Eagles Set to Square Off with the Zips in the Rubber City

Men's Basketball at Akron
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 19 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Akron, Ohio \| James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Game Notes	EMU Notes \| Akron Notes
Live Stats	GoZips.com
Watch	Akron Zips All-Access
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After splitting its first two home Mid-American Conference games, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will return to the road Tuesday, Jan. 19, to square off with MAC East foe, University of Akron. Tipoff from James A. Rhodes Arena is slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday evening. Most recently, the Eagles (10-7, 2-2 MAC) dropped an 84-79 decision versus Bowling Green Saturday afternoon. Despite a second half rally which saw the Green and White come back from a 20-point deficit to tie the game late in the second half, the Falcons never relinquished the lead, giving Eastern its first MAC loss at the Convocation Center.

The Zips (13-4, 2-2 MAC) return back to the J.A.R. for their third home game of the 2015-16 conference season. Akron has lost its last two games, both on the road, including a 14-point, 78-64, setback at Toledo, Jan. 15.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Akron matchup will have both audio and video on Tuesday. 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.

Along with the WEMU broadcast, the contest will be shown live on Akron's online streaming service, Zips All-Access. To access Zips All-Access, head to GoZips.sidearmsports.com/watch.

ALL-TIME VERSUS AKRON: The Eagles trail in the series with Akron by a slim three game margin, at a tally of 23-20. Last season, Rob Murphy led Eastern Michigan to its first win over the Zips since the 2010-11 campaign. The Green and White knocked off Akron, 78-75, at the Convocation Center.

In that game, Raven Lee had a tremendous performance for the Green and White, posting just one point off his season high with 32 and hitting a career-high 13 free throws on 15 attempts, which was as many free throws made as the entire Akron lineup combined. Lee went 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while Karrington Ward had his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Tim Bond chipped in 12 points, and Mike Talley added eight and a game-best six assists and four steals. On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles had eight blocks, four from Ward alone, and 14 steals.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE ZIPS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
14	Noah Robotham	G	So.-So.	6-1	165	10.5	2.9	3.4	Pasadena, Calif.-Mt. San Antonio
21	Reggie McAdams	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	215	10.1	3.5	0.9	Milwaukee, Wis.-Germantown
23	Isaiah Johnson	C	Jr.-Jr.	6-10	295	11.6	8.1	1.5	Chicago, Ill.-Odessa CC
35	Pat Forsythe	C	Sr.-Sr.	6-11	245	9.9	6.1	0.6	Brunswick, Ohio-West Virginia
55	Antino Jackson	G	So.-So.	5-11	155	11.8	3.4	4.2	Houston, Texas-Cypress Springs

SECOND HALF COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT: In their game with Bowling Green, Jan. 16, the Eagles were facing a 20-point, 57-37, deficit with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game before EMU went on a quick 8-0 run to cut the lead to 12. Over the next nine minutes of play, the Green and White outscored the Falcons, 31-19, tying up the game at 75 apiece with 2:35 left in the contest. Eastern was unable to get over the hump as the Eagles' Raven Lee had a good look at the top of the key to knock down a three but the shot was just off the mark to tie the game and EMU eventually fell, 84-79.

THE COUNTRY'S BEST: Freshman center James Thompson IV has been dominant on the floor for the Eagles, especially on the offensive end. Due in large part to his 26-straight made field goals earlier this season, Thompson is second in the NCAA in field goal percentage. The Baton Rouge, La. native converts on 70.8 percent of his shot attempts, with Belmont's Evan Bradds leads the category at just 0.2 percentage points (71.0 percent) ahead of Thompson. The next closest freshman in the category is Eastern Kentucky's Nick Mayo, who connects on 60.3 percent of his field goal attempts.

THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: A season ago, senior Brandon Nazione averaged just 3.6 points per game, while pulling down just 3.5 rebounds per contest. In addition, the Howell, Mich. native converted shots at a 39.6 percent clip. EMU wasn't even half way through the 2015-16 season and Nazione had recorded more field goal makes than a year ago. In addition, he is hitting shots at a 57.0 percent clip, while averaging nearly three times as many points per game (9.4) and twice as many rebounds per contest (6.2).

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eastern Michigan has received contributions from multiple student-athletes on the offensive end throughout the season. In fact, there has yet to be a game where the Eagles haven't had at least two players score in double-figures. The Green and White have had a game where six score 10-or-more, three games with five double-digit scorers, five with four, three with three and five with two this season.

KING OF THIEVES: The Eagles not only lead the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (10.5), but the Green and White are second in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking sixth in total steals (178).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 13.0 turnovers per game, which ranks 180th in the country, EMU is 11th in the nation in turnover margin at a +4.4 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 17.4 turnovers per contest which ranks as the seventh-most of any defense in the country.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: EMU redshirt junior guard Raven Lee continues to make his way up the all-time Eastern Michigan men's basketball scoring chart. Heading into the 2015-16 campaign, Lee had recorded 1,010 career points. The Detroit, Mich. native has accumulated 150 points during this season, totaling 1,189 for his career. That number has tied him with Vince Giles (1981-85) and Bob Riddle (1974-77) for 20th on the all-time EMU scoring list. Lee now trails Webster Kirksey (1951-55) for the 19th spot by nine points.

ROAD TESTED: Winning on the road is tough, but the Eagles have already proven they can win away from Ypsilanti this season. With a 3-5 record on the road this season, the Eagles are hoping to grab their best road record under Head Coach Rob Murphy. In his first season at the helm, Murphy's 2011-12 MAC West Champions won five games away from the Convocation Center, the most in his tenure.

HOME COURT HEROES: Since Rob Murphy took over the reigns of the EMU men's basketball program, the Eagles have been dominant at home. In fact, the Green and White are a stellar 61-17 at the Convocation Center dating back to the 2011-12 season. Since the Convo opened for the 1998-99 season, Eastern Michigan has won 59.3 percent of its contests, going 150-104 during that span.

ONE OF THE BEST IN THE MAC: EMU's Raven Lee has made his stamp not only in the Eastern Michigan history books, but he has one of the best careers of any active player in the Mid-American Conference. Currently, the Detroit, Mich. native is third in scoring (1,189 pts) by any active player in the conference. Just Central Michigan's Chris Fowler (1,459) and Toledo's Nathan Boothe (1,209) rank ahead Eastern's redshirt junior. In addition, Lee is 16th in assists (136) by any active player, while his 102 career steals are the sixth-most by any active player in the MAC. Finally, his 112 three point makes are the ninth-most in a career by any active player.

ACTIVE CAREER SCORING LEADERS IN THE MAC

1. Chris Fowler, Central Michigan - 1,459
2. Nathan Boothe, Toledo - 1,209
3. Raven Lee, Eastern Michigan - 1,189
4. John Simons, Central Michigan - 1,135
5. Eric Washington, Miami - 1,103
6. Geovanie McKnight, Miami - 1,014
7. Connor Tava, Western Michigan - 956
8. Xavier Pollard, Kent State - 949
9. Spencer Parker, Bowling Green - 923
10. Braylon Rayson, Central Michigan - 873

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 Jan. 18. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Jan. 18
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	10.5 (second nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnover Margin	1st	+4.4 (11th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnovers forces per game	1st	17.4 (seventh nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Total steals	1st	178 (sixth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Double doubles	1st	10 (10th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Blocks per game	2nd	1.7 (82nd nationally)
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	11.2 (eighth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Offensive rebounds per game	1st	4.7 (second nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	1st	70.8 (first nationally)
Tim Bond	Steal per game	1st	1.8 (55th nationally

A LOOK AHEAD: Following the Tuesday evening contest with Akron, Jan. 19, the Eagles will continue the Mid-American Conference campaign at the Convocation Center Saturday, Jan. 23, as the Green and White will square off with MAC West foe, Ball State. Tipoff is slated for 11:30 a.m. in Ypsilanti.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: EMU's James Thompson IV and is making a 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, being seventh (15.5 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (11.2 rpg) as the only freshman in the top-20 in that category as well. In addition, the Baton Rouge, La. product is third in the MAC in blocked shots (1.7 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (70.8 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 second in the nation in field goal percentage, while he ranks eighth in rebounds per game and ninth in total rebounds (190). His 10 double-doubles rank 10th and his 4.7 offensive rebounds per game are good for second 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 83 wins which is good for the fifth-most by an EMU coach. Murphy is just one win shy of tying Jim Boyce for the fourth-most in school history. 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)	83-72 (.535)

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Mike Talley

James Thompson IV

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics