Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tuesday, February 24
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Central Michigan
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eastern is Set for an In-State Clash with Central Michigan
2/23/2015 3:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles are looking to get revenge from their loss at CMU, Jan. 24
| Game Notes | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Coming off of its first road win of the 2015 Mid-American Conference campaign, 73-65, against Northern Illinois, Feb. 21, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will return back to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Tuesday, Feb. 24. The Eagles (17-10, 6-8 MAC) will square off with Central Michigan University in a MAC West Battle. The Chippewas (20-5, 10-4 MAC) enter the Tuesday affair following an 83-60 victory over Ball State University, Feb. 21.
Fans in attendance will be able to enjoy the high flying and acrobatic moves of the Sky Squad at halftime. The Sky Squad has thrilled fans with their aerial artistry with dazzling acrobatic flips and twists off mini trampolines mixed with mid-air passes and dynamic slam dunking ,which delivers non-stop pure energy excitement to audiences of all ages.
FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Central Michigan matchup can be found on 89.1 FM WEMU and Eagle All-Access. 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, along with Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations who will serves as the on-site engineer for the broadcast.
For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming service Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch. The pregame show and analysis will begin at 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
ALL-TIME VERSUS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Tuesday's contest between the Eagles and Chippewas marks the 190th meeting all-time between the squads. The Green and White defeated Central Michigan in all three matchups last season with wins by at least 12 points in each contest. The Chippewas own a nine-game advantage over the Green and White as they lead the series 99-90 all-time.
In the Green and White's loss earling this season, Raven Lee led the Eagles with 18 points after connecting on 6-of-17 from the floor, including three from long range. Brandon Nazione added eight points, while tying a season-best eight rebounds and Mike Talley added nine points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers. As a team, the Eagles shot just 18-of-59 from the floor (30.5 percent), while being outrebounded by the Chippewas, 45-38.
A RARE FIND: Eastern Michigan was able to get its first win on the road in MAC play Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Eagles knocked off Northern Illinois, 73-65. Mike Talley posted a career-best 25 points to lead the Green and White's offense, going 6-of-12 from the floor, while knocking down 10 free throws in 14 attempts. The redshirt-senior point guard dished out five assists in the victory. Karrington Ward was just one rebound shy of his fourth-straight double-double, going for 21 points and nine rebounds. The Lockport, Ill. native blocked a pair of shots, while swiping the ball from NIU on a pair of occasions. As a team, Eastern Michigan shot 42.6 percent from the floor, while hitting 31.6 percent of their three-point attempts. The Eagles hit just 67.5 percent of their free throw attempts.
WITH A HEALTHY KARRINGTON..: Last season the Eagles went a perfect 3-0 versus Central Michigan and it was due in large part to senior forward Karrington Ward. Ward ate the Chippewas alive in his first season donning the Green and White. In three matchups with CMU, Ward averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 forward hit 47.2 of his overall shot opportunities, while also knocking down 42.9 percent of his 21 three-point attempts. The Lockport, Ill. native also averaged one block and 1.7 steals per game in the Eagles' three victories versus CMU last year. Earlier this season, Ward played just 12 minutes versus CMU, but everyone expects to see more out of the senior as the Central game was the first he played since nursing an ankle injury. Since returning to health, Ward is averaging 19.8 points and 10 rebounds per game, while hitting 47.9 percent of his attempts and 50 percent of his three-point shots.
HOLDING DOWN THE CHIPS: Eastern Michigan has been stout against the Chippewas defensively over the last two seasons. CMU's prolific offense averages nearly 80 points per game, good for 10th in the nation, however, the Eagles have stifled the Chippewas. In fact, the Green and White held CMU to just 65 points in the Jan. 24 loss.
WHEN THEY'RE HOT, THEY'RE HOT: It's safe to say that the Eagles have three dynamic scorers in Raven Lee, Mike Talley and Karrington Ward. In fact, when any two of these three score 15-or-more points in a single game, the Eagles have been quite successful. In games when at least two of these three student-athletes score 15-or-more points, the Green and White is 9-3. When Lee teams up with Talley the Eagles are 3-1. When Lee and Talley team up offensively, EMU is 4-1. As for when Talley and Ward score 15-or-more apiece, the Eagles hold a 1-0 tally. And finally, when all three score at least 15, Eastern Michigan is 1-0 on the year.
TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Eastern Michigan is forcing the competition into 15.3 turnovers per game this season. The Eagles have forced their opponents into 20-or-more turnovers on five separate occasions, including when the Green and White forced both Longwood and Miami into 24. The Eagles hold a +3.2 in turnover margin, which ranks as the best in the MAC and 20th nationally. Eastern has been forced into more turnovers than the opposition on just five occasions this season.
THE EMERGENCE: After averaging just 16.2 minutes per game over his first 10 of the year, EMU freshman guard Tim Bond has not only entered the starting lineup but has been picking up prime minutes. The Baltimore, Md. native is playing an average of 33.2 minutes in the last three games, but his production has been key. The 6-foot-6 guard is scoring 9.3 points per game to go along with a 41.3 percent shooting percentage in those games.
STAT STUFFING: In the Eagles' loss against Buffalo, Karrington Ward recorded his third-straight double-double to go along with another impressive defensive performance. Ward swatted five of the Bulls' shots, while stripping the opposition on two occasions. The five blocks is just one shy of his career-high six, which he recorded versus Coppin State earlier this year, Dec. 23, 2014.
LETTING IT FLY: The EMU men's hoops squad shot just 29.6 percent from the three point line in its 78-63 loss to Buffalo, Feb. 18. What is more startling is not the poor efficiency, but the amount of shots the Green and White took from long range. Eastern took 64 shots in the contest and 27 of them were three-balls. That is 42.2 percent of the team's shot total.
WARD NAMED MAC WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Karrington Ward was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 16. It is the first time the Lockport, Ill. native has garnered the award in his career.
Ward put together an incredible week as the Eagles went 2-0, defeating Miami and Akron in back-to-back games. The six-foot seven-inch high flier averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds over the week, playing 37-of-40 minutes in each of the victories. Ward shot 52.2 percent from the floor, while knocking down 60 percent of his three point shot attempts. In addition, he hit 77.8 percent of his free throw opportunities while playing gritty defense, blocking two shots per game and picking the opponent's pocket once per contest.
Fans in attendance will be able to enjoy the high flying and acrobatic moves of the Sky Squad at halftime. The Sky Squad has thrilled fans with their aerial artistry with dazzling acrobatic flips and twists off mini trampolines mixed with mid-air passes and dynamic slam dunking ,which delivers non-stop pure energy excitement to audiences of all ages.
FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Central Michigan matchup can be found on 89.1 FM WEMU and Eagle All-Access. 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, along with Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations who will serves as the on-site engineer for the broadcast.
For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming service Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch. The pregame show and analysis will begin at 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
ALL-TIME VERSUS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Tuesday's contest between the Eagles and Chippewas marks the 190th meeting all-time between the squads. The Green and White defeated Central Michigan in all three matchups last season with wins by at least 12 points in each contest. The Chippewas own a nine-game advantage over the Green and White as they lead the series 99-90 all-time.
In the Green and White's loss earling this season, Raven Lee led the Eagles with 18 points after connecting on 6-of-17 from the floor, including three from long range. Brandon Nazione added eight points, while tying a season-best eight rebounds and Mike Talley added nine points, including hitting a pair of three-pointers. As a team, the Eagles shot just 18-of-59 from the floor (30.5 percent), while being outrebounded by the Chippewas, 45-38.
LIKELY LOOK FOR THE CHIPPEWAS...
| # | Name | Pos. | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | ppg | rpg | apg | Hometown-Previous School |
| 2 | Luke Meyer | F | Fr. | 6-11 | 221 | 6.2 | 2.9 | 0.5 | Addison, Mich.-Addison |
| 4 | Rayshawn Simmons | G | Jr. | 6-4 | 185 | 8.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | St. Louis, Mo.-Moberly Area C.C. |
| 5 | Braylon Rayson | G | So. | 5-9 | 185 | 10.2 | 3.1 | 1.1 | Dakkasm Texas-West Mesquite |
| 15 | Chris Fowler | G | Jr. | 6-1 | 191 | 15.5 | 3.0 | 6.4 | Southfield, Mich.-Detroit Country Day |
| 34 | John Simons | F | Jr. | 6-8 | 221 | 11.4 | 6.4 | 0.7 | Cadillac, Mich.-Cadillac |
A RARE FIND: Eastern Michigan was able to get its first win on the road in MAC play Saturday, Feb. 21, when the Eagles knocked off Northern Illinois, 73-65. Mike Talley posted a career-best 25 points to lead the Green and White's offense, going 6-of-12 from the floor, while knocking down 10 free throws in 14 attempts. The redshirt-senior point guard dished out five assists in the victory. Karrington Ward was just one rebound shy of his fourth-straight double-double, going for 21 points and nine rebounds. The Lockport, Ill. native blocked a pair of shots, while swiping the ball from NIU on a pair of occasions. As a team, Eastern Michigan shot 42.6 percent from the floor, while hitting 31.6 percent of their three-point attempts. The Eagles hit just 67.5 percent of their free throw attempts.
