Eagles Hit the Road to Open Up MAC Play at Central Michigan

Men's Basketball at Central Michigan
Date	Wednesday, Jan. 6 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Mount Pleasant, Mich. \| McGuirk Arena (5,300)
Game Notes	EMU Notes \| CMU Notes
Live Stats	CMUChippewas.com
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After closing out non-conference action, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will hit the road to open the Mid-American Conference slate this Wednesday, Jan. 6, when it travels north to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to square off with Central Michigan University for an in-state competition to begin the battle for the men's basketball Michigan MAC Trophy. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena. The Eagles (8-5, 0-0 MAC) are coming off of an 82-77 loss at the hands of the University of North Florida, Jan. 2, to conclude their non-conference portion of the 2015-16 schedule.

The Chippewas (7-6, 0-0 MAC) were winners of their non-conference finale, defeating Lourdes University on New Year's Eve. Central Michigan knocked off the NAIA institution, 87-66. The Chippewas are a perfect 7-0 at home this season with all of their losses coming away from Mount Pleasant. CMU has defeated four NCAA Division I teams at McGuirk Arena this season.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Central Michigan matchup will have both audio and video on Wednesday night. 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.

In addition to the WEMU broadcast, the Eagles' contest will air live on ESPN3. On the call will be CMU Assistant Director of Multimedia Services Adam Jaksa, while Matt Kearney will provide analysis for the MAC opener.

ALL-TIME VERSUS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Wednesday's 7 p.m. matchup will be the 191st time that the Eagles and Chippewas square off on the hardwood. The Eagles trail the series, 100-90, dropping both contests last season to CMU. In 2013-14, however, the Green and White swept the Chips with three victories.

In their last meeting, the Chippewas defeated the Eagles, 72-56, inside the Convocation Center Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Redshirt senior Mike Talley led the Green and White with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a 3-for-8 mark from behind the arc. Karrington Ward finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with his four rebounds and two assists. Redshirt sophomore Raven Lee had double-figures as well for the Eagles, netting 10 points.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE CHIPPEWAS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
2	Braylon Rayson	G	Jr.-Jr.	5-9	190	16.2	3.5	2.5	Dallas, Texas-West Mesquite
4	Rayshawn Simmons	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-4	185	13.8	4.6	5.8	St. Louis, Mo.-Moberly Area CC
15	Chris Fowler	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-1	195	15.3	3.7	5.3	Southfield, Mich.-Detroit Country Day
24	Luke Meyer	F	So.-So.	6-11	225	7.9	4.9	0.2	Addison, Mich.-Addison
34	John Simons	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-8	220	10.9	7.2	1.0	Cadillac, Mich.-Cadillac

FINDING THEIR TOUCH: EMU has had trouble knocking down jumpers from the long line this season, connecting on just 26.6 percent of its three-point shots. That being said, the Green and White posted one of its best days from beyond the arc versus North Florida, Jan. 2. The Eagles knocked down a season best nine long balls, while it was just one of three times this season that EMU has hit at least 36 percent of its shots from downtown.

THREATS FROM ALL OVER: Despite dropping an 82-77 decision at the hands of the North Florida Ospreys, the Eagles saw a lot of offensive output from multiple sources. In fact, Eastern Michigan had six members of its squad post double-digit scoring nights. Freshman James Thompson IV led the way with 18, Redshirt sophomore Raven Lee added 15. Juniors Ty Toney posted 13 Willie Mangum IV had 11, while senior Brandon Nazione and redshirt junior Jodan Price each recorded 10.

ALL-TIME IN MAC LID LIFTERS: Historically, the Mid-American Conference opening game has not been as kind to the Eagles since joining the MAC. Overall, EMU is 16-25 in MAC lid lifters, including dropping seven of its last 10 MAC openers. Conversely, the Eagles are 2-2 in the first game of the conference season since Rob Murphy took over the EMU men's basketball program prior to the 2011-12 campaign.

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 just a 39.6 percent clip. Not even halfway through the regular season, Nazione has recorded more field goal makes than a year ago. In addition, he is hitting shots at a 57.8 percent clip, while averaging nearly three times as many points per game (10.2) and twice as many rebounds per contest (7.1).

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eastern Michigan has received contributions from multiple student-athletes on the offensive end throughout the season. Actually, there has yet to be a game where the Eagles haven't had at least two players score in dou36ble-figures. The Green and White have had a game where six score 10-or-more, two games with five double-digit scorers, four with four, two with three and four 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 third in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking sixth in total steals (137).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 12.9 turnovers per game, which ranks 176th in the country, EMU is ninth in the nation in turnover margin at a +4.8 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 17.9 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 91 points during this season, totaling 1,101 for his career. That number has moved him ahead of Justin Dobbins (2006-10) in the all-time scoring list, placing him 24th overall. He is just four points shy of Ryan Prillman (1999-2003) and the No. 23 spot on the list.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: EMU's James Thompson IV and is making an early 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 tied for 10th (14.5 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 third in the MAC in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (68.4 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 fourth nationally in field goal percentage, while he ranks eighth in rebounds per game and 17th in total rebounds (142). He is 61st in blocked shots per game and 63rd in total blocks (25), while his seven double-doubles rank 17th and his 4.8 offensive rebounds per game are good for second nationally.

GOTTA GUARD THE LONG LINE: After 13 games this season, the Eagles may have found an Achilles heel in their defense. Although teams are shooting just 32.0 percent overall from beyond the arc this season, the Green and White is just 8-5, due in large part to a few teams' hot shooting from three-point land. In Eastern's losses, the Eagles' opponents have shot 46.2 percent overall and 41.5 percent from the long line.

REMEMBER THE TITANS: Eastern Michigan's 88-73 victory over UDM Monday, Dec. 28, was more than just a victory for EMU. The Eagles had not defeated Detroit in its last nine times taking the floor against the Titans. In fact, the last time the Green and White had knocked off "Detroit's College Team", was during the 1999-2000 season when EMU came away from the Convo with an 82-80 overtime victory.

BRANDON'S BIG DAY: Senior forward Brandon Nazione put together a career day in the Eagles' victory over Detroit, Dec. 28. The Howell, Mich. product went off for his career-best of 23 points, converting on 10-of-14 field goal attempts. In addition, the 6-foot-8 forward grabbed seven rebounds, while picking the Titans' pocket on five separate occasions, which is also a career high for the senior.

A STREAK COMES TO AN END: Eastern Michigan freshman center James Thompson IV had recorded double-doubles in seven straight games. This was a very uncommon feat, as the last EMU student-athlete to do so was 44 seaons ago when Eastern Michigan great George Gervin put together 11 double-doubles in a row during the 1971-72 campaign. Gervin's streak of 11 is also the longest recorded streak in EMU history. That season, Gervin averaged EMU records of 29.5 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. Those numbers also translated to the most points (886) and rebounds (458) tallied in a single season by an EMU student-athlete.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, head coach Rob Murphy has shown sustained success versus other NCAA Division I mid-major programs. Over the last four seasons, Murphy holds a 22-10 record versus mid-majors in non-conference play. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Murphy has gone 15-2 against mid-major programs in non-conference play.

A LOOK AHEAD: Following the Wednesday evening contest with Central Michigan, Jan. 6, the Eagles will continue its quick road trip to begin the Mid-American Conference campaign. EMU opens the MAC slate with a pair of games on the road, concluding that stretch with a contest at Northern Illinois, Jan. 9.

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. 5. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Jan. 5
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	10.5 (fourth nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnover Margin	1st	+4.8 (10th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnovers forces per game	1st	17.9 (10th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Total steals	1st	137 (seventh nationally)
James Thompson IV	Double doubles	1st	7 (17th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Blocks per game	2nd	1.9 (61st nationally)
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	10.9 (eighth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Offensive rebounds per game	1st	4.8 (second nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	1st	68.4 (second nationally)
Tim Bond	Steal per game	1st	1.9 (69th nationally)

CAUSING HAVOC IN THE ZONE: EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy preaches defense, defense, defense and its evident in the exceptional 2-3 zone run by Eastern. The Eagles have forced each of its 2015-16 opponents into double-digit turnover numbers. On the year, EMU is forcing 18.3 turnovers per game, while ranking eighth in the NCAA in turnover margin, forcing 5.1 more turnovers per game than its opposition. In addition, the Green and White rank third in the country in steals per game, picking the opponents' pocket 10.7 times per contest.

THE EERIE NUMBER 80: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball team, Head Coach Rob Murphy has prided himself on his team's defense and for good reason, considering his squad has only allowed the opposition to score 80-or-more points on 12 occasions in over four seasons. On the flip side, everytime the Green and White have allowed 80-plus, they've ended up on the wrong side of the ledger, including all five losses this season.

IN THE SHADOWS: With James Thompson IV flourishing in the early goings of his Eagle career, there has been an unsung hero down low for the Green and White. Senior forward Brandon Nazione has put together a solid season thus far for Eastern Michigan. The Howell, Mich. native is averaging 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8 forward is sixth in the MAC in field goal percentage (57.8 percent), while his rebounding average is good for ninth in the conference.

BECAUSE OF THE BIGS: Despite having quite the guard-heavy roster, the Eagles owe a large part of their success this year to the big boys down low. The starting frontcourt of James Thompson IV and Brandon Nazione are posting 24.7 points and 18 rebounds per game this season. In addition, the duo is grabbing 7.1 offensive rebounds per game between the two of them, allowing for second chance opportunities. In fact, the Green and White have scored 166 of its points on second tries, which is good for 16.5 percent of its offense this season.

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 81 wins which is good for the fifth-most by an EMU coach. 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)	81-70 (.536)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Brandon Nazione

Jodan Price

Mike Talley

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics