Eagles Host Western Michigan for In-State Rival Matchup

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - After dropping Northern Illinois University for the second time this season, 53-41, Feb. 27, at the NIU Convocation Center, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will return home Saturday, March 2, to square off with in-state rival Western Michigan University. The Eagles are trying to avenge a 63-59 loss at the hands of the Broncos, Jan. 23, in Kalamazoo. Tip is set for 2:04 p.m. at the Convo.
     Eastern is now 13-15 on the 2012-13 campaign and 6-7 in conference play, holding down the number three spot in the West Division. Redshirt senior Derek Thompson is leading the offensive charge for the Green and White, posting 10.7 points per game, while redshirt junior Glenn Bryant is putting up 10.4. Daylen Harrison is averaging 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds, while fellow transfer Da'Shonte Riley has led Eastern on the glass, hauling in 5.9 rebounds a game this season. Freshman Jalen Ross has dished out 70 assists, good for 2.6 per game, which tops EMU.
    The Broncos come into Saturday's contest leading the Mid-American Conference West Division at a 9-4 mark, 18-9 overall. Shayne Whittington is leading WMU with 12.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. On the boards, Western holds a +6.9 rebounding margin which ranks them No. 1 in the MAC in rebounding. They average 37.8 rebounds while allowing just 30.9 caroms per game.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Broncos 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 Greg Steiner, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, as the analyst. Pre-game coverage of the matchup will begin at 1:50 p.m.
     Along with the WEMU broadcast, the matchup will be aired on Eagle All-Access with live audio and video action. Eagle All-Access is a subscription-based video service provided by EMU. Subscriptions start at just $6.95, visit EMUEagles.com/showcase for more details.

WELCOME TO THE HALL OF FAME: Saturday's tilt between the Eagles and Broncos will serve as the 2013 Hall of Fame game as the EMU E-Club, a group of former EMU varsity athletic letterwinners, has announced the addition of five new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The Class of 2012 includes: Erik Henriksen (men's track and field), Ivory Hood (football), Sharon (Rose) Schwartz (women's basketball), Brian Tolbert (men's basketball) and Jerry Umin (wrestling).
     In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees, the E-Club will present Jim Streeter, recently retired EMU Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations, with the Ron Oestrike Distinguished Service Award. The award, named after former EMU baseball-coaching legend Ron Oestrike, was first presented at the 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony to Oestrike. The award is voted on by the E-Club Executive Board and is presented to individuals that have been instrumental in assisting the E-Club.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN: Saturday afternoon's matchup will mark the 99th all-time meeting between the Broncos and Eagles. Western Michigan holds the all-time series edge, 55-43. EMU and WMU first met during the 1914-15 campaign when Thomas Ransom was head coach and 1976 E-Club Hall of Fame inductee Elton J. Rynearson was serving as the team's captain. That team was victorious in a road contest, 37-24, Feb. 13, 1915, and went 9-4 on the season, also topping Central Michigan in its season finale.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: Eastern had three student-athletes with double-digit point performances as Daylen Harrison led the offense with 15 points. Glenn Bryant dropped 12 and Jamell Harris poured in 10 for the Eagles. Jalen Ross added nine points of his own. On the glass, Bryant, Harris and Harrison each had six caroms, while Da'Shonte Riley also pulled down six rebounds.
     As a team, EMU shot 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) from the floor and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Western hit 21-of-45 (46.7 percent) in field goal attempts, while knocking down 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) three point shots.
    Despite leading by as many as 10 points with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, the Eagles went into the half all knotted-up at 24 points apiece. Eastern was unable to get the offense flowing and was outscored, 39-35, in the second half to drop the game in Kalamazoo.

A TAIL OF TWO TEAMS: EMU has shown impressive offensive and defensive efficiency against teams from the MAC West Division during the 2012-13 campaign. Although they are scoring just 54 points per game in contests against West Division opponents, the Eagles are shooting an astounding 42.8 percent from the floor, while hitting 35.1 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. Eastern is 4-3 in games against the West. Defensively, EMU allows just 50.1 points per game against teams from its division.
Conversely, in games against the East Division, the Green and White is scoring 58 points per game, while allowing 61.7 per game. The Eagles shoot under 40 percent in games against the East Division, while holding a 2-4 record in those six games. In games against East Division opponents, the opposition is shooting a solid 44.3 percent from the floor, while Da'Shonte Riley averages just one block a game. In games against the West, Riley blocks nearly two shots per game. Also, Eastern has not won a road game against a team from the East Division.

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	6-7	13-15	3rd-West

TIME FOR A STREAK: Eastern Michigan has not seen a pair of wins in a row since early in the conference schedule. The last time EMU won two-straight games was when they defeated Central Michigan, 58-52, at home, Jan. 15. The Eagles followed that win with a victory over Miami, 65-58, Jan. 15, at the Convocation Center. The win over the RedHawks was the first time in 17 games that Eastern was able to defeat MU.

SIMSANITY!: Since joining the starting lineup against Ball State, Feb. 16, J.R. Sims is averaging a team-best 11.5 points per game, while shooting a blistering 16-of-37 (43.2 percent) from the floor and 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from three-point land. He is also playing 29.8 minutes per game.
    Prior to joining the starting lineup he saw just 18.7 minutes a game, while posting 4.5 points with a 36.5 shooting percentage.

NEXT ON THE DOCKET, CENTRAL MICHIGAN: After hosting Western Michigan, Eastern will hit the road to square off with Central Michigan for the second time this season. In their first matchup the Eagles topped the Chippewas, 58-52, at the Convocation Center.
    EMU's defense posted a season-high 11 blocks and was anchored by forward Glenn Bryant who denied a season-high five shots. Jalen Ross led the Eagles in scoring with 13 points and was one-of-three EMU players to hit double figures.
    As a team, EMU shot 16-of-32 (50 percent) from the floor and CMU went 19-of-59 (32.2 percent). The Eagles also shot a blistering 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from long range including a 5-of-6 showing in the opening 20 minutes.

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. 6-seed at Quicken Loans Arena. Despite tying for the fifth-best record in conference play this season, the Eagles would earn the sixth seed due to Toledo being ineligible for postseason play as well as losing the tiebreaker scenarios with Kent State and Bowling Green. (For complete seeding details flip to page 22 of these notes).

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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