Eagles Look to Tame Bobcats in Athens

Men's Basketball at Ohio
Date	Tuesday, Feb. 16 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Athens, Ohio \| Convocation Center (13,080)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	OhioBobcats.com
Watch	OhioBobcats.com
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After winning its second-straight game since beginning Mid-American Conference play, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team looks to make it three in a row when it travels to Athens, Ohio to square off with Ohio University Tuesday, Feb. 16. Tip-off from the OU Convocation Center is slated for 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening.

The Eagles (13-12, 5-7 MAC) are fresh off of a 75-70 win at home versus Kent State University Saturday, Feb. 13. Despite struggling from beyond the three point line, shooting a season low 7.1 percent and connecting on just 62.5 percent from the charity stripe, the Eagles were able to fend off the Golden Flashes for their second-straight victory.

The Bobcats (16-8, 7-5 MAC) come into Tuesday night's game riding a three-game winning streak, while also winning five of their last six games. Most recently, Ohio knocked off Buffalo in a commanding, 94-75, road victory Friday, Feb. 12.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Ohio 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 Ohio's online streaming service through the Ohio Bobcats website. To access the live stream, use OU's athletics website, OhioBobcats.com.

ALL-TIME VERSUS OHIO: Tuesday's 7 p.m. contest at the OU Convocation Center will mark the 71st all-time meeting between the two squads. Most recently, the Eagles and Bobcats split the season series a year ago.

In last year's first meeting, the Eagles posted its largest margin of victory since the 2004 season when Eastern dropped Ohio, 76-40, at the EMU Convocation Center. Raven Lee led the way with 19 points, while 10 other Eagles scored in the contest.

In the return trip to Athens, Eastern dropped a 76-73 decision at the OU Convocation Center. The Bobcats led by as many at 15 with just 8:19 left in the game, but Lee willed the Eagles back into the game, scoring 31 second half points to total 33 for the game. However, a last second corner three from Lee fell just short in the loss.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE BOBCATS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Treg Setty	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-9	200	10.3	4.6	0.7	Maysville, Ky.-Southern Illinois
2	Jaaron Simmons	G	Jr.-So.	6-1	185	14.0	3.9	7.9	Dayton, Ohio-Houston
13	Kenny Kaminski	F	Sr.-Jr.	6-8	225	12.8	4.0	1.2	Medina, Ohio-Michigan State
33	Antonio Campbell	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-10	260	17.0	9.5	0.5	Cincinnati, Ohio-Holy Cross
35	Jordan Dartis	G	Fr.-Fr.	6-3	185	10.0	1.6	1.5	Newark, Ohio-Newark

HANGING ON FOR A VICTORY: An all too common theme this season the EMU men's basketball team has been the inability to close out games down the stretch. In their 75-70 victory over Kent State, the Eagles were able to reverse that trend, holding on to the lead for more than 30 minutes of the game, including the entire second half.

BECOMING LEGENDARY: Although he is just a freshman at Eastern Michigan, James Thompson IV has already begun what could be a legendary career at EMU. The Baton Rouge, La. native broke his teammate, Raven Lee's, freshman record of points scored by putting up 20 in the Eagles' victory over Kent State, Feb. 13. To this point, Thompson has racked up 399 points distancing himself from Lee by 19 points.

EFFICIENCY AT ITS FINEST: EMU redshirt junior Raven Lee has been the poster boy for offensive efficiency coming off of the bench this season. The Detroit, Mich. native is averaging the second most points on the team (15.1 ppg), but is playing just 23.7 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is posting a point every 94 seconds.

YOUNG BLOOD: It does not come as a shock to see James Thompson IV as one of the top freshmen in EMU laurels. Posting 16 double-doubles this season, the Baton Rouge, La. native has already made his mark in the Eastern Michigan record books. The 16 double-doubles are seventh-most recorded all-time in EMU history. In addition, Thompson has 287 rebounds this year, which puts him 10th in a single season in EMU history. On his current rebounding pace of 11.5 per game, at the end of the 2015-16 regular season, Thompson would accumulate 356 prior to the MAC Tournament. That rebounding number would give the 6-foot-10 center the third-most rebounds in EMU single season history.

STEALING THEIR WAY TO THE TOP: Currently, EMU has 243 steals on the season. That is just 63 shy of the all-time Eastern Michigan single season record. At their current pace (9.7 spg), which would also mark a single season record, the Eagles could surpass the single season steals mark in MAC Tournament play. With six games until the MAC Tournament, the Green and White are on pace to accumulate 301 steals in regular season action.

HEADING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE: At 669 free throw attempts, the Eagles lead the Mid-American Conference in that category, while also ranking 15th in the nation. In addition, the Green and White is connecting on free throws at a 72.5 percent clip. That number ranks as the second best all-time in a single season at EMU. However, the Eagles free throw percentage has been trending upwards since MAC play started, connecting on 77.2 percent in conference action.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: EMU's James Thompson IV is making a push to be 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 (16.0 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (11.5 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 (1.6 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (67.3 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 third in the nation in field goal percentage, while he ranks ninth in rebounds per game and ninth in total rebounds (287). His 16 double-doubles rank ninth and his 4.8 offensive rebounds per game are good for second nationally.

ONE OF 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 third in the NCAA in field goal percentage. The Baton Rouge, La. native converts on 67.3 percent of his shot attempts. Belmont's Evan Bradds leads the category at 71.7 percent, while Eastern Washington's Venky Jois connects at a 68.7 percent clip. The next closest freshman in the category is Eastern Kentucky's Nick Mayo, who connects on 60.8 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 55.7 percent clip, while averaging nearly three times as many points per game (9.4) and twice as many rebounds per contest (6.6).

KING OF THIEVES: The Eagles not only lead the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.7), but the Green and White are fifth in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking sixth in total steals (243).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 12.9 turnovers per game, which ranks 181st in the country, EMU is 12th in the nation in turnover margin at a +3.7 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 16.6 turnovers per contest which ranks as the 11th-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 286 points during this season, totaling 1,296 for his career. That number puts him at the No. 17 spot in all-time EMU scorers. Lee now trails Jeff Zatkoff (1979-82) for the 16th spot by five points.

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 (1,296 pts) by any active player in the conference. Just Central Michigan's Chris Fowler (1,592) and Toledo's Nathan Boothe (1,348) rank ahead of Eastern's redshirt junior.

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 86 wins which is tied for the fourth-most by an EMU coach.

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.	Rob Murphy	2011-Present	18.3/yr (Four-year total)	86-77 (.528)
5.	Jim Boyce	1979-86	14/yr	84-96 (.467)

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Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics