EMU Travels to Bowling Green for First Road MAC Contest

Men's Basketball at Bowling Green
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 10 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Bowling Green, Ohio \| Stroh Center (4,387)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| BGSU Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Hitting the road for the first time since beginning Mid-American Conference play, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team travels to Bowling Green, Ohio to square off with Bowling Green State University Tuesday, Jan. 10. For the fourth time in Rob Murphy's tenure as the bench boss at Eastern, the Eagles' (9-6, 1-1 MAC) travel south to square off with the Falcons (7-8, 1-1 MAC) at the Stroh Center. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on the American Sports Network.

The Green and White come into its third Mid-American Conference tilt following a 77-68 setback at the hands of Buffalo, Jan. 7. For the Falcons, they return to the Stroh Center for their first MAC home game after defeating Ball State by a tight 76-71 margin in Muncie, Ind. to grab their first conference victory of the 2016-17 campaign.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Bowling Green matchup will have both audio and video on Saturday afternoon. 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 for the conference road game will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter as well as on-site engineer and Associate Athletic Director Greg Steiner. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

For those wishing to watch the Eagles' game live, tune into the American Sports Network, where Ron Thulin will call the BGSU versus EMU contest. ASN has yet to announce an analyst for the contest. In addition, the matchup will be simulcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE FALCONS: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Bowling Green by a six game margin, 42-48. EMU dropped its contest a year ago with the Falcons, 84-79, at the Convocation Center.

In that game, EMU was paced by Ray Lee with 29 points, including four shots from beyond the arc. James Thompson IV recorded yet another double-double, notching a stat line of 21 points and 14 boards. Ty Toney also had a solid game, recording 18 points, four rebounds, and a pair of assists. The Green and White were outscored 44-31 in the first half, before erupting for 48 points in the second to eventually tie the game. As a team, the Eagles shot 44.1 percent from the floor, and 53.3 percent in the second half. The team was solid from the free throw line, posting a final mark of 22-of-26 from the charity stripe.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE FALCONS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
1	Damajeo Wiggins	F	So.-So.	6-10	240	10.7	7.5	0.5	Toledo, Ohio-Springfield
4	Zack Denny	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-2	180	12.5	5.3	1.1	Germantown, Ohio-Valley View
11	Antwon Lillard	G	So.-So.	6-5	180	9.7	4.9	1.6	Cleveland, Ohio-Central Catholic
14	Wes Alcegaire	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	210	12.8	3.6	1.5	Miami, Fla.-Dayton State College
20	Ismail Ali	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-1	180	6.2	2.3	5.1	South Hayward, Calif.-Antelope Alley

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan dropped its first Mid-American Conference game Saturday, Jan. 10, when Buffalo knocked off the Eagles, 77-68 at the Convocation Center.

Leading the Eagle attack was senior Willie Mangum IV, who had 17 points. Three other Eagles finished in double figures, with redshirt senior Ray Lee and sophomore Baylee Steele contributing 12 apiece, while fellow sophomore James Thompson IV was one rebound shy of a double-double, going for 11 points and nine boards. Finally, junior Tim Bond tied his career-best with three blocks, accomplished for the third time.

FOCUS ON THE FALCONS: The Bowling Green squad comes into Saturday afternoon's contest after winning four of its last six games. A large part of those victories have been the Falcons' ability to turn the opponent over at a high clip. Bowling Green forces its opposition into 15 turnovers a game. That number ranks 74th in the country, while their 7.1 steals per contest rank 90th overall and their +2.4 is the 58th-best in the NCAA. On the other side of things, the Falcons stuggle on the rebounding front, posting a -1.3 rebounding margin during the 2016-17 campaign. That number is the 254th-worst in the nation, while their team free throw percentage of 68 percent comes in as the 226th-worst percentage in the country.

A TOUGH TASK AHEAD: Through this point in the 2016-17 campaign, the Eagles are 1-4 in true road games. Additionally, they are looking for their first road win in Mid-American Conference play in as many games. The Green and White's last true road win in MAC play came in the regular season finale a year ago, March 4, at Toledo, 79-75. A year ago, Eastern Michigan managed just two road wins in conference play, defeating Central Michigan, 99-80, in the league opener, while also defeating Toledo for a 2-6 record away from Ypsilanti. In fact, the last time an EMU squad was able to win more than two games in conference on the road came during the 2011-12 campaign when Head Coach Rob Murphy led the Eagles to its first ever Mid-American Conference West Division Championship. That sqaud won three road games in league action.

SURPASSING THE CENTURY MARK: With the Eagles' 85-63 win over CMU, Jan. 3, Head Coach Rob Murphy picked up his 100th career win as the bench boss at Eastern Michigan. Murphy became just the fourth head coach in EMU history to surpass the 100-win mark and the first since Ben Braun (1986-96) during the 1991-92 season. Braun owns 185 wins, which is the most in Eastern history.

EMU OFFENSE ROLLING: Despite being predicated on the patented 2-3 zone defense, the EMU offense has proven to be something special. Averaging 83.8 points per game, the Green and White have a top-25 scoring offense in the country. Not only is that the best offensive output during the Rob Murphy era, but should that average remain, the 2016-17 Eagles will have the fifth-most efficient offense in EMU history. Additionally, it would be the best scoring average for an Eastern Michigan team since the 1967-68 team posted 87.6 points per game.

SHARING THE SUGAR: With the EMU offense rolling along this season, the Eagles' assist numbers are up as well. Averaging 14.5 assists per game, the Green and White is on its way to posting 450 assists in the regular season alone. That number would tie for ninth all-time by a team in EMU single season history. The last team to post a higher assist per game average than the 2016-17 squad was the 2002-03 team which posted 15.1 helpers per contest.

MANGUM FOR THREE: Eastern Michigan senior guard Willie Mangum IV has become well known for his success from the long line. This season, the Richmond, Va. native has connected on at least one three-pointer in each of the Eagles' 15 games, while also notching two-or-more in 11. Currently, Mangum leads the Green and White in scoring at 16.7 points per contest, while also ranking fourth in the Mid-American Conference at 2.9 three-point makes per contest.

LEE LIGHTS IT UP: Redshirt senior guard Ray Lee came into his final season donning the Green and White as one of the top scorers all-time in EMU history and the Detroit, Mich. native has continued that trend. Although he is not leading the Eagles in scoring, he is averaging 15.6 points per game. What is more impressive is that he has notched double-digit scoring marks in 10-of-14 games played and has notched 20-or-more in seven contests this season.

NOBLES KNOCKING IT OUT: Redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles has put together seven-straight games with impressive numbers. The Canton, Mich. native has averaged 11.6 points per game, while grabbing 6.9 rebounds per contest over that span. He has notched double-digit scoring performances in five of those seven games, while adding 10-or-more rebounds in a pair of contests during that stretch. Against Long Beach State, Nobles scored a career-best 15 points, while dishing out a career-high six assists. Additionally, the 6-foot-9 forward has shot 55.6 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent from the chartiy stripe during the current seven-game span.

BEST IN SHOW: Eastern Michigan has become one of the dominant teams in the Mid-American Conference in multiple categories. Find the updated stats on page five on the EMU game notes here.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Eastern Michigan has become known as one of the most active teams defensively and the numbers back up that claim. The Eagles have racked up a total of 172 steals this season, which ranks as the third-most in the NCAA as of Jan. 9. Additionally, their average of 11.5 steals per game are the second-best in the nation.

Individually, the Green and White boast four student-athletes who average one-or-more steal per contest, including Tim Bond, Ray Lee, Willie Mangum IV, and Ty Toney. Bond, Lee, Mangum and Toney make up four of the top-six spots in the Mid-American Conference. Bond leads the MAC with 2.2 steals per game, while Mangum takes second in the league (2.1 spg), Toney is fourth (1.9 spg) and Lee is in sixth with 1.8 swipes per contest.

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Two times in one week, EMU's Tim Bond was highlighted on ESPN's SportsCenter. First versus Central Michigan, Jan. 3, Bond threw down a thunderous dunk before an alley oop pass and one handed finish in the Eagles' contest with Buffalo, Jan. 7. The CMU dunk was named the second-best play of the night, while Saturday's oop was seventh on the SportsCenter Top 10. Bond's dunk marks the fourth straight season that the Eagles have been featured on the ESPN flagship program. In 2013-14, Glenn Bryant put down a "Top 10" dunk versus Western Michigan. During the 2014-15 campaign, Karrington Ward earned the number one spot on the "Top 10" with a high flying throw down versus Oakland, while just last year, Ray Lee earned a spot as Scott Van Pelt's "Best Thing I Saw Today" segment after lighting it up for 46 points versus Miami.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: EMU sophomore James Thomspon IV has proven to be one of the premier frontcourt players in the Mid-American Conference and country through his short time at Eastern Michigan. The Baton Rouge, La. native has racked up 27 double-doubles in 47 games donning the Green and White. That number is tied with E-Club Hall of Famer Earle Higgins as the sixth-most double-doubles recorded in EMU history. The 6-foot-10 forward needs five more double-doubles to catch another E-Club Hall of Fame member, John Bowler, who notched 32 double-doubles in his career at Eastern Michigan.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: This year, Eastern Michigan has won the turnover battle in all but four contests this season. Additionally, the Green and White have forced more than 15 turnovers in 12 of the Eagles' 15 games this season. In total, EMU owns a +5.7 turnover margin, good for the fifth-best in the NCAA. As a team, Eastern Michigan turns the ball over just 12.9 times per contest, while forcing the opposition into 18.6 per game.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Tuesday evening contest with Bowling Green, the Eagles continue Mid-American Conference action on the road Saturday, Jan. 14. Eastern Michigan will travel to Athens, Ohio for a 3:30 p.m. contest against the Ohio Bobcats at the OU Convocation Center. The game can be seen live on ESPN3.

CHARITY CHAMPIONS: A season ago, EMU converted 72.1 percent of its free throw attempts, marking the third-best free throw percentage as a team in Eastern Michigan history. To this point of the season, the 2016-17 Eagles are hitting their free throws at a 75.3 percent clip, which would set the EMU all-time record.

In addition, EMU's Ray Lee has continued to show his worth at the free throw line this season. The Detroit, Mich. native ranks eighth overall in EMU history for free throws made (413), while also being ninth in career free throw percentage (.784). This season, Lee is connecting on 83.9 percent of his free throw attempts. That number is tied for the sixth-best single season free throw percentage by an individual in Eastern Michigan history.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Jordan Nobles

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics