EMU Closes Out Homestand Against Howard

Men's Basketball vs. Howard
Date	Saturday, Nov. 18 - 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center (8,782)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats vs. Howard
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMU Hoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues play in the 2017 Hoosier Tipoff Classic Saturday, Nov. 18, as they take on Howard University in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center.
   The Eagles conclude the Hoosier Classic with their first away games of the season, Nov. 24-26, squaring off against Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., Friday, before traveling to Tampa, Fla. to take on South Florida, Sunday.
   Fans can catch the game on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley providing play-by-play and Greg Steiner serving as the analyst.

AROUND THE TOURNAMENT: EMU vs. Arkansas State served as the second game of the 2017 Indiana Hoosier Tipoff Classic, as tournament-host Indiana (1-2) opened the classic with an 86-77 win over Howard (0-3), Nov. 12. The tournament is comprised of five programs including, EMU (3-0), Arkansas State (1-2), Howard (0-3), South Florida (2-1), and Indiana (1-2). Each program will play the other four teams once over the span of the next two weeks.

REVERSING THE CURSE: The Green and White has struggled through in-season tournaments as of late. Over the last 10 years, EMU has notched a 15-21 record in such contests, most recently encountering problems in the 2K Classic last year, going 1-3 with losses against Pittsburgh, SMU, and IUPUI, with the team's lone win coming against Gardner-Webb.

ALL-TIME VS MEAC: The Eagles have edged out Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference programs with regularity over the years, currently holding a 7-2 all-time record against teams out of the Norfolk, Va.-based conference. Most recently, EMU had success against Coppin State, besting them in the 2015-16 season, 73-62. The last meeting held in the Convo against a MEAC program also came against Coppin State and ended in similar fashion, as Eastern came away with the win, 87-64. The battle against Howard, Nov. 18, will serve as the first matchup between the Eagles and Bison.

REVERSING THE CURSE: The Green and White has struggled through in-season tournaments as of late. Over the last 10 years, EMU has notched a 15-21 record in such contests, most recently encountering problems in the 2K Classic last year, going 1-3 with losses against Pittsburgh, SMU, and IUPUI, with the team's lone win coming against Gardner-Webb.

LAST TIME OUT: In its most recent game, Nov. 16, EMU had its first Division I matchup of the season as it took on Arkansas State. The Eagles gained the lead early and never looked back, handing the Red Wolves their second loss of the season, 76-59.
   Junior James Thompson IV continued his dominance under the basket, notching his third double-double of the season with a 23 point, 11 rebound effort. Redshirt junior Paul Jackson put together his best performance as an Eagle, scoring an EMU-career high 21 points, while dishing out seven assists and coming away with four steals in a team-high 39 minutes. Lone senior Tim Bond scored 15 points for the second straight game, while adding four helpers and contributing to EMU's defensive effort with three steals.

1,000-POINT CLUB: With his 23-point performance against Arkansas State, Nov. 16, junior James Thompson IV eclipsed the career 1,000-point mark, becoming the 30th EMU student-athlete to reach the milestone in program history. Additionally, the 11 boards he pulled down in the same game moved him up to eighth all-time in career rebounds with 748, surpassing Kory Hallas (743, 1988-92) who played in 54 more games than Thompson . The junior is now just the 13th player in EMU history to have both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their career.

PLENTY TO GO AROUND: The game against Arkansas State, Nov. 16, saw three different players notch double-digit point totals, including two with 20+ points. This was the first time the squad accomplished either feat since Feb. 28, 2017, when Ray Lee (50), Willie Mangum IV (24), and James Thompson IV (14) combined for 88 points in a 109-81 victory over Mid-American Conference and in-state rival, Central Michigan. Against ASU, Thompson IV was once again a part of the scoring trio, leading all players with 23 points. Paul Jackson finished just behind with 21 points, while Tim Bond dropped 15 as well. Their ability to spread points across players is in large part by their success on moving the ball around, as EMU currently ranks first in the MAC with 18.3 assists per game. Additionally, the team ranks second in the MAC with an impressive 88.3 points per game over the first few of the season.

I'LL TAKE THAT: After leading the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.6) last year, Eastern has continued that trend, currently averaging a conference-high 14.3 steals per game through its first three contests. Led by Tim Bond's MAC-best 10 steals, the Eagles have four players ranked within the conference's top-six in average steals per game, totaling 43 thefts thus far.

OFF TO THE RACES: The three straight wins is the best start to a season since the 2014-15 campain, which saw the Eagles win seven games before being handed their first loss. Additionally, the Green and White have only been able to start out 3-0 two other times since the turn of the century (2013-14, 2014-15), both of which fell under the tutelage of Head Coach Rob Murphy.

THE EDGE OF A REVOLUTION: The Eagles' high octane offense has been one of the best offensive displays by EMU through the first three games of a season in more than two decades. In fact, the Eagles have scored at least 76 points in each of the three games they have played thus far, marking the first time in over 20 years the team has accomplished such a start. The last time the team posted 76-or-more points in each of the first three contests to start the season came back in the 1996-97 campaign, which was just one year after Head Coach Rob Murphy graduated from college.

#DEFENDTHENEST: Eastern Michigan's defense has been one of the keys to its success to start the 2017-18 season, with the Eagles swiping 43 steals and blocking 21 shots (both tops in the MAC) in the first three games. EMU leads the conference with a +9.33 turnover margin early in the season, and also ranks tied for first in the league with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 81 of its 105 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball. The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the doors opened during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White have won 60 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 174-115 all-time mark.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern finishes its early season home swing by welcoming Howard to the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov. 18 as part of the 2017 Hoosier Tipoff Classic. After that, the Eagles hit the road for matchups at Indiana, Nov. 24, and South Florida, Nov. 26.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics