Eagles Prepped For Noon Matchup at Penn State

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is rolling, winning its last three games, including its most recent triumph with an 80-73 victory on the road at the University of Nebraska Omaha Tuesday night. Coming off their first road win of the 2015-16 season, the Eagles (5-2, 0-0 MAC) look to win their fourth-straight game Saturday, Dec. 5, when they travel to State College, Pa. to square off with Pennsylvania State University. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for noon.

The Nittany Lions (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) are hitting the floor following a 67-58 victory over Boston College Wednesday, Dec. 2, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. PSU has split its last four games, but holds a 3-1 record inside the Bryce Jordan Center during the 2015-16 campaign, with its only loss coming to Radford, Nov. 20.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Penn State matchup can be found both on the radio and on television 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.

In addition to the WEMU broadcast, the Eagles' game at the Bryce Jordan Center will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The play-by-play man for Monday's action will be Wayne Randazzo, while Jon Crispin will breakdown the game alongside Randazzo. For those who cannot get to the TV set, the game can be streamed live via BTN2Go.com or the BTN2Go app on your mobile devices if you have a television subscription to the Big Ten Network.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE NITTANY LIONS: Saturday's noon contest with the Nittany Lions will be just the second time that Penn State and Eastern Michigan will square off on the hardwood. The only other time the Green and White took on PSU was back in the 1991 NCAA Tournament when Eastern Michigan dispatched the Nittany Lions, 71-68, to advance to its first and only Sweet 16 appearance.

The No. 12-seeded EMU squad took on the No. 13-seeded Nittany Lions on March 17 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. Marcus Kennedy led the way, with 21 points, while Lorenzo Neely went off for 18 as Eastern Michigan took care of business and moved on to the Sweet 16 after a 71-68 victory. EMU fell to the No. 1 overall seed, North Carolina, 93-67, in its next game.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE NITTANY LIONS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Payton Banks	F	So.-So.	6-6	220	10.3	4.8	1.0	Orange, Calif.-Lutheran
10	Brandon Taylor	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	225	14.2	5.5	1.7	Tabernacle, N.J.-Trenton Catholic
23	Josh Reaves	G	Fr.-Fr.	6-4	190	6.5	3.2	1.3	Fairfax, Va.-Oak Hill Academy
33	Shep Garner	G	So.-So.	6-1	185	15.5	2.8	2.8	Chester, Pa.-Roman Catholic
44	Julian Moore	F	So.-So.	6-10	235	5.3	5.2	0.8	Philadelphia, Pa.-Germantown Academy

MURPHY VERSUS THE BIG TEN: Already dropping a contest to Big Ten Conference member Michigan State this year, Nov. 23, Head Coach Rob Murphy looks for a different outcome versus Penn State this weekend. Murpy has shown success against the Rosemont, Ill.-based conference, picking up a pair of victories in his first four seasons. Overall, Murphy holds a 2-6 record versus Big Ten opponents.

ROAD WARRIORS: The EMU men's basketball team hit the road for just the third time this season, but the first time exiting the state of Michigan when the squad traveled to Nebraska Omaha, Dec. 1. In fact, the Eagles will be flying across the country over the next three weeks, playing four of its next five games away from Ypsilanti. In total, the Green and White will travel 3,930 miles between Monday, Nov. 30 and Monday, Dec. 21, going as far west as Omaha, Neb. and traveling to the east coast to Baltimore, Md.

RETURN OF RAVEN: After serving a suspension for a violation of team rules, redshirt-junior guard Raven Lee made his return to the hardwood for the Eagles Tuesday, Dec. 1, in Eastern's 80-73 victory over Nebraska Omaha. In his first game of the 2015-16 season, Lee showed why he was a preseason All-MAC awardwinner. The 6-foot-3 combo guard went for 17 points, five assists and three rebounds. Despite shooting just 3-of-11 from the floor, the Detroit, Mich. native was successful in driving the lane, drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. Lee went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe on his way to leading the Eagles in scoring in their first road win of the 2015-16 campaign.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: EMU's James Thompson IV is making waves and an early push to be considered the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. Thompson is the only freshman in the conference who ranks in the top-20 in scoring at 10th (14.3 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (11.4 rpg) as the only freshman in the top-20 in that category as well. In addition, the Baton Rouge, La. product leads the MAC in blocked shots (2.4 bpg) and is first in the league in field goal percentage (64.2 percent). On top of those gaudy numbers, he is the only student-athlete in the MAC to average a double-double. Not only is Thompson making waves in the Mid-American Conference, but his statistics have shown up in the national rankings as well. Currently, Thompson is 20th nationally in field goal percentage, while he ranks 10th in rebounds per game and 11th in total rebounds (80). He is 30th in blocked shots per game and 30th in total blocks (17), while his three double-doubles rank 29th and his 4.71 offensive rebounds per game are good for sixth nationally.

IN THE SHADOWS: With James Thompson IV flourishing in the early goings of his Eagle career, there has been an unsung hero down low for the Green and White. Senior forward Brandon Nazione has put together a solid season thus far for Eastern Michigan. The Howell, Mich. native is averaging 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. His scoring output ranks 29th in the MAC, while he is also 11th overall in rebounding.

BECAUSE OF THE BIGS: Despite having quite the guard-heavy roster, the Eagles owe a large part of their success this year to the big boys down low. The starting frontcourt of James Thompson IV and Brandon Nazione are posting 25.4 points and 19.1 rebounds per game this season. In addition, the duo is grabbing seven offensive rebounds per game between the two of them, allowing for second chance opportunities. In fact, the Green and White have scored 19.5 percent of their points on second tries.

DOUBLE VISION: A rare feat at EMU and in college basketball in general, but we're seven games into the season and the Eagles have five student-athletes averaging 10-or-more points per game. Raven Lee leads the way with 17 points per contest. Lee is followed by Willie Mangum IV (15.4 ppg), James Thompson IV (14.3 ppg), Ty Toney (11.4 ppg) and Brandon Nazione (11.1 ppg). This is the first time for EMU to have five averaging double-figures in scoring at least seven games into the season since the 2004-05 season. After seven games that year, Daryl Garrett notched 14.4 points per game off the bench, followed by John Bowler (13.0 ppg), Michael Ross (10.9 ppg), James Jackson (10.7 ppg) and Markus Austin (10.4 ppg). EMU finished that season with four student-athletes averaging double-figures. Austin led with 13.8, Bowler notched 13, Garrett added 11.9 and Ross totaled 10.6.

THOMPSON, ON A TEAR: True freshman center James Thompson IV just needed a few games to get his bearings at the NCAA Division I level. The Baton Rouge, La. native put together three-straight double-double performances, first going for a career-best 32 points and 13 rebounds versus Marygrove, Nov. 25. Following that performance, the 6-foot-10 center notched 23 points and another career-high 15 rebounds. In addition, he scored 16 points, while matching his career-high 15 boards versus Omaha, Dec. 1. Overall, the last three games Thompson is averaging 23.7 points and 14.3 rebounds per contest. For the season, Thompson is averaging 14.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, while knocking down 64.2 percent of his field goal attempts.

CAUSING HAVOC IN THE ZONE: EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy preaches defense, defense, defense and its evident in the exceptional 2-3 zone run by Eastern. The Eagles have forced each of its 2015-16 opponents into double-digit turnover numbers. In fact, No. 3/4 Michigan State and Oakland are the only two squads to keep that number underneath 15. On the year, EMU is forcing 19.1 turnovers per game, while ranking 15th in the NCAA in turnover margin, forcing 5.9 more turnovers per game than its opposition. In addition, the Green and White rank sixth in the country in steals per game, picking the opponents' pocket 11 times per contest.

NEW CREW: Despite the absence of EMU's top leading scorer from a season ago through the first six games of the season, Eastern has found some scoring in new places. Of the 562 points scored this season, 298 have been scored by student-athletes who are new to the EMU men's basketball program. That number is 53 percent of the scoring by the 2015-16 Eagles. Leading the charge for the newcomers are junior college transfer guards Willie Mangum IV (15.4 ppg) and Ty Toney (11.4 ppg). In addition, freshman center James Thompson IV is adding 14.3 points per contest for the Green and White.

QUARTERBACKING THE OFFENSE: To most EMU fans, Tim Bond was known more for his high flying abilities but the Eagles have called upon Bond for another form of offense. It looks as though the sophomore guard will be taking over the point guard role in Rob Murphy's offense. It has been evident that since Bond took on that role prior to the Eagles' game with Marygrove, he has flourished as the point man. In his first two games at the helm of the offense, Bond has accumulated 14 assists, good for seven per game.

A LOOK AHEAD: Following the weekend contest with the Nittany Lions, Dec. 5, the Eagles will return home for a game with its final non-NCAA Division I opponent this season. Tuesday, Dec. 8, the Green and White will square off with Rochester College from the Convocation Center at 7 p.m.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, head coach Rob Murphy has shown sustained success versus other NCAA Division I mid-major programs. Over the last four seasons, Murphy holds a 20-10 record versus mid-majors in non-conference play. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Murphy has gone 13-1 against mid-major programs in non-conference play.

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 Dec. 4. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Dec. 4
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	11.0 (fifth nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnover Margin	1st	+5.9 (11th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Blocks per game	2nd	5.0 (55th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Scoring Margin	t-2nd	+14.0 (41st nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Field goal percentage defense	3rd	36.8 (28th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Rebounds per game	3rd	43.6 (26th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Blocks per game	1st	2.43 (30th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	11.4 (10th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Offensive rebounds per game	1st	4.71 (sixth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	1st	64.2 (20th nationally)
Tim Bond	Steal per game	2nd	2.14 (59th nationally)

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 78 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)	78-67 (.538)

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Brandon Nazione

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics