Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, December 6
Dayton, Ohio
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Dayton
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Chloe Smith
Eastern Travels South to Dayton for First Road Test of 2014-15
12/4/2014 3:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles will meet up with the 2014 Elite Eight qualifier on Saturday at 2 p.m.
EMU Game Notes | Dayton Game Notes | |
| Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign on a hot streak, sitting at 7-0 after a dominant 83-52 victory over Marygrove College Monday, Dec. 1. The Eagles will now hit the road and head down I-75 for a 2 p.m. contest with the University of Dayton Saturday, Dec. 6. The Flyers (4-1) are not a familiar foe, but they are a team that will provide a tough test for Rob Murphy's squad on Saturday at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Dayton contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and Fox Sports Ohio. 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 Fox Sports Ohio. The game will air at 2 p.m. and will feature the fourth all-time meeting between the Eagles and Flyers. In addition, fans who cannot get to their television sets will be able to stream the contest live, provided they are subscribed to Fox Sports Ohio. Simply download the FOX Sports GO app or go to FOXSportsGO.com.
ALL-TIME VERSUS DAYTON: Saturday's 2 p.m. contest will be just the fourth time that Eastern Michigan and Dayton have squared off on the hardwood. The have yet to defeat the Flyers, falling in all three previous matchups.
The last game these two squads met up, Eastern was on the wrong side of a 58-83 decision. Back on Dec. 19, 1998 the Green and White traveled to Dayton, coming away empty handed as the Flyers knocked off EMU.
19 YEARS LATER: The Eastern Michigan men's hoops team is off to its best start since the 1995-96 campaign. That squad started 7-0 before falling to UTEP, 73-80, in the Sierra Medical Center Sun Carnival, Dec. 28, 1995, in El Paso, Texas. With a victory over Dayton on Saturday night, the Eagles will have started 8-0 for the first time since joining the NCAA prior to the 1971-72 season.
IN RARE COMPANY: As of the Dec. 4 NCAA statistical update, Eastern Michigan is one of just 21 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs which are still undefeated on the 2014-15 campaign. EMU is 7-0 and is the only Mid-American Conference institution to appear in the list of 21 schools.
A DAUNTING DEFENSIVE DEBATE: Both Eastern Michigan and Dayton are tough, hard-nosed defensive ball clubs. The Eagles come into the game allowing an average of 55.4 points per contest, while the Eagles are holding a slight edge in the category, allowing 56.0 points per game. In addition, Eastern allows its opponents to hit just 34.8 percent of their field goal attempts, while Dayton foes make just 36.9 percent of their shots.
ENTERING THE ELITE EIGHT: Saturday's contest at Dayton will mark the beginning of 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. In fact, this will be 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 opponenets.
BIG MIKE'S BIG DAY: Eastern Michigan redshirt-junior center Mike Samuels made it known as to why coach Rob Murphy brought the Bushkill, Pa. native to EMU. In the contest versus Marygrove Monday, Dec. 1. The 6-foot-11 Samuels posted the first double-double of his NCAA Division I career by pouring in 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Mustangs.
DOMINATING THE GLASS: The Eagles showed their dominance on the glass Monday night, Dec. 1, against Marygrove. Eastern pulled down 59 rebounds versus the Mustangs. That total ranked as the third-most all-time in a single game for EMU.
BLOWING OUT THE COMPETITION: The Green and White has been on a tear as of late, knocking off each of the last three opponents by at least 31 points. The Eagles started the trend against Longwood, Nov. 23, with a 79-48 victory, before knocking off Rochester, 68-35, and Marygrove, 83-52.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FREE ONES: Eastern Michigan starting point guard Ethan Alvano has been nearly automatic from the charity stripe this season, knocking down 86.4 percent of his free throw attempts. Currently, Alvano is 19-of-22 from the line, and has not missed in his last 11 free ones. In addition to Alvano's success, junior forward Brandon Nazione has been hot from the free throw line, hitting 82.4 percent, including his last nine attempts.
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 time the Eagles have earned a spot in the poll, but being ranked 20th is the highest that the Green and White has ever been voted.
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 steals per game (12th - 10.0 spg), field goal percentage defense (14th - 34.8 percent), scoring margin (19th - +19.4), scoring defense (20th - 55.4 ppg) and turnover margin (23rd - +5.3).
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 first in the MAC with a 4.8 assist to turnover ratio while Alvano ranks second in that category boasting a 4.0 ratio. The two Eagle point men have a combined 12 turnovers in the first six games of the season, while they've combined for 53 assists. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is 4.4 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 seven games of the season, Lee has had two 20-plus point scoring games, while knocking down 54.3 percent of his shots, in addition to a 39.3 percent three-point shooting percentage.
FLYING UNDER THE RADAR: Because of the stellar offensive outputs from both Raven Lee (15.0 ppg) and Karrington Ward (14.0 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 points and 7.7 rebounds, while connecting on 53.5 percent of their shots taken. Talley is hitting 62.5 percent of his shots, while Okoloji boasts a 45.7 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 8.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
WARD EARNS NO. 1 SPOT ON THE #SCTop10: Eastern threw down numerous dunks in its 89-77 victory over Oakland University Monday night, Nov. 17, and one dunk in particular got the attention of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. A thunderous slam by Karrington Ward earned the nod of the top play of the night on the show's Top 10 Plays segment.
As the No. 2 play of the night aired, an impressive breakaway dunk by Jeff Green of the Boston Celtics, ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt noted, "This is filthy! Something's got to be great to beat this." Upon seeing Ward's dunk as the No. 1 play of the evening, Van Pelt exclaimed, "Oh I see you Karrington Ward! Yeah, that's pretty nasty, that's number one!"
FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Dayton contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and Fox Sports Ohio. 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 Fox Sports Ohio. The game will air at 2 p.m. and will feature the fourth all-time meeting between the Eagles and Flyers. In addition, fans who cannot get to their television sets will be able to stream the contest live, provided they are subscribed to Fox Sports Ohio. Simply download the FOX Sports GO app or go to FOXSportsGO.com.
ALL-TIME VERSUS DAYTON: Saturday's 2 p.m. contest will be just the fourth time that Eastern Michigan and Dayton have squared off on the hardwood. The have yet to defeat the Flyers, falling in all three previous matchups.
The last game these two squads met up, Eastern was on the wrong side of a 58-83 decision. Back on Dec. 19, 1998 the Green and White traveled to Dayton, coming away empty handed as the Flyers knocked off EMU.
19 YEARS LATER: The Eastern Michigan men's hoops team is off to its best start since the 1995-96 campaign. That squad started 7-0 before falling to UTEP, 73-80, in the Sierra Medical Center Sun Carnival, Dec. 28, 1995, in El Paso, Texas. With a victory over Dayton on Saturday night, the Eagles will have started 8-0 for the first time since joining the NCAA prior to the 1971-72 season.
IN RARE COMPANY: As of the Dec. 4 NCAA statistical update, Eastern Michigan is one of just 21 NCAA Division I men's basketball programs which are still undefeated on the 2014-15 campaign. EMU is 7-0 and is the only Mid-American Conference institution to appear in the list of 21 schools.
A DAUNTING DEFENSIVE DEBATE: Both Eastern Michigan and Dayton are tough, hard-nosed defensive ball clubs. The Eagles come into the game allowing an average of 55.4 points per contest, while the Eagles are holding a slight edge in the category, allowing 56.0 points per game. In addition, Eastern allows its opponents to hit just 34.8 percent of their field goal attempts, while Dayton foes make just 36.9 percent of their shots.
ENTERING THE ELITE EIGHT: Saturday's contest at Dayton will mark the beginning of 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. In fact, this will be 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 opponenets.
BIG MIKE'S BIG DAY: Eastern Michigan redshirt-junior center Mike Samuels made it known as to why coach Rob Murphy brought the Bushkill, Pa. native to EMU. In the contest versus Marygrove Monday, Dec. 1. The 6-foot-11 Samuels posted the first double-double of his NCAA Division I career by pouring in 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Mustangs.
DOMINATING THE GLASS: The Eagles showed their dominance on the glass Monday night, Dec. 1, against Marygrove. Eastern pulled down 59 rebounds versus the Mustangs. That total ranked as the third-most all-time in a single game for EMU.
BLOWING OUT THE COMPETITION: The Green and White has been on a tear as of late, knocking off each of the last three opponents by at least 31 points. The Eagles started the trend against Longwood, Nov. 23, with a 79-48 victory, before knocking off Rochester, 68-35, and Marygrove, 83-52.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FREE ONES: Eastern Michigan starting point guard Ethan Alvano has been nearly automatic from the charity stripe this season, knocking down 86.4 percent of his free throw attempts. Currently, Alvano is 19-of-22 from the line, and has not missed in his last 11 free ones. In addition to Alvano's success, junior forward Brandon Nazione has been hot from the free throw line, hitting 82.4 percent, including his last nine attempts.
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 time the Eagles have earned a spot in the poll, but being ranked 20th is the highest that the Green and White has ever been voted.
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 steals per game (12th - 10.0 spg), field goal percentage defense (14th - 34.8 percent), scoring margin (19th - +19.4), scoring defense (20th - 55.4 ppg) and turnover margin (23rd - +5.3).
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 first in the MAC with a 4.8 assist to turnover ratio while Alvano ranks second in that category boasting a 4.0 ratio. The two Eagle point men have a combined 12 turnovers in the first six games of the season, while they've combined for 53 assists. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is 4.4 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 seven games of the season, Lee has had two 20-plus point scoring games, while knocking down 54.3 percent of his shots, in addition to a 39.3 percent three-point shooting percentage.
FLYING UNDER THE RADAR: Because of the stellar offensive outputs from both Raven Lee (15.0 ppg) and Karrington Ward (14.0 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 points and 7.7 rebounds, while connecting on 53.5 percent of their shots taken. Talley is hitting 62.5 percent of his shots, while Okoloji boasts a 45.7 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 8.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
WARD EARNS NO. 1 SPOT ON THE #SCTop10: Eastern threw down numerous dunks in its 89-77 victory over Oakland University Monday night, Nov. 17, and one dunk in particular got the attention of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. A thunderous slam by Karrington Ward earned the nod of the top play of the night on the show's Top 10 Plays segment.
As the No. 2 play of the night aired, an impressive breakaway dunk by Jeff Green of the Boston Celtics, ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt noted, "This is filthy! Something's got to be great to beat this." Upon seeing Ward's dunk as the No. 1 play of the evening, Van Pelt exclaimed, "Oh I see you Karrington Ward! Yeah, that's pretty nasty, that's number one!"
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