Eastern Heads to East Lansing for a Showdown with No. 25-Ranked Spartans

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is coming off of its first victory over the University of Michigan since the 1997-98 squad knocked off the Wolverines, Dec. 17. The Eagles (8-1) defeated U-M, 45-42, in a statement win for the Rob Murphy era. The Green and White will continue this four-game road trip with another Big Ten Conference foe, Michigan State University Wednesday, Dec. 17. The Spartans (7-3) are coming off of a 87-61 victory over Oakland at the Breslin Center on Sunday, Dec. 14.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Michigan State contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and the Big Ten Network. 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.

For those who prefer to watch the game, it has been chosen to be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The game will air at 9 p.m. and will feature the 32nd all-time meeting between the Eagles and Spartans. In addition, fans who cannot get to their television sets will be able to stream the contest live, provided they are subscribed to the Big Ten Network. Simply download the BTN2GO app or go to BTN2GO.com.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MICHIGAN STATE: Wednesday's 9 p.m. contest will be the 32nd time that Eastern Michigan and Michigan State have squared off on the hardwood. The Eagles have defeated the Spartans just four times as they trail the all-time series, 3-28.

The last time these two squads met up, Eastern was on the wrong side of a 72-40 decision. Back in Rob Murphy's first season at the helm of the EMU men's basketball program, the Spartans traveled to Ypsilanti as Eastern hosted MSU, Nov. 27, 2011 at the Convocation Center. J.R. Sims led the Eagles with 14 points while Austin Harper added six. Jamell Harris scored four points with seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

MURPHY VERSUS THE B1G: Head Coach Rob Murphy does not shy away from scheduling top-tier competition, inlcuding a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents this season. After knocking off Michigan, Murphy owns a 2-4 record against members of the Rosemont, Ill.-based conference.

ONE TO REMEMBER: The Dec. 9, 2014 EMU men's basketball contest will go down in history for the men's basketball program. Eastern came away with a 45-42 victory in Ann Arbor, Mich. defeating Michigan, its cross-county rival for just the third time in 31 meetings between to two programs.

EXACTLY 27 YEARS LATER: Despite trailing the all-time series, the Eagles have managed to defeat Michigan State on three occasions. The last time EMU knocked off the Spartans was exactly 27 year ago to the date. Eastern Michigan defeated Michigan State, 84-80, in an overtime contest Dec. 17, 1987.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Head coach Rob Murphy preaches the importance of defense to his squad on a normal basis. It showed in the Eagles' victory over Michigan, Dec. 9. The Eagles held the Wolverines to just 42 points, their fewest point total since Feb. 9, 2009, when the Maize and Blue fell to then-No. 9 Michigan State University, 54-42.

45-OR-LESS: Eastern Michigan has been one of the best defensive teams in the Mid-American Conference since Rob Murphy took over in Ypsilanti. In fact, the Eagles' 45-42 victory against Michigan was the 15th time since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign that the Green and White have held a team to 45-or-less points in a contest.

THE MAGIC NUMBER: One could argue that the number 70 is an extremely important one for the Eagles. Eastern Michigan has held teams under 70 points in all but two games this season. This number is important because the Eagles are 7-0 when allowing teams to put up less than 70 on them. When teams have passed that plateau, the Green and White is 1-1 with an 89-77 win over Oakland (Nov. 17) and a 73-64 loss at Dayton (Dec. 6).

CAUSING HAVOC: The legendary 2-3 zone defense is set up to cause havoc where the defenders jump passing lanes and don't allow an open shot. The Eagles have shown the mastery of the zone this season. Not only is the Green and White holding teams to 55.9 points per game and forcing them to shoot just 35.6 percent from the floor, but the Eagles own a turnover margin of +4.2, while forcing 8.7 steals per game. A perfect example of this was in EMU's victory over Michigan. The Wolverines averaged just 8.8 turnovers per game, but the Eagles forced U-M into 13 miscues.

SHARP SHOOTING FROM JODAN PRICE: Adding to the Eagles' depth on the bench, redshirt sophomore Jodan Price has shown that he can provide a spark to the EMU offense courtesy of the long ball. Out of the DePaul transfer's 18 shots made from the floor this season, 16 of them have been from beyond the arc. Price has shot over 40 perfect from three-point land in the past three games, including hitting three treys against Longwood, Nov. 23, Dayton, Dec. 6 and Michigan, Dec. 9. In a tight contest against the Flyers, the Indianapolis, Ind. native kept the Eagles within striking distance with three clutch second-half threes, while he contributed three triples and knocked down a long two to ice the Green and White's victory at Michigan. Along with adding a lengthy wingspan to the bottom of Head Coach Rob Murphy's 2-3 zone, Price is not afraid to shoot the ball from long distance.

ENTERING THE ELITE EIGHT: After the Dec. 9 victory at Michigan the Eagles will continue a stretch in which the EMU men's basketball team will take on three schools in a row which made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in the previous season. EMU will travel to East Lansing, Mich. to square off with Michigan State to close out the grueling trio of games. This run is the first time that the Eagles will have played three teams that have made the Elite Eight the previous year in one season. There have been three occasions (2013-14, 2012-13 and 1996-97) that Eastern met up with a pair of Elite Eight opponents.

MID-MAJOR MADNESS: After starting the season 6-0, the 31-coach panel of mid-major head coaches across the country felt that EMU had earned a spot in the Dec. 1 version of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Eagles came in at No. 20, marking the second time Eastern earned a spot in the poll in the history of the mid-major top 25. Not only is it the second year in a row that the Eagles earned a spot in the poll, but their current ranking of 18th is the highest that EMU has ever been voted.

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 nine games of the season, Lee has had three 20-plus point scoring games, while knocking down 50 percent of his shots. In the Eagles' game against Dayton, the Detroit, Mich. native led the team in scoring with a season-high 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: With the help of stellar play from point guards Ethan Alvano and Mike Talley, the Eagles have been impressive in protecting the basketball. As a team, EMU's turnover margin of 4.2 is leading the Mid-American Conference. Talley is seventh in country in assist/turnover ratio, posting 4.22 assists per turnover. Moreover, EMU has turned the ball over 10 times or less in four of its games this season. Despite the first loss of the season in a setback to Dayton, Dec. 6, the Green and White only committed a season-low six turnovers.

Eastern Heads to East Lansing for a Showdown with No. 25-Ranked Spartans

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Ray Lee

Jodan Price

J.R. Sims

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics