocation Center. Derek Thompson led the Eagles in scoring, bringing in 16 points and sinking 8-of-9 shots from the charity stripe, while J.R. Sims tied his season high with 12 points.

BRYANT TURNS IN A CAREER DAY: Redshirt junior forward Glenn Bryant has turned in a successful first season donning the Green and White. The transfer from the University of Arkansas has averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds through his first 23 games as an Eagle. More impressively, on the defensive side of the ball he has posted multiple shot block performances on eight different occasions.
    Eastern's 65-46 win over Buffalo proved to be Bryant's best game in Ypsilanti yet. The Detroit, Mich. native put-up a career-high 17 points against the Bulls, while also pulling down four rebounds and rejecting four shots at the Convocation Center.

BREAKING MURPHY'S LAW: Due to the nature of Head Coach Rob Murphy's offensive style, the Eagles generally play very close, low-scoring games within Mid-American Conference play. Prior to EMU's win over Buffalo, the Eagles had won just three games in conference play by 10-or-more points since Murphy took over for the 2011-12 campaign. Murphy's fourth 10-or-more point win came against the Bulls, Feb. 6, when his team posted a 19-point win. That 19 point differential is the largest margin in which a Muphy-coached Eastern sqaud has defeated a MAC team.

TWO BLOCKS A DAY KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY: The Eagles have posted two-or-more blocks in every game this season except for their 57-47 win against Texas-Pan American, Nov. 18. Eastern is second in the MAC in blocked shots, averaging 5.7 per game. Only the University of Akron turns away more shots, posting 5.8.
     Eastern has managed 5.8 blocks per game in MAC games, which is tops in the conference. Akron posts 4.8 per game in conference play.

RILEY MAKING HISTORY: After 23 games this season Da'Shonte Riley has posted 54 blocked shots, which is the sixth most in a single season at Eastern Michigan. He is averaging 2.27 blocks per game and is on pace to stuff 74 shots this season which would be the fourth-most blocks in a single season at EMU. Theron Wilson (1992-93) holds the record for the most blocks in a single season with 96.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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