MAC West Showdown Set for Saturday at the Convocation Center

Men's Basketball vs. Ball State
Date	Saturday, Jan. 23 \| 11:30 a.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,874)
Game Notes	EMU Notes \| BSU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After losing two games in a row for the first time this season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Saturday, Jan. 23, at 11:30 a.m. to square off with Ball State University at the Convocation Center. The Eagles (10-8, 2-3 MAC) most recently fell on the road at the University of Akron. Despite having its second-best offensive game in MAC play, Eastern Michigan ended up on the wrong side of a 92-88 decision at James A. Rhodes Arena Tuesday night, Jan. 19.

The Cardinals (12-6, 3-2 MAC) come into the game after winning five of their last seven games. Most recently, however, Ball State dropped a tough, 76-68, decision at home versus Kent State University. On the road this year, the Cardinals have won just one game in five tries, defeating just Western Michigan, Jan. 12.

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

Following the addition of its own brand new mobile television unit, all EMU men's and women's basketball games will be streamed live on ESPN3. Ryan Wooley will provide the play-by-play coverage for the ESPN3 broadcast, while EMU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner will be alongside Wooley for analysis.

ALL-TIME VERSUS BALL STATE: The Eagles trail in the series with Ball State by a 15-game margin, at a tally of 42-57. Last season, the Eagles split a pair of MAC West battles between these two squads, first the Green and White dropped an overtime contest in the MAC opener at the Convocation Center before returning the favor at BSU toward the end of the regular season.

In the first game game, the Eagles struggled offensively, knocking down just 27.9 percent of their shots in the 60-59 overtime loss. Raven Lee led the EMU offense with 16 points, while Karrington Ward grabbed a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

In EMU's victory on the road, the offense was much more prevelant as the Green and White connected on 22-of-46 attempts, good for 47.8 percent. Lee again led the scoring, pouring in 20 points, while Mike Talley added 16, including converting on a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE CARDINALS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Francis Kiapway	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-3	195	8.2	1.3	1.0	Hamilton, Ontario-St. Thomas More
1	Naiel Smith	G	So.-So.	6-4	200	3.3	3.3	3.7	Brooklyn, N.Y.-San Jacinto College
12	Bo Calhoun	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	245	10.5	8.2	1.3	South Bend, Ind.-Washington
15	Franko House	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-6	247	11.2	5.3	1.7	Elkhart, Ind.-Concord
33	Ryan Webber	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-6	226	13.1	4.3	1.2	Indianapolis, Ind.-Youngstown State

AKRON LONG BALL DOES IN EAGLES: Despite taking a six point lead into the half, the Eagles saw Akron connect on eight three-pointers in the 92-88 loss on the road Tuesday night, Jan. 19. Directly out of half time, Akron's Reggie McAdams hit three triples in a minute and a half, outscoring EMU 9-2 on his own, to give the Zips their first lead of the second stanza, sparking 58 second half points for UA.

BEST OFFENSE IN THE MAC: Since beginning Mid-American Conference play, the EMU offense has been at the top of the conference in multiple categories conference games, including points per game (82) and field goal percentage (49.2 percent). In addition, the Eagles are connecting on 75.8 percent of their free throws which ties for second in the conference. A large part of the Green and White's offensive success in the MAC games has a lot to do with the Eagles' scoring duo of Raven Lee and James Thompson IV. Eastern is the only MAC school with a pair of student-athletes in the top-10 in scoring in conference games. Lee is averaging just under 19.8 points per game, good for fourth in the league, while Thompson's 17 points per contest ties for second. In fact, the Green and White is the only program with four student-athletes in the top-30 in scoring in conference games. Ty Toney is pouring in 12 points per game, while Willie Mangum IV is averaging 11.

BIG MINUTES FOR BIG JORDAN: Prior to the Eagles' game with Bowling Green, Jan. 16, EMU redshirt freshman Jordan Nobles had been averaging just 8.1 minutes in the first 15 games of his career. Although he has fouled out in both games, the 6-foot-9 forward is averaged 17.5 minutes per game over the last two games. Although his numbers haven't been dominant, the Canton, Mich. native has been active on defense, forcing deflections and contested shots to help the EMU front court.

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 70.9 percent of his shot attempts, with Belmont's Evan Bradds leads the category at just 0.1 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 was not 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 (6.1).

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, four 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 (10.3), but the Green and White are third in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking sixth in total steals (185).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 12.8 turnovers per game, which ranks 154th in the country, EMU is 11th in the nation in turnover margin at a +4.2 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 17 turnovers per contest which ranks as the eighth-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 190 points during this season, totaling 1,200 for his career. That number puts him at the No. 19 spot in all time EMU scorers. Lee now trails Earle Higgins (1967-70) for the 18th spot by 35 points.

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 (1,200 pts) by any active player in the conference. Just Central Michigan's Chris Fowler (1,475) and Toledo's Nathan Boothe (1,232) rank ahead Eastern's redshirt junior. In addition, Lee is 16th in assists (138) by any active player, while his 106 career steals are the sixth-most by any active player in the MAC. Finally, his 119 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 - 1,475
2. Nathan Boothe, Toledo - 1,232
3. Raven Lee, Eastern Michigan - 1,200
4. John Simons, Central Michigan - 1,141
5. Eric Washington, Miami - 1,116
6. Geovanie McKnight, Miami - 1,022
7. Xavier Pollard, Kent State - 971
8. Connor Tava, Western Michigan - 956
9. Spencer Parker, Bowling Green - 939
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. 21. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Jan. 21
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	10.3 (third nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnovers forces per game	1st	17.0 (eighth nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Total steals	1st	185 (sixth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	10.9 (ninth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Offensive rebounds per game	1st	4.4 (fifth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	1st	70.9 (second nationally)

A LOOK AHEAD: Following the Saturday contest with Ball State, Jan. 23, the Eagles will continue the Mid-American Conference campaign on the road Tuesday, Jan. 26, as the Green and White will head back to the Greater Cleveland area for the second straight week to square off with MAC East foe, Kent State. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.

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 (15.2 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (10.9 rpg) as the only freshman in the top-20 in that category as well. In addition, the Baton Rouge, La. product is tied for third in the MAC in blocked shots (1.6 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 ninth in rebounds per game and seventh in total rebounds (190). His 10 double-doubles rank 11th and his 4.4 offensive rebounds per game are good for fifth 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)	83-73 (.532)

MAC West Showdown Set for Saturday at the Convocation Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Brandon Nazione

Jordan Nobles

Mike Talley

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics

MAC West Showdown Set for Saturday at the Convocation Center

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Brandon Nazione

Jordan Nobles

Mike Talley

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Karrington Ward

Related Videos