Eastern Welcomes Toledo to the Convocation Center for a MAC West Battle

Men's Basketball vs. Toledo
Date	Saturday, Feb. 20 \| Noon
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,784)
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	EMUEagles.com
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Coming off of a disappointing loss on the road at Ohio University Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will return home Saturday, Feb. 20, for the first of two in a row at the EMU Convocation Center. This Saturday, the Eagles will square off with the University of Toledo in a Mid-American Conference West Division Battle. Tipoff in Ypsilanti is slated for noon.

Eastern Michigan has won two of its last three games, in addition to winning its last three home games. Most recently, however, the Eagles dropped an 86-64 decision on the road, as the Ohio offense was too much for EMU.

Toledo enters Saturday's contest following a 77-69 setback on the road versus MAC West opponent Central Michigan, which broke a four-game winning streak, including a pair of road wins. The Rockets (16-10, 7-6 MAC) are 8-6 when playing away from the Glass City this season, including 6-5 in true road games.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Toledo 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 TOLEDO: Saturday's noon contest at the Convocation Center will mark the 98th all-time meeting between the two squads. Last season, the Rockets took two-of-three games between the two squads.

A year ago, the Eagles and Rockets won games in their respective home buildings, both of which proved to be blowouts with the home team coming away victorious. UT took an 84-60 win at Savage Arena, while EMU defeated the Rockets, 85-59, in Ypsilanti.

The two squads again met in the quarterfinals of the 2015 MAC Tournament where UT came away with a 79-67 win to move onto the semifinal round.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE ROCKETS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
1	Jonathan Williams	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-3	180	17.8	3.2	2.8	Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup
3	Stuckey Mosley	G	So.-So.	6-3	180	10.7	5.0	3.9	Orlando, Fla.-Timber Creek
13	Jaelan Sanford	G	Fr.-Fr.	6-4	195	8.4	1.9	1.7	Evansville, Ind.-Reitz
33	Zach Garber	C	Jr.-Jr.	6-10	240	6.2	4.9	0.6	Carey, Ohio-Vanlue
53	Nathan Boothe	C	Sr.-Sr.	6-9	250	19.0	9.3	3.3	Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Twp.

REBOUNDING PROVES COSTLY: Led by Antonio Campbell's double-double including 11 rebounds, the Eagles were unable to fend off the Bobcats Tuesday night, Feb. 16, as Ohio defeated Eastern Michigan, 86-64. In the contest, the Green and White was outrebounded by 17, 42-25, including 14 offensive boards which led to 15 second chance points for the Bobcats.

THOMPSON NAMED MAC WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: EMU freshman James Thompson IV was named MAC West Player of the Week for the period ending, Feb. 14, by the MAC office. Thompson averaged 19.5 points and 17 rebounds over the two-game span. The Baton Rouge, La. native was remarkably consistent, notching very similar stat lines. Against Central Michigan, his final stat line stood at 19 points and 15 rebounds, while against Kent State, he finished with 20 points and grabbed a career-best 19 total rebounds. Overall, he shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the floor, playing nearly 40 minutes in each game. Of his 34 total rebounds, 17 of them came on the offensive end, providing solid second-chance opportunities. The freshman also picked up his 15th and 16th double-doubles of the season, which leads the MAC.

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 410 points distancing himself from Lee by 30 points.

TALK ABOUT EFFICIENCY: 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 (14.6 ppg), but is playing just 23.4 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is posting a point every 96 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 292 rebounds this year, which puts him 10th in a single season in EMU history. On his current rebounding pace of 11.3 per game, at the end of the 2015-16 regular season, Thompson would accumulate 349 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 248 steals on the season. That is just 58 shy of the all-time Eastern Michigan single season record. At their current pace (9.5 spg), which would also mark a single season record, the Eagles are set to amass 296 steals, which would put them at third all time. With five games until the MAC Tournament, the Green and White are on pace to accumulate 296 steals in regular season action.

HEADING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE: At 688 free throw attempts, the Eagles lead the Mid-American Conference in that category, while also ranking 13th 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 (15.8 ppg), while he is also leading the conference in rebounds (11.3 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 (1.5 bpg) and first in field goal percentage (66.8 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 fifth in the nation in field goal percentage, while he ranks ninth in rebounds per game and ninth in total rebounds (293). His 16 double-doubles rank ninth and his 4.7 offensive rebounds per game are good for second nationally.

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 54.1 percent clip, while averaging nearly three times as many points per game (9.2) and twice as many rebounds per contest (6.5).

KING OF THIEVES: The Eagles not only lead the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.5), but the Green and White are fifth in the NCAA in that category, while also ranking eighth in total steals (248).

TIC-TAC-TURNOVER: Although Eastern Michigan averages 12.8 turnovers per game, which ranks 170th in the country, EMU is 11th in the nation in turnover margin at a +3.7 difference. The Green and White force the opposition into 16.5 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 292 points during this season, totaling 1,302 for his career. That number puts him at the No. 16 spot in all-time EMU scorers. Lee now trails Marlow McClain (1979-83) for the 15th spot by 34 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 (1,302 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)	86-78 (.524)
5.	Jim Boyce	1979-86	14/yr	84-96 (.467)

Eastern Welcomes Toledo to the Convocation Center for a MAC West Battle

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eastern Welcomes Toledo to the Convocation Center for a MAC West Battle

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

James Thompson IV

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