Eastern Opens Up the MAC Tournament With Miami at Home

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team capped off the 2014-15 regular season with an exclamation mark Friday, March 6, when the Eagles (19-12, 8-10 MAC) knocked off the University of Toledo, 85-59, on Senior Night at the Convocation Center. With the win over the Rockets, the Green and White will begin its march to a Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship Monday night, March 9, when the No. 8-seeded Eagles host the No. 9 seed Miami University for a first round MAC Tournament game. Eastern will square off with the RedHawks (13-19, 8-10 MAC) for the third time this season after splitting the regular season series. The game will be the second leg of a MAC Tournament doubleheader as the Eastern Michigan women's basketball team will host Kent State University. As the No. 6 seed, the women's squad will square off with the No. 11-seeded Golden Flashes at 5 p.m. with the Eagles and RedHawks taking the floor at 7:30 p.m.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Miami 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 and Assistant Athletic Director of Media Relations Greg Steiner will serve as the on-site engineer.
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 4:50 p.m. on Monday with the women's game coming first.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MIAMI: The Eagles are behind in the series with Miami as Eastern trails by a tally of 48-23. While the RedHawks own that cushy 25-game lead in the history of these programs, EMU has won three of the last five times these teams danced on the hardwood, including a victory in the second round of the 2013 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, March 11, 2013, 58-47.
Earlier this year, the Eagles and RedHawks split the season series. Eastern dropped a road contest in Oxford, Ohio, 82-81, in overtime at Millett Hall, Jan. 10, while the Green and White took home a decisive 83-69 victory at the Convocation Center, Feb. 10.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE REDHAWKS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Geovanie McKnight	G	Jr.	6-3	182	10.6	3.6	1.4	Middletown, Ohio-Middletown
3	Will Sullivan	G	Sr.	6-3	190	10.9	4.7	1.4	Elmhurst, Ill.-York
11	Logan McLane	F	Fr.	6-9	215	3.8	3.8	0.6	Wintersville, N.C.-Greenfield School
24	Chris Bryant	F	Jr.	6-8	200	4.4	3.2	0.5	Tallahassee, Fla.-Col. of Central Fla.
33	Eric Washington	G	Jr.	5-10	175	14.5	3.2	5.5	Columbia, S.C.-Presbyterian

WOW, WHAT A HALF: Eastern Michigan scored 54 points in the second half of the Eagles' 85-59 victory over the Rockets on Senior Night at the Convocation Center, March 6. The 54 points was the most scored by the Green and White in a single half since EMU dropped 69 points in the second half the 2008-09 home-opener against Marygrove College, Nov. 14.

ROCKET SCIENTISTS: The Eagles 26-point, 85-59, victory over Toledo is the largest win over the Rockets since the 1987-88 season. The Green and White cruised to an 82-54 win over UT, January 13, 1988 at venerable Bowen Fieldhouse. The 1987-88 team won the MAC regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament.

LET'S KEEP IT ROLLING: Eastern Michigan is currently riding a two-game winning streak heading into the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Eagles are trying for their first three-game winning streak since MAC play began.

ALL-TIME IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: Since its inception, the Eagles hold a 27-29 record in MAC Tournament games. In fact, since head coach Rob Murphy took over the program, Eastern Michigan is 5-3 in MAC Tournament contests.

THIS SEASON'S SERIES: The Eagles have taken on MAC East foe Miami twice already this season. Eastern has split the series with the RedHawks, dropping on game in Oxford, Ohio, Jan. 10, before returning to the Convocation Center to trounce MU.
   In the first game, EMU led by as many as 25 points, but the RedHawks came roaring back to tie the game in the waning seconds to send the contest into overtime. Miami came away with an 82-81 win after the overtime period ended.
   In game two, the story was a bit different. The Eagles' "big three" combined for 60 points as Karrington Ward went for 22, Mike Talley poured in 20 and Raven Lee added 18 en route to a 83-69 victory over Miami.

TALLEY NAMED MAC WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THE SECOND TIME: Eastern Michigan University redshirt-senior point guard Mike Talley was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for the final week of the season, the league office announced Saturday, March 7. It is the second time the Detroit, Mich. native has garnered the award in his career.
   Talley put on a clinic in the final week of the regular season, leading the Eagles to a perfect 2-0 record as he averaged 19.5 points per game to help Eastern Michigan lock up the No. 8 seed in the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Detroit, Mich. native went 19-of-21 from the line, including a perfect 9-for-9 versus Ball State. In addition, the point guard dished out five assists per contest. Defensively, Talley picked Ball State's pocket on six occasions, tying the fourth most in a single game in EMU history. Overall on the week, the senior had 10 steals good for five per game.

MURPHY IN THE MAC TOURNEY: Head Coach Rob Murphy has been successful in the MAC Tournament boasting a 5-3 record. Following a first round exit of the tournament in his inaugural season, the Detroit, Mich. native has had at least two wins in each of the following tournaments, making it to the quarterfinals in 2013 and the semifinals in 2014.

KEEPING IT IN HOUSE: Eastern Michigan has had the luxury of finishing in the top half of the conference since Rob Murphy arrived as the head coach. SInce taking over, Murphy has guided his team to a top-8 seed in each of the four years he's been in charge. After winning the MAC West Championship in 2012, Murphy's squad was the No. 5 seed and in 2013 the Green and White held the No. 7 seed. Last year, the Eagles finished as sixth-best in the conference before claiming the No. 8 seed this season.

VERSUS MIAMI IN THE TOURNAMENT: Miami and Eastern haven't met on the hardwood during tournament time very often. In fact, the Eagles and RedHawks have only seen each other on seven occasions in the 35-year history of the MAC Tournament. Overall, Eastern holds a slim 4-3 advantage when the two teams square off during the tourney. Two seasons ago, Rob Murphy's squad knocked off MIami, 58-47, in the second round of the tournament to advance to the quarterfinal.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Redshirt-sophomore guard Raven Lee has shown his dynamic scoring ability throughout his career but the Detroit, Mich. native has turned it on during the 2014-15 campaign, averaging 16.4 points per game. Currently, Lee has scored 931 career points, needing 69 more to get to 1,000. If his average scoring number stays true Lee would need just four more games to complete that feat. Currently, Lee is 35th on the EMU all-time scoring list.

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Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics