Eagles Continue the Road Show Tuesday at Michigan

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to Washtenaw County after being handed its first loss of the season by the University of Dayton, Dec. 6, by a score of 73-64. The Eagles (7-1) will be heading to Ann Arbor, Mich. to square off with the University of Michigan for the 30th time in the schools histories. The Wolverines (6-2) are coming off of a 72-70 setback at the hands of the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Dec. 6.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Michigan contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and ESPNU. 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 ESPNU. The game will air at 9 p.m. and will feature the 30th all-time meeting between the Eagles and Wolverines. In addition, fans who cannot get to their television sets will be able to stream the contest live, provided they are subscribed to ESPNU. Simply download the WatchESPN app or go to WatchESPN.com.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MICHIGAN: Tuesday's 9 p.m. contest will be the 30th time that Eastern Michigan and Michigan have squared off on the hardwood. The Eagles have defeated the Wolverines, just twice as they trail the all-time series, 2-27.

The last time these two squads met up, Eastern was on the wrong side of a 93-54 decision. Back on Dec. 20, 2012 the Green and White traveled to Ann Arbor, coming away empty handed as the Wolverines knocked off EMU. Daylen Harrison led the Eagles with 13 points while Glenn Bryant added 10.

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 eight games of the season, Lee has had three 20-plus point scoring games, while knocking down 52.2 percent of his shots, in addition to a 36.1 percent three-point shooting percentage. In the Eagles' latest 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 5.3 is also ranked 17th nationally, leading the Mid-American Conference. Posting 10.9 turnovers per game, the fewest in the MAC, the Eagles crack the top-25 national rakings at No. 22 in fewest miscues per contest. Moreover, EMU has turned the ball over 10 times or less in four of its first eight 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.

PRICE THE SHARP SHOOTER: 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 14 shots made from the floor this season, 13 of them have been from beyond the arc. Price has shot over 40 perfect from three-point land in three of the past four games, including hitting three treys against Longwood, Nov. 23, and Dayton, Dec. 6. In a tight contest against the Flyers, the Indianapolis, Ind. native kept the Eagles within striking distance with three clutch second-half threes. 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 Saturday's loss at Dayton 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's game with Michigan will be the second leg of that stretch, while the Green and White 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 opponenets.

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.

19 YEARS LATER: The Eastern Michigan men's hoops had its best start since the 1995-96 campaign this year after beginning the season 7-0. The 1995-96 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, the Eagles would have started 8-0 for the first time since joining the NCAA prior to the 1971-72 season; however, EMU was on the wrong end of a 73-64 decision.

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.

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 as Both guards are in the top-20 in assists-to-turnover ratio as Alvano is 15th at 4.17, and Talley posts a 4.00 ratio for No. 17 in the country. The two Eagle point men have a combined 14 turnovers this season, while they've combined for 57 assists. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is 4.1 assists for every one turnover.

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Glenn Bryant

Daylen Harrison

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Jodan Price

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Eastern Michigan Athletics