Streaking Eagles Head to Northern Illinois

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - After dispatching Mid-American Conference West Division foe, University of Toledo, 65-44, Saturday, Feb. 15, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team hits the road for a two-game road swing. The Eagles will begin the miniature road trip by heading to DeKalb, Ill. for a televised contest with Northern Illinois University Thursday, Feb. 20, at the NIU Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT Thursday evening and all of the action can be seen live on Time Warner Cable Sports as well as ESPN3.

BECOMING ROCKET SCIENTISTS: After losing three-straight to its nemesis from the south, Toledo, the EMU hoops squad went to work in the lab and came out with a blueprint on how to dismantle a rocket. That blueprint was the 2-3 zone, and the Green and White ran it to perfection Saturday, Feb. 15, in a 65-44 win over the highest scoring team in the MAC. The Green and White held a top-10 scoring offense in the nation, who averaged 83.2 points per game coming into the contest, to nearly half that amount. The Rockets also came into the game shooting 48 percent on the season, and EMU held Toledo to an abhorrent 25.9 field goal percentage. The Green and White on the other hand, shot a cool 46 percent from the floor.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Huskies will hit the airwaves of 89.1 FM (WEMU). In addition to the WEMU broadcast, fans can watch the game live on Time Warner Cable Sports. If the channel is unavailable in your area, the Green and White faithful can watch live on ESPN3 or download the WatchESPN app to view on a mobile device. Both ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app are free of charge. In Michigan, the game will be available on Comcast 900.

Veteran "Voice of the Eagles" Chad Bush will serve as EMU's play-by-play announcer for the WEMU broadcast, while Sean Hostetter will join the broadcast as the analyst. For the television broadcast, Michael Reghi will handle the play-by-play, while his season-long partner, Tony White, will continue his analyst duties for Time Warner Cable Sports.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES: Monday's contest will mark the 86th all-time meeting between the Huskies and Eagles. Northern Illinois holds the all-time edge, 50-35. EMU and NIU first met during the 1926-27 campaign, when 1976 E-Club Hall of Fame inductee Elton J. Rynearson was serving as the team's head coach. It was the second of four stints for Rynearson as the EMU head men's basketball coach. That team was downed in a home contest, 39-35, Feb. 5, 1927.

Last time out, in the first round of the 2013 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, the Green and White came away with an offensively challenged, 45-44, victory at the Convocation Center. The Eagles' big man Da'Shonte Riley had himself a big day, scoring a career-high 13 points, caroming 11 rebounds, and blocking four shots; leading all players in those statistical categories. An All-MAC Honorable Mention member last season, Glenn Bryant had an impressive outing with 10 points and eight rebounds. Northern's J.J. Cravatta and Aksel Bolin each scored a team-leading nine points.

MURPHY VERSUS THE MAC: Third-year Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy holds a 23-21 all-time record against Mid-American Conference opponents in his third MAC season. The Detroit, Mich. native won the MAC-West Division Title in 2011-12 during his first season as the head man at EMU, before going 7-9 last season. Murphy and his squads have seen most of their success against teams from their own division, going 16-8, while they are just 7-13 against the East Division.

WEST COAST SWING: After eight games versus the East Division of the Mid-American Conference and just two against MAC West opponents in the first 10 games of the conference schedule, the Eagles are in the midst of completing the 18-game league schedule with eight-straight contests facing West Division foes.

THE WESTERN WAY: Since Rob Murphy took over as the head coach at Eastern Michigan, he has enjoyed much more success against the Eagles' side of the conference, including a MAC West Championship during the 2011-12 campaign. In contrast, he holds a 7-13 record versus the other side. So far this season, the Green and White maintains a perfect 4-0 record against MAC West opponents, after defeating, Ball State, Central Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan.

RILEY EARNS MAC WEEKLY DISTINCTION: Senior center Da'Shonte Riley was named Co-MAC West Player of Week for the period ending Feb. 16. Overall on the week, despite averaging just three points per contest, Riley pulled down 6.5 rebounds per game, while posting an assist and a pair of steals per game. Most impressive was his work in the paint defensively. The senior averaged 6.5 blocks per game, which is more than twice as many as any season average within MAC play as well as nearly two blocks better than the NCAA leader averages on the season.

YOU AGAIN?: This week's game between Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois will mark the seventh game between EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy and NIU's head man, Mark Montgomery. Following this regular season, the Green and White will have squared off with the Huskies eight times in the last three years, the most of any other team that Eastern has seen since Murphy's tenure began prior to the 2011-12 campaign. Murphy and his crew have drawn the Huskies two-straight seasons in the first round of the MAC Tournament. NIU first got the best of EMU, 55-52, March 5, 2012, before the Eagles got their revenge last season in a 45-44 win at the Convo, March 11, 2013.

A HALF FOR THE AGES: Eastern showed just how dominant it can be defensively against Northern Illinois, Jan. 26, 2013. EMU held the Huskies just one field goal and a pair of free throws in the opening half for a total of four points. That four-point output broke their own record-low of five first-half points from Dec. 1, 2012. It also tied the 2008 Savannah State Tigers for the fewest points scored in any half during the modern era.

The one NIU basket also tied the NCAA record with Savannah State for fewest field goals made in one half. NIU also shot just 1-of-31 in the first half for a 3.2 percent conversion rate. That mark broke the record previously held by Savannah State, who went 1-of-23 en route to their four-point second half, Jan. 7, 2008.

MAKING MORE HISTORY IN YPSI: There was some more history made in that Jan. 26, 2013 contest with the Huskies. The Eagles forced NIU to shoot 8-of-61 from the field in the game including 1-of-33 from beyond the arc for a 13.1 shooting percentage making it the lowest field goal percentage in NCAA history since the beginning of the shot clock era in 1986. The previous record occurred, Dec. 29, 2001, when Miami University shot 13.3 percent from the floor, making 8-of-60 shots against Dayton.

JUST AS MANY AS BEFORE: Last season, Eastern Michigan won just seven conference games all year. The Eagles have already matched that total just 12 games into the season. If EMU can win three of its final six contests, Head Coach Rob Murphy will have surpassed his career-best in conference wins after winning nine MAC games during the 2011-12 season on his way to EMU's first ever MAC West Championship.

NO LUCK ON THE SMALL SCREEN: The EMU basketball squad has played in eight games that have been aired on television this season. In those contests, the Green and White is just 1-7. Despite the discouraging numbers, three of those games were against AP Top-10 ranked teams such as Duke, Kentucky and Syracuse. Eastern looks to right the ship with a win versus Ohio.

THE BEST AT WHAT WE DO: Eastern Michigan prides itself on its defense. With that being the case, it should come as no surprise that EMU holds teams to one of the lowest shooting percentages in the country. Actually, according to NCAA.com's Feb. 17 update, the Eagles have the best shooting percentage defense in the country. After holding Toledo to a sub-26 percent performance, EMU moved into first in the category at 36.8 percent. Southern University is the next closest in the category at 37 percent.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Despite their woes versus teams from the MAC East, the Eagles are a perfect 4-0 versus MAC West opponents due in large part to their defensive efforts. Eastern allows an average of just 50.5 points per game in contests against the MAC West. Versus Toledo and Western Michigan, the teams selected to the top-two spots in the division prior to the season, EMU has allowed just 40.5 points per game. Those wins are against two teams who are currently 9-3 in MAC play. Currently, the Green and White sit two games out of a tie for the top of the MAC West.

RILEY IN BEAST MODE: Detroit, Mich. native Da'Shonte Riley was named Co-MAC West Player of the Week, Feb. 17, for good reason. The senior blocked six shots in a win versus Ball State, Feb. 12, before upping that mark to seven blocks in the Green and White's 65-44 win over Toledo. Riley anchored the Eagles' 2-3 zone to perfection as EMU allowed just 53 points per game, while holding the opposition to 33.0 percent shooting.

THE BLOCK KING: Da'Shonte Riley's seven blocked shots versus Toledo moved him into second all-time in blocks in Eastern Michigan history. In addition to his 171 career blocks, Riley currently has 75 blocks this season, which is 21 shy of Theron Wilson's top-mark of 96, which he set during the 1992-93 season. If Riley stays at his current pace of three per game, he will tie that record following EMU's first MAC Tournament game.

WESTERN MICHIGAN ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan has Western Michigan as its next opponent on the grueling 18-game MAC schedule, Feb. 23. The Green and White will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a 2 p.m. afternoon contest. The Eagles are looking to sweep the season series against the team who currently has a grasp on the No. 1 seed for the 2014 FirstEnergy MAC Men's Basketball Tournament. EMU defeated the Broncos, 56-37, in the Convocation Center earlier this year, Jan. 14.

SETTING THE DATE: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball contest with the University of Toledo at the end of the season has been given a definite date. The game will be played Saturday, March 8, and has been chosen as Time Warner Cable's MAC Wildcard Selection, the Mid-American Conference office announced today, Feb. 18. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

IF IT WAS TOURNAMENT TIME: If the 2014 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament were to begin today, the Green and White would sit as the No. 6-seed and would host No. 11-seeded Ball State Monday, March 10. For complete seedings, turn to page 12 of these notes.

THE ORDER OF THE THIEVES: Eastern is currently averaging 8.5 steals per game, which is not only the most in the Mid-American Conference, but that number is also the 15th-most at the NCAA Division I level. So far this season, the Green and White has picked the opposition's pocket 10-or-more times in seven different games, including a season-high 18 in the Eagles' 56-37 win over Western Michigan, Jan. 14. Those 18 steals are the most since EMU stripped Davidson 18 times during the 2006 season, Nov. 10.

THAT'S QUITE THE IMPROVEMENT: EMU forward Glenn Bryant has improved heading into his final season donning the Green and White, but most notably his free throw shooting. A year ago, he shot just 64.7 percent from the charity stripe. This year he has hit 74.3 percent of his free ones.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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