Eagles Take On Western Michigan in In-State Rivalry

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- With the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament looming, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is attempting to advance their seeding in hopes of picking up one of the No. 5 through No. 8 seeds to secure a first round home game Monday, March 9, at the Convocation Center. The Eagles (17-11, 6-9 MAC) begin that quest Saturday, Feb. 28, with an in-state rival game against Western Michigan University at 4:30 p.m. The battle with the Broncos (17-11, 8-7 MAC) at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. will be a 4:30 p.m. start as the WMU women's program will have a game at 2 p.m. prior to the men's game. In the first matchup with Western, the Eagles came away with a 69-63 win in Ypsilanti, Jan. 31.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Western 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. The pregame show and analysis will begin at approximately 4:20 p.m.
For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be broadcast on Western's live webstreaming service Bronco Insider. Subscriptions for Bronco Insider start at just $8.95 and can be purchased at WMUBroncos.com.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles trail in the series with WMU as Eastern looks at a tally of 57-46 in favor of the Broncos. Recent history shows that the Green and White typically split the season series with Western Michigan. In the last 11 meetings, EMU is 6-5 versus the Broncos. However, prior to that stretch the Eagles struggled against Western, going just 1-9 in the previous 10 contests.
Earlier this season, Eastern and Western squared off at the Convocation Center. The game saw EMU come away with a 69-63 victory over the cross-state rival. The Eagles knocked down 21-of-25 free throws for an impressive 84 percent clip. Mike Talley finished the game with a then-career high 24 points and a career-best four three-pointers, going 6-of-12 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the foul line. Two other Eagles notched double-digit points with Raven Lee recording 15, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the stripe, and Brandon Nazione added a career-high 11 to the Green and White scoring effort. Eastern forced the Broncos into 12 turnovers and blocked four WMU shots.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE BRONCOS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
2	Connar Tava	F	Jr.	6-6	235	13.4	6.4	3.5	Macomb, Mich.-Warren De La Salle
5	David Brown	G	Sr.	6-4	205	15.8	3.3	2.3	Roscoe, Ill.-Hononegah
22	Austin Richie	G	Sr.	6-3	185	10.8	1.6	2.5	Lowell, Ind.-Lowell
32	Taylor Perry	G	Jr.	6-5	200	2.3	2.2	0.7	Rochester, Mich.-Rochest
42	Drake Lamont	C	Fr.	6-10	240	5.3	4.5	0.4	Plantation, Fla.-American Heritage

DOUBLE DIP: Eastern has appeared in six doubleheaders so far this season where their games came directly before or after a women's game in the respective venue. In those games, the Eagles are a perfect 6-0. EMU opened up the season in a doubleheader at the Convocation Center where it knocked off Saint Francis (Ill.), 64-52, Nov. 14, before heading to Michigan, Dec. 9, where the Green and White defeated the Maize and Blue, 45-42, following U-M's women's game. The Eagles then took on Northern Illinois at the Convocation Center, Jan. 17, beating up on the Huskies, 54-46, before the EMU women's team took the floor. Eastern's first game against Western, Jan. 31, was the first leg of a double dip with the women and EMU came away with a 69-63 win before hosting Akron, Feb. 14, when Eastern knocked off the Zips, 78-75. Finally, at Northern Illinois, the Green and White defeated the Huskies 73-65 following the NIU women's game against Ball State.

NOT THE RECORD WE WANTED TO SEE: Eastern Michigan dropped its contest with Central Michigan, Feb. 24, by a tally of 72-56 and it was due in large part to the long ball. Although that is one of the strengths of the 2-3 zone that Rob Murphy and Co. employ, forcing long contested shots, CMU took advantage of the Eagles' zone. The Chippewas knocked down 16 three-pointers which is the most a team has made since the Convocation Center opened its doors back in 1998.

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 +2.9 in turnover margin, which ranks as the second-best in the MAC and 22nd nationally. Eastern has been forced into more turnovers than the opposition on just five occasions this season.

MURPHY VERSUS THE MAC: Fourth-year Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy holds a 32-33 all-time record against Mid-American Conference opponents in his fourth 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 in 2012-13. Last season, his squad reached their highest win total of 10, after going 10-8 in MAC play. Murphy and his squads have seen most of their success against teams from their own division, going 22-15, while they are just 10-18 against the East.

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 31.8 minutes in the last five games, but his production has been key. The 6-foot-6 guard is scoring 7.4 points per game to go along with a 38.5 percent shooting percentage in those games.

WHERE WE STAND: Although we're past the midway point of the 2015 Mid-American Conference season the MAC Tournament seedings are still far from locked in as many teams continue to jockey for position. Currently, Central Michigan holds the top spot at 11-4, while three teams are tied at 10-5, which cleans up the byes for now. At No. 5 would be Buffalo, while Akron and Western Michigan are tied at 8-7. Miami holds the final home game at 7-8, while Eastern is sitting at 6-9 and the No. 9 seed. (For the full MAC Tournament bracket, flip to page 21 of these notes)

LEE TRYING TO CHART TOP: Redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee holds the record for the most points scored by a freshman in a single season at Eastern Michigan with 380 points. The Detroit, Mich. native is trying to make a push to become the highest scorer as a sophomore as well. Currently, Lee has scored 434 points this year and is averaging 16.2 points per game. Without including any postseason contests, the six-foot three-inch combo guard is on pace to amass 498 points this year which would rank third on the sophomore scoring list at Eastern Michigan, trailing former Eagle Ricky Cottrill for second with 582 points.

THAT'S A FIRST: Head Coach Rob Murphy had yet to defeat an Akron Zips team since taking over prior to the 2011-12 campaign. That changed Feb. 14, when the Eagles took on UA at the Convocation Center. A dominating offensive performance by Raven Lee (32 points) and Karrington Ward's sixth double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) of the season led the Green and White to a 78-75 victory over Akron.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics