Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, December 6
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Oakland
EMU Welcomes Oakland to Convocation Center Wednesday Night
12/4/2017 3:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles host the Golden Grizzlies in a 7 p.m. matchup
| Men's Basketball vs Oakland | |
| Date | Wednesday, Dec. 6 | 7 p.m. |
| Venue | Ypsilanti, Mich. | Convocation Center (8,754) |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | ESPN3 |
| Listen | WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) | TuneIn Radio |
| @EMUHoops | @EMUAthletics | |
| Tickets | Order Tickets Online |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center to take on Oakland University Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. The Eagles will play two home games before hitting the road for another three-game road swing, as EMU also welcomes Central State to Ypsilanti for a 2 p.m. game Saturday, Dec. 9.
Fans can catch Wednesday's game on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley providing play-by-play and Greg Steiner serving as the analyst. The game can also be heard on WEMU 89.1 with Chad Bush on the play-by-play and Kyler Ludlow as analyst.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern suffered a hard-fought 84-81 overtime loss at North Florida to wrap up its longest road trip of the season Nov. 29.
Trailing by as many as 12 in the second half, Eastern forced its first overtime since Nov. 11, 2016 by outscoring North Florida 17-9 over the final 8:34 of regulation. The Osprey hit a three with eight seconds left in the game to tie the score at 77-77, and the Eagles were unable to connect on the other end.
Overtime was nearly as exciting as regulation, but once UNF grabbed the lead off a pair of free throws, the home team never relinquished it again. EMU had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but could not get a shot off in time.
Junior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) put together a monster performance for the Eagles, scoring a season-high 29 points and grabbing a season-best 15 boards for his sixth double-double of the campaign. Also registering a double-double was Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)), who scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first of the season,.
Joining the frontcourt duo in double-digit scoring was point guard Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)), who tossed in 18 points and grabbed a career-high five rebounds. Senior Tim Bond (Baltimore Md.-City College) added eight points, eight boards, six steals, and four assists.
RARE AIR: Junior big man James Thompson IV is one of just eight players in the country averaging over 16 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and owns a shooting percentage above 60 percent. The others are Deandre Ayton (Arizona), Marvin Bagley (Duke), Devontae Cacok (UNC-Wilmington), Chris Cokley (UAB), Jessie Govan (Georgetown), Brandon McCoy (UNLV), and Jordan Murphy (Minnesota). In addition, just four of those players (Murphy, Cacok, Govan, and Thompson) are averaging more than 12 rebounds.
REBOUND MACHINE: Thompson's rebounding numbers not only rank among the best in the Mid-American Conference, but also all of the NCAA. The junior leads the conference in rebounds per game (4th nationally), offensive rebounds per game (7th nationally), total rebounds (13th nationally), and defensive rebounds per game (15th nationally). The Baton Rouge, La. native is also fourth in the country in double-doubles with six in seven games.
ALL-TIME VS OAKLAND: Wednesday is the 17th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Oakland. The Eagles and Golden Grizzlies haven't played each other since the 2015-16 season when EMU traveled to Rochester and suffered a 91-81 defeat. Three current members of the Green and White were contributing members of that squad, as James Thompson had eight points and eight rebounds, Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) added seven points and three boards, and Tim Bond had a six point, six rebound performance.
The last time Oakland and Eastern did battle inside the Convocation Center was Nov. 17, 2014. The Eagles came away with an 89-77 victory in what was the second 'W' of a seven-game win streak to start 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 10.3 steals per game through its first seven contests. Led by Tim Bond's 3.1 steals per game, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top-10 in average steals per game, totaling 72 thefts thus far.
SLICE AND DICE: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson has upped his scoring to another level of late, turning in 16 points per game during the four-game stretch of the Hoosier Tip-off Classic, bringing his average to 15.1 after an 18-point performance at North Florida. Jackson has done most of his scoring off the dribble-drive, shooting 43 percent from the floor. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native has also averaged four assists, two steals, and two rebounds per game.
MINNIE STAYS HOT: Elijah Minnie has put together a tremendous first seven games as a member of the Green and White. The redshirt junior scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, had three blocks, and swiped three steals in his debut against Spring Arbor, and has averaged 17.0 points per game since. The 22 points were the most scored in a debut-game since Willie Mangum IV scored 18 in 2015, and the 49 combined points is the most by a new player in the modern statistical era (1998-present).
The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also put on a show at Indiana, Nov. 24, scoring 20 points and burying a career-high five triples in the EMU loss. Minnie was named to the Hoosier Tip-off Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 13 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal per game. He also logged his first double-double of the season against North Florida, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards.
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 18 rebounds behind Vince Giles (788, 1981-85) for seventh all-time, and is just the 13th player in EMU history to have both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their career.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to the Convocation Center to conclude its two-game home stretch for a matchup against head coach Rob Murphy's Alma Mater, NCAA Division II's Central State, Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m.
Fans can catch Wednesday's game on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley providing play-by-play and Greg