The Eagles Host Western Michigan and Renew In-State Rivalry

Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 17 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (7,784)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Riding a two-game winning streak and sitting in first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the Convocation Center to defend its homecourt this Tuesday, Jan. 17, when Western Michigan University travels across the Mitten for an in-state rivalry contest at 7 p.m. The Eagles (11-6, 3-1 MAC) look to defeat the Broncos (6-10, 2-2 MAC) at home for the sixth consecutive time, while WMU is hoping for its first win inside the Convo since the 2010-11 campaign.

The Green and White come into its fifth league matchup following a tight 53-49 victory on the road at Ohio, Jan. 14. That was the Eagles' second true road win in a row, coming off the heels of an 81-53 victory over Bowling Green, Jan. 10. For the Broncos, they have won two in a row as well. Last week, Western Michigan defeated a pair of MAC foes in Toledo, 90-74, and Kent State, 92-88. Both of those victories came in Kalamazoo.WMU has yet to win a game away from University Arena this season.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Western Michigan matchup will have both audio and video on Tuesday evening. 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 a season ago, 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 Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner will be alongside Wooley for analysis.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE BRONCOS: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Western Michigan by a 12-game margin, 47-59. EMU split a pair of contests with the Broncos a year ago.

Last season, the Eagles were unable to overtake Western in Kalamazoo, falling, 94-86, at University Arena, Jan. 30. However, the Green and White got some revenge at the Convocation Center later in the year. Eastern Michigan knocked off the Broncos at home, 73-62, in a Tuesday night matchup, Feb. 23.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE BRONCOS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
1	Tucker Haymond	G/F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	214	14.2	4.4	3.2	Seattle, Wash.-Garfield
10	Thomas Wilder	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-3	192	16.9	4.3	3.6	Montgomery, Ill.-Quakerdale Prep
23	Reggie Jones	G/F	Fr.-Fr.	6-6	210	8.8	3.3	2.1	Marion, Ind.-Marion
35	Brandon Johnson	F	Fr.-Fr.	6-8	225	8.1	5.8	0.7	Chicago, Ill.-Thea Bowman
42	Drake Lamont	C	Jr.-Jr.	6-10	245	8.3	4.3	0.3	Plantation, Fla.-American Heritage

LAST TIME OUT: For the first time since the 2002-03 season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team defeated Ohio University on the road by a final tally of 53-49, Saturday, Jan. 14, at the OU Convocation Center. The defensive battle was close throughout, but the Eagles came through in the end to down the Bobcats.

As a team, Eastern shot 20-of-50 (40 percent) from the field, including four three-pointers. Eastern came out on top in the rebounding battle by a narrow margin, 36-35, while tying the Bobcats with 13 turnovers. Tim Bond broke through with a clutch three pointer with nine seconds left to secure the victory, putting his stat line at 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Ty Toney was the team's leading scorer, pouring in 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers, in addition to four boards and three assists. James Thompson IV also finished in double figures, scoring 11 and snagging six rebounds.

THE BUCKING BRONCOS: Despite just a 6-10 record, Western Michigan is coming into Tuesday night's game riding as high as it has all season. Winning two games in a row for the first time this season, the Broncos are led by a high scoring duo in Thomas Wilder and Tucker Haymond. Wilder averages 16.9 points per game this year, ranking sixth in the MAC, while Haymond's 14.2 points per contest are 16th-best in the league. Wilder shoots at an astounding 48.6 percent clip from downtown, which is best in the conference. The tandem of Haymond and Wilder is coming off of a game in which the two combined for 59 points versus Kent State, Jan. 14, on their way to grabbing the second MAC win of the year for Western. Earlier in the week, the high scoring duo combined for 31 points, helping the Broncos to a win over Toledo, Jan. 10.

HOME COOKIN': Since the EMU Convocation Center opened in 1998, the Eastern Michigan men's basketball program has had success playing in Ypsilanti. Overall, the team is 165-105 in home games played at the Convocation Center. Since Head Coach Rob Murphy took over prior to the 2011-12 campaign, the Eagles have enjoyed an extremely high winning percentage, winning 80 percent of its games played in the Convo. Since the 2011-12 campaign, the Green and White boasts a record of 75-19 in home contests.

ANOTHER CURSE BROKEN: Eastern Michigan has broken another streak in which it had not won at an opponent's arena. Earlier this year, the Eagles defeated Detroit, 87-61, Nov. 30, at venerable Calihan Hall. The win on Dick Vitale Court was the first win in the building since the 1988 campaign. As for their 53-49 win over Ohio, Jan. 14, the Eagles picked up their first victory over the Bobcats inside the OU Convocation Center since the 2002-03 season.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE: Eastern Michigan held Ohio to just 49 points in the four-point victory in Athens, Jan. 14. That number is the second-lowest total EMU held an opponent to this season and the lowest number that an NCAA Division I opponent has scored on Eastern this year. The last time an NCAA Division I team scored less than 50 points on the Eagles was during the 2014-15 campaign. The Green and White again held Ohio below that total, allowing just 40 points in a 76-40 blowout at the Convocation Center, Jan. 27. The last time this feat was accomplished away from the Convo was that same season when Eastern Michigan defeated Michigan, 45-42, at the Crisler Center, Dec. 9. In addition, the Bobcats' 30.4 shooting percentage is the lowest mark that the Green and White have held an opponent to this season.

TIMMY B, FOR THREE!: Eastern Michigan junior guard Tim Bond connected on a corner three-point shot with just 9.4 seconds left on the clock in the second half of EMU's victory over Ohio, Jan. 14, sealing the Eagles' win. That was not the first time that Bond has connected on a triple considered to be the game winner. In EMU's 75-71 win on Senior Day last year, March 1, Bond knocked down a three ball with just three seconds on the clock, which sealed the Green and White's win over Northern Illinois.

HE'S BAAAACK: After being injured during the Eagles' setback at Vermont, Dec. 17, the Eagles' senior guard Ty Toney sat out for three games before returning to action once Mid-American Conference play began. In the first two games of conference action, Toney combined both contests for just 17 minutes played. In the Green and White's victory over Bowling Green, Jan. 10, the Atlanta, Ga. native played for 30 minutes, scoring 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting while dishing out four assists and picking up a pair of steals. Additionally, Toney led Eastern Michigan in scoring versus Ohio, Jan. 14, with 17 points in the Eagles' next game, going 6-of-11 from the floor and connecting on a career-high three triples.

RETURN OF THE MAC: With MAC play ramping up, so has Eastern Michigan's defensive play. Since beginning conference play, EMU has only allowed 60.5 points per game, which leads the league. Additionally, the Eagles' opponents are shooting just 34.1 percent from the floor and just 25.8 percent from beyond the arc. Both of those numbers also lead the MAC. Eastern is posting 9.8 steals per game over the conference season, which is the league lead as well.

BEST IN SHOW: Eastern Michigan has become one of the dominant teams in the Mid-American Conference in multiple categories. These stats are updated as of Jan. 16 and can be found on game five of the game notes.

STEALING THEIR WAY TO THE TOP: Currently, EMU has 189 steals on the season. That is 123 shy of the all-time Eastern Michigan single season record. At their current pace (11.1 spg), which would also mark a single season record, the Eagles would shatter the single season steals mark before the end of the regular season. With 14 games until the end of the regular campaign, the Green and White are on pace to accumulate 344 steals in regular season action. The current EMU record, set by the 2015-16 squad, is 321.

THE MAGIC NUMBER: Eastern Michigan's offense has been dominant this season, averaging 81.8 points per game, good for second in the MAC. On the flip side, Eastern has had its woes defensively in multiple games, despite giving up just 70.6 points per contest. It seems as though 75 has been the magic number for both the Eagles and their oppositon. In 10 of EMU's 11 wins, the Green and White has scored at least 75 points. However, in the Eagles' losses, the opponent has scored at least 75 points in each.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Tuesday afternoon contest with Western Michigan, the Eagles continue Mid-American Conference action by hitting the road, Friday, Jan. 20. Eastern Michigan will travel to Akron, Ohio to square off with the MAC East leading Akron Zips at 6:30 p.m. The game was selected for national coverage and will be aired on the CBS Sports Network.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

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