WITH A HEALTHY KARRINGTON..: Last season the Eagles went a perfect 3-0 versus Central Michigan and it was due in large part to senior forward Karrington Ward. Ward ate the Chippewas alive in his first season donning the Green and White. In three matchups with CMU, Ward averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 forward hit 47.2 of his overall shot opportunities, while also knocking down 42.9 percent of his 21 three-point attempts. The Lockport, Ill. native also averaged one block and 1.7 steals per game in the Eagles' three victories versus CMU last year. Earlier this season, Ward played just 12 minutes versus CMU, but everyone expects to see more out of the senior as the Central game was the first he played since nursing an ankle injury. Since returning to health, Ward is averaging 19.8 points and 10 rebounds per game, while hitting 47.9 percent of his attempts and 50 percent of his three-point shots.
HOLDING DOWN THE CHIPS: Eastern Michigan has been stout against the Chippewas defensively over the last two seasons. CMU's prolific offense averages nearly 80 points per game, good for 10th in the nation, however, the Eagles have stifled the Chippewas. In fact, the Green and White held CMU to just 65 points in the Jan. 24 loss.
WHEN THEY'RE HOT, THEY'RE HOT: It's safe to say that the Eagles have three dynamic scorers in Raven Lee, Mike Talley and Karrington Ward. In fact, when any two of these three score 15-or-more points in a single game, the Eagles have been quite successful. In games when at least two of these three student-athletes score 15-or-more points, the Green and White is 9-3. When Lee teams up with Talley the Eagles are 3-1. When Lee and Talley team up offensively, EMU is 4-1. As for when Talley and Ward score 15-or-more apiece, the Eagles hold a 1-0 tally. And finally, when all three score at least 15, Eastern Michigan is 1-0 on the year.
TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Eastern Michigan is forcing the competition into 15.3 turnovers per game this season. The Eagles have forced their opponents into 20-or-more turnovers on five separate occasions, including when the Green and White forced both Longwood and Miami into 24. The Eagles hold a +3.2 in turnover margin, which ranks as the best in the MAC and 20th nationally. Eastern has been forced into more turnovers than the opposition on just five occasions this season.
THE EMERGENCE: After averaging just 16.2 minutes per game over his first 10 of the year, EMU freshman guard Tim Bond has not only entered the starting lineup but has been picking up prime minutes. The Baltimore, Md. native is playing an average of 33.2 minutes in the last three games, but his production has been key. The 6-foot-6 guard is scoring 9.3 points per game to go along with a 41.3 percent shooting percentage in those games.
STAT STUFFING: In the Eagles' loss against Buffalo, Karrington Ward recorded his third-straight double-double to go along with another impressive defensive performance. Ward swatted five of the Bulls' shots, while stripping the opposition on two occasions. The five blocks is just one shy of his career-high six, which he recorded versus Coppin State earlier this year, Dec. 23, 2014.
LETTING IT FLY: The EMU men's hoops squad shot just 29.6 percent from the three point line in its 78-63 loss to Buffalo, Feb. 18. What is more startling is not the poor efficiency, but the amount of shots the Green and White took from long range. Eastern took 64 shots in the contest and 27 of them were three-balls. That is 42.2 percent of the team's shot total.
WARD NAMED MAC WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Karrington Ward was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 16. It is the first time the Lockport, Ill. native has garnered the award in his career.
Ward put together an incredible week as the Eagles went 2-0, defeating Miami and Akron in back-to-back games. The six-foot seven-inch high flier averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds over the week, playing 37-of-40 minutes in each of the victories. Ward shot 52.2 percent from the floor, while knocking down 60 percent of his three point shot attempts. In addition, he hit 77.8 percent of his free throw opportunities while playing gritty defense, blocking two shots per game and picking the opponent's pocket once per contest.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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