Eagles Put Perfect Record on the Line Against Marygrove

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign on a hot streak, sitting at 6-0 after a dominant 68-35 victory over Rochester College Wednesday, Nov. 26. The Eagles now turn their attention to Marygrove College, Dec. 1, for a 7 p.m. matchup. The Mustangs (1-7) have become a familiar name on the exhibition schedule since Rob Murphy took the reins of the EMU program. Murphy has scheduled Marygrove as an exhibition opponent in two of his first three seasons, before adding the Mustangs to the 2014-15 regular season slate this year.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Marygrove contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and Eagle All-Access. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet to the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter, along with Assistant Athletics Director Greg Steiner as the producer.

For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be live streamed on EMU's internet-based web streaming service, Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch. The pregame show and analysis will begin at 6:50 p.m. on Monday evening.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE MARYGROVE: Monday's 7 p.m. contest will be just the second time that Eastern Michigan and Marygrove have squared off in regular season contests. The Eagles hold the edge against the Mustangs, defeating the Detroit, Mich.-based institution, 119-48, at the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign.

Then-head coach Charles E. Ramsey's Eagles had 11 players crack the scoring column with EMU sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry setting career bests in points and rebounds with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman forward Branden Harrison added 21 points while sophomore guard Solomon Farris chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds and junior center Justin Dobbins scored 11 points with seven rebounds.

18 YEARS LATER: The Eastern Michigan men's hoops team is off to its best start since the 1996-97 campaign. That squad started 6-0 before falling to Cincinnati, 79-102, on ESPN, Dec. 19, 1996. With a victory over Marygrove on Monday night, the Eagles will have started 7-0 for the first time since the 1995-96 season. That EMU squad made it to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils, 75-60, in the first round.

IN RARE COMPANY: As of the Nov. 29 NCAA statistical update, Eastern Michigan is one of just 33 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs which are still undefeated on the 2014-15 campaign. The Eagles are 6-0 and are one of just two Mid-American Conference institutions to appear in the list of 33 schools.

A NATIONAL PHENOMENON: The Eagles have proven to be a strong defensive team in the past, as shown by leading the country in field goal percentage defense last year. So far through the 2014-15 campaign, Eastern is in the top-25 ranking is scoring defense (25th - 56.0 ppg), steals per game (21st - 9.3 spg), turnovers per game (23rd - 10.7 tpg) and turnover margin (21st - +5.5).

A NICE PROBLEM TO HAVE: Eastern Michigan has started freshman Ethan Alvano at point guard since the beginning of the season despite returning Mike Talley who was EMU's starting point guard last season. Both Alvano and Talley have been effective floor generals for the Green and White thus far, in fact, Talley is seventh in the country with a 6.3 assist to turnover ratio, while Alvano ranks 28th in that category boasting a 4.2 ratio. The two Eagle floor generals have a combined nine turnovers in the first six games of the season, while they've combined for 46 assists. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is 5.1 assists for every one turnover.

THAT'S SO RAVEN: Much like he had been touted out of high school, redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee has not disappointed on the offensive end this season. Through the first six games of the season, Lee has had two 20-plus point scoring games, while knocking down 53.1 percent of his shots, in addition to a 40.7 percent three-point shooting percentage.

FLYING UNDER THE RADAR: Because of the stellar offensive outputs from both Raven Lee (16.2 ppg) and Karrington Ward (15.0 ppg), many Eagle fans have forgotten about the talented play through the beginning of the season from Anali Okoloji and Mike Talley. Combined, the two seniors are averaging 20.3 points and seven rebounds, while connecting on 55.6 percent of their shots taken. Talley is hitting 61.8 percent of his shots, while Okoloji boasts a 50.0 shooting percentage.

STREAKING AT THE CONVO: Eastern Michigan's basketball program has had great success underneath current head coach Rob Murphy in home games at the Convocation Center. The Eagles are 43-12 in games played at the Convo, including a current 14-game winning streak. Eastern has not dropped a game in Ypsilanti since it fell, 56-58, to Ohio, Jan. 25, 2014.

THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Despite not having a clear-cut go-to guy in the middle, the "three-headed monster" of Olalekan Ajayi, Jerome Hunter and Mike Samuels have been productive for EMU. The trio has combined for 7.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.

SWEEPING THE SHOWCASE: Eastern Michigan hosted three schools last weekend for the 2014 EMU Showcase. In the tournament, EMU went a perfect 3-0, defeating Youngstown State, 71-62, UNC Greensboro, 70-62, and Longwood, 79-48, on its way to a championship and a perfect 5-0 start to the young 2014-15 season.

LEE NAMED MAC WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Raven Lee was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Nov. 24. It is the second time the Detroit, Mich. native has garnered the award in his career and first of the young 2014-15 campaign.

Lee was an offensive powerhouse in the Eagles' perfect 4-0 week, scoring double-digit points in each game. Lee averaged 19.8 points per game, while pulling down 2.5 rebounds, dishing out 1.5 assists and grabbing one steal per game on his way to being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 EMU Showcase. The redshirt-sophomore shot 58.7 percent from the floor, including an outstanding 55 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to his hot field goal shooting, Lee knocked down 82.4 percent of his free throws, while going 12-for-12 in the first three games of the week combined. The Detroit, Mich. native shot 50 percent-or-better in all four games, while exploding for 20-plus points in a pair of the contests.

DOUBLE VISION: As many have gathered from his appearance on the #SCTop10, Karrington Ward has been recognized as one of the most dynamic players in the Mid-American Conference. The Lockport, Ill. native has proven that by posting back-to-back-to-back double-doubles. Ward went for 22 points and 12 rebounds against Oakland, Nov. 17, before leading the Eagles in scoring and rebounding against Youngstown State, Nov. 21, with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Then, the senior recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds versus UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Nov. 22, giving him his third consecutive double-double. Last season, Ward had just three double-doubles the entire year.

OKAY MR. OKOLOJI: Eagle newcomer Anali Okoloji has made an immediate impact for the Green and White since transferring to EMU as a graduate student from George Mason. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native has come to play in his final year of eligibility and is currently starting for Rob Murphy's squad at the No. 4-spot. Okoloji made his presence known in the first game of the EMU Showcase by filling up the net on five occasions, while recording 16 points and six rebounds, both of which are career-highs for him, against Youngstown State, Nov. 21.

HAMMERING THE HORIZON: With the Eagles' victory over Youngstown State, Nov. 21, the Green and White notched its fifth-straight win over a Horizon League-based team. That streak dates back to last season, Nov. 18, 2013, when Eastern welcomed Cleveland State into the Convocation Center. The Eagles knocked off the Vikings, 81-69, beginning an impressive streak over another strong mid-major conference in the NCAA.

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Players Mentioned

Olalekan Ajayi

Ethan Alvano

Jerome Hunter

Ray Lee

Anali Okoloji

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics