Eagles Ready to Take On Madonna at Home

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Saturday, Nov. 28, for a non-conference tilt with Madonna University at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. as the Eagles (3-2, 0-0 MAC) are coming in off of a commanding, 108-64, victory over Marygrove College. Eastern Michigan is also looking to win its second consecutive game for the first time this season.

Saturday will be the third of four matchups with teams from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), as the Green and White have already dispatched of Siena Heights, 79-34, and Marygrove earlier this year. The Crusaders (3-8, 1-4 WHAC) comes to Ypsilanti following a one-point, 73-72, loss to Davenport University Tueday, Nov. 24.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Madonna matchup will have both audio and video on Saturday. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet at WEMU.org to hear the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call this season will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

Following the addition of its own brand new mobile television unit, all EMU men's and women's basketball games will be streamed live on ESPN3. Ryan Wooley will provide the play-by-play coverage for the ESPN3 broadcast, while EMU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner will be alongside Wooley for analysis.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE CRUSADERS: Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup with Madonna will be just the third time that the two Michigan-based institutions have squared off. Eastern owns a perfect 2-0 record, as the Green and White has outscored Madonna, 154-127, in its two games with the Crusaders

The last time these two squads hit the floor against each other was during the 2012-13 season when EMU defeated Madonna, 75-57, Nov. 24, 2012, at the Convocation Center. Daylen Harrison scored 17 points to lead the Eagles, who shot 44.9 percent from the floor. Glenn Bryant and Raven Lee notched career-highs in points, scoring 16 and 14, respectively. Da'Shonte Riley added a team-best and career-high 13 rebounds.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE CRUSADERS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
12	Zak Lewis	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-3	205	10.8	2.5	1.3	Petosky, Mich.-Petosky
15	Dan Hall	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-6	225	4.7	4.5	0.2	Wyandotte, Mich.-Trenton
20	Chris Dierker	F	So.-So.	6-7	210	12.3	7.9	1.9	Canton, Mich.-Salem
21	Nick Owens	G	Fr.-Fr.	6-0	205	10.2	0.9	0.9	Clarkston, Mich.-Clarkston
24	Tyler Stewart	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-4	185	5.8	1.7	0.6	Canton, Mich.-Salem

THOMPSON TEARS IT UP: True freshman center James Thompson IV had a real coming out party against the Mustangs of Marygrove College, Nov. 25. The Baton Rouge, La. native went off for 32 points, converting on 13-of-14 field goal attempts, while pulling down 13 rebounds for his first career double-double. Both were career-highs for the 6-foot-10 freshman. The 32 points was the first 30-plus point game by an EMU player since Raven Lee scored 32 against Akron last season, Feb. 14. It was also tied for the sixth-most points scored in a game in Convocation Center history, and the most since Lee put up 38 versus the University of Texas Arlington, Nov. 23, 2013. In addition, Thompson's 26 first half points were the most scored by an Eagle since Lee dropped 31 in the second half of Eastern's 76-73 loss to Ohio University a season ago, Feb. 7, 2015.

BREAKING 100: Eastern's offense was blazing against Marygrove on Wednesday afternoon. The Green and White walked away from the Convocation Center with a 108-64 victory over the Mustangs, Nov. 25. It was the first time EMU scored 100-plus points since Dec. 29, 2014 in a 100-42 win over Concordia University (Mich.) and the most points scored by an EMU team since the 2008-09 season when EMU put up 119 against Marygrove, Nov. 14.

THEY'RE HEATING UP: In the Eagles' victory over Marygrove, they shot at a scorching 53.4 percent (39-of-73) from the floor. It was the second time that EMU has shot better than 50 percent from the floor this season and it was also the best shooting percentage by Eastern since the 100-42 victory over Concordia in the non-conference finale last season, Dec. 29.

DISHING OUT THE ROCK: Sophomore guard Tim Bond has the rare ability to play three different position in Head Coach Rob Murphy's system. In the Nov. 25 matchup with Marygrove, Bond played the point guard position primarily and did not disappoint. The 6-foot-7 Baltimore, Md. product dished out a career-high nine assists. That number was the most by an EMU player since Mike Talley recorded 10 versus Miami, Jan. 10, 2015.

SHINING ON THE BIG STAGE: Eastern Michigan junior guard Ty Toney showed out against No. 3/4 Michigan State Monday, Nov. 24, when he had his second 18-point outburst of the 2015-16 season, knocking down a career-best eight field goals, including his first three-pointer as a member of the EMU basketball program. The Alpharetta, Ga. native led all-scorers in the game.

MURPHY VERSUS NON-DI OPPONENTS: Although it comes as no surprise, EMU Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy has led the Eagles to a cool 16-0 record in both exhibition and regular season games against non-NCAA Division I opponents during his tenure. Last season, the Eagles went 4-0 in regular season games versus NAIA opponents.

MANNING THE MIDDLE: Currently averaging 2.8 blocks per game, which leads the Mid-American Conference and is in the top-20 in the NCAA, James Thompson IV has proven his defensive dominance through the early goings of 2015-16. Thompson has recorded at least two blocks in every game thus far and is on pace to swat 81 shots during the regular season.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED: Despite a 3-2 start, when you look inside the numbers, EMU's offense has been more successful than many may have thought to this point. Averaging 80.6 points per game, the Green and White is scoring more points than it did last season (69.4). With that being said, over 50 percent of last season's offensive output is no longer with the team due to graduation. In addition, Raven Lee has yet to play during the 2015-16 campaign, which leaves this season's squad with just 24 percent of the Eagles' scoring from a year ago.

THE BEST IN THE MAC: Considering the Eagles' success on the defensive end of the ball, it will come as no surprise that the Green and White have set MAC single game highs this season. James Thompson IV's five blocks versus Siena Heights are the most by any player in the conference this season, while Tim Bond and Willie Mangum IV hold that distinction in the steals category with four takeaways. Additionally, on the offensive end, Mangum's 12 field goal makes against Siena Heights tie for the most this season. As a team, EMU's 15 steals versus both Siena Heights and Vermont are the most by any team this season, while EMU's four turnovers versus MSU are the least giveaways any MAC school has had this season.

THE EERIE NUMBER 80: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball team, Head Coach Rob Murphy has prided himself on his team's defense and for good reason, considering his squad has only allowed the opposition to score 80-or-more points on 10 occasions. On the flip side, everytime the Green and White have allowed 80-plus, they've ended up on the wrong side of the ledger, including a pair of losses this season.

A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan has positioned itself near the top of multiple statistical categories in the Mid-American Conference as of Nov. 27. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Nov. 24
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	11.4 (eighth nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnover Margin	1st	+7.0 (11h nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Blocks per game	1st	5.8 (34th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Field goal percentage	2nd	36.1 (34th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Blocks per game	1st	2.8 (20th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	10.0 (37th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	2nd	61.9 (44th nationally)
Tim Bond	Steals per game	t-1st	2.2

LOOKING AT THE POSITIVES: Despite dropping an 89-65 contest to No. 3/4 Michigan State Monday, Nov. 23, there were a few bright spots to take away from the contest. The Eagles won the turnover battle with the Spartans, 4-13, while also grabbing five more steals than Michigan State.

GOTTA GUARD THE LINE: After four games this season, the Eagles may have found an Achilles heel in the defense. Although teams are only shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc this season, the Green and White is just 2-2, due in large part to hot shooting from three-point land. In both of Eastern's losses, the Eagles' opponents have shot 38.7 percent and 45 percent from the long line.

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG: Head Coach Rob Murphy is in his fifth season at the helm of the Eastern Michigan men's basketball program. Since taking over prior to the 2011-12 season, Murphy has amassed 76 wins which is good for the fifth-most by an EMU coach. Ben Braun set the mark in his 10-plus years, recording 185 as EMU's head man.

ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS

Rank	Coach	Years	Wins/yr.	Record
1.	Ben Braun	1986-96	16.8/yr	185-132 (.570)
2.	Elton J. Rynearson	1917-21; 1925-32 1935-40; 1944-46	8.8/yr	160-129 (.554)
3.	James D. Dutcher	1966-72	21.2.yr	127-49 (.770)
4.	Jim Boyce	1979-86	14/yr	84-96 (.467)
5.	Rob Murphy	2011-Present	18.3/yr (Four-year total)	76-67 (.531)

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Trent Perry

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics