Eagles Continue MAC Play at Northern Illinois

Men's Basketball at Northern Illinois
Date	Saturday, Jan. 9 \| 7:30 p.m. CT
Venue	DeKalb, Ill. \| Convocation Center (9,100)
Game Notes	EMU Notes \| NIU Notes
Live Stats	NIUHuskies.com
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Opening up the 2016 Mid-American Conference season with a decisive 99-80 win at the MAC preseason favorite Central Michigan University, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will remain on the road in the early stages of the conference campaign by traveling to Northern Illinois University Saturday, Jan. 9. The Eagles (9-5, 1-0 MAC) head to the NIU Convocation Center for a 7:30 p.m. CT tipoff which can be seen on ESPN3. The Eastern Michigan game is also part of a doubleheader at NIU. The game will follow the EMU women's game versus Northern.

The Huskies (12-2, 1-0 MAC) come into the Saturday evening contest as victors of their MAC opener as well, defeating the University of Ohio, 80-69, at home Wednesday night, Jan. 6. NIU is much improved this season, finishing the non-conference season with the best record of any Mid-American Conference school at 11-2.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Northern Illinois matchup will have both audio and video on Saturday 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 will be analyst Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner. 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 Matt Rodewald, while Carl Armato will provide analysis for the MAC contest.

ALL-TIME VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Saturday's 7:30 p.m. CT matchup will be the 91st time that the Eagles and Huskies square off on the hardwood. The Eagles trail the series, 39-51, but won both contests last season. In the last 15 meetings between the two, EMU has gone 11-4, while EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy has led EMU to nine victories in just four seasons over the MAC West Division foe.

In their last meeting, the Eagles took down the Huskies for the second time in the 2014-15 campaign. In the eight point 73-65 win, Mike Talley posted a career-best 25 points to lead the Green and White's offense, going 6-of-12 from the floor, while knocking down 10 free throws in 14 attempts. The redshirt-senior point guard dished out five assists in the victory. Karrington Ward was just one rebound shy of his fourth-straight double-double, going for 21 points and nine rebounds.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE HUSKIES...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
5	Travon Baker	G	Sr.-Sr.	5-11	170	10.6	3.8	4.5	Detroit, Mich.-Consortium
15	Jaylen Key	F	Fr.-Fr.	6-8	220	6.4	4.3	0.8	Milwaukee, Wis.-Homestead
23	Aaric Armstead	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-5	195	10.5	5.5	1.1	Chicago, Ill.-La Jolla Prep (Calif.)
24	Michael Orris	G	Sr.-Jr.	6-2	200	3.8	1.6	3.3	Crete, Ill.-Kansas State
34	Marin Maric	F	Jr.-So.	6-10	250	13.4	8.7	1.6	Split, Croatia-La Lumiere (Ind.)

HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE: Since taking over prior to the 2011-12 campaign, Head Coach Rob Murphy's teams have been known for their defensive play more than their offensive output. In the Eagles' 2016 MAC opener however, the offense was on display at McGuirk Arena, Jan. 6, versus Central Michigan. Eastern put up 99 points in the victory, shooting 66 percent from the floor, good for the second-best single game field goal percentage in EMU history. On top of that, the Green and White knocked down a single game-best 65 percent of its three point attempts, connecting on a season-high 13 treys.

LINEUP SHAKE UP: To begin Mid-American Conference play, Rob Murphy shook up his starting lineup, inserting a pair of redshirt juniors, Raven Lee and Jodan Price, into the first five versus CMU, Jan. 6. The shake up paid big dividends as the the duo combined for 51 points, shooting 17-of-23 from the floor with a combined 10 three-point makes.

RAVEN SOARS: EMU redshirt junior Raven Lee came into his own in the Eagles' conference opener at CMU. The 6-foot-3 combo guard scored 30-or-more points for the fourth time in his career, going 10-of-13 from the floor for 32 points. The Detroit, Mich. product connected on 5-of-7 three point attempts, while knocking down 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. In his first start of the 2015-16 campaign, Lee had season-highs in points, field goals made, three point field goal makes and field goal percentage.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT: Redshirt junior Jodan Price put together a career day in the Eagles' victory over Central Michigan, Jan. 6. The 6-foot-8 wing scored a career-best 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while knocking down five three pointers. All three of those numbers were career highs, while he also tied his career-best with three assists.

TAKE ME DOWNTOWN: Heading into the MAC opener at Central Michigan, the Green and White had been shooting just 26.6 percent from beyond the arc, which ranked in the bottom-15 in the NCAA. Playing one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, Eastern Michigan beat CMU at their own game, shooting a school record 65 percent from downtown, hitting a season-best 13 threes. In addition, the 13 triples were the most made by a Rob Murphy coached EMU squad in a single game.

LOW SCORING AFFAIRS: Since both EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy and NIU Head Coach Mark Montgomery took over their respective programs prior to the 2011-12 campaign, games between the two squads have been tightly contested and very low scoring. In 11 games, the Eagles are 9-2 and have won by an average of 52.9-47.5. There has been just one time in those 11 contests that either team has broken the 70-point mark, and four occasions with neither team reached 50-point plateau.

ALL-TIME IN MAC LID LIFTERS: Historically, the Mid-American Conference opening game has not been kind to the Eagles since joining the MAC. Overall, EMU is 17-25 in MAC lid lifters, including dropping seven of its last 10 MAC openers. Conversely, the Eagles are 3-2 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 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 57.0 percent clip, while averaging nearly three times as many points per game (9.9) and twice as many rebounds per contest (6.9).

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, two games with five double-digit scorers, five 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 (10.1), but the Green and White are fifth in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking eighth in total steals (142).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 13.0 turnovers per game, which ranks 173rd in the country, EMU is 14th in the nation in turnover margin at a +4.1 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 17.1 turnovers per contest which ranks as the 13th-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 123 points during this season, totaling 1,133 for his career. That number has moved him ahead of Jeff Zatkoff (1979-82) in the all-time scoring list, placing him 16th overall. He is now 33 points shy of Marlow McClain (1979-83) and the No. 15 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 ninth (14.8 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (11.1 rpg) as the only freshman in the top-20 in that category as well. In addition, the Baton Rouge, La. product is second in the MAC in blocked shots (1.8 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (70.5 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 nationally in field goal percentage, while he ranks ninth in rebounds per game and 11th in total rebounds (156). His eight double-doubles rank 11th and his 4.8 offensive rebounds per game are good for third nationally.

GOTTA GUARD THE LONG LINE: After 14 games this season, the Eagles may have found an Achilles heel in their defense. Although teams are shooting just 32.6 percent overall from beyond the arc this season, the Green and White is 9-5, 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.

A LOOK AHEAD: Following the Saturday evening contest with Northern Illinois, Jan. 9, the Eagles will continue the Mid-American Conference campaign by returning back to the Convocation Center. EMU opens the home MAC slate with the University at Buffalo Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. before welcoming Bowling Green State to the Convocation Center Saturday, Jan. 16, at 2 p.m.

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. 8. Let's take a look...

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE RANKINGS as of Jan. 8
Player	Category	Rank	Number
Eastern Michigan	Steals per game	1st	10.1 (fifth nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnover Margin	1st	+4.1 (14th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Turnovers forces per game	1st	17.1 (13th nationally)
Eastern Michigan	Total steals	1st	142 (eighth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Double doubles	1st	8 (12th nationally)
James Thompson IV	Blocks per game	2nd	1.8
James Thompson IV	Rebounds per game	1st	11.1 (ninth nationally)
James Thompson IV	Offensive rebounds per game	1st	4.8 (third nationally)
James Thompson IV	Field goal percentage	1st	70.5 (second nationally)
Tim Bond	Steal per game	1st	1.9

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 17.1 turnovers per game, while ranking 17th in the NCAA in turnover margin, forcing 4.1 more turnovers per game than its opposition. In addition, the Green and White rank fifth in the country in steals per game, picking the opponents' pocket 10.1 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.

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 24.6 points and 18 rebounds per game this season. In addition, the duo is grabbing 6.9 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 15.8 percent of its offense this season.

NEW CREW: Despite the absence of EMU's top leading scorer from a season ago through the first six games of the season, Eastern has found some scoring in new places. Of the 932 points scored this season, 564 have been scored by student-athletes who are new to the EMU men's basketball program. That number is 50.9 percent of the scoring by the 2015-16 Eagles. Leading the charge for the newcomers are junior college transfer guards Willie Mangum IV (14.9 ppg) and Ty Toney (9.3 ppg). In addition, freshman center James Thompson IV is adding 14.8 points per contest for the Green and White.

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 82 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)	82-70 (.539)

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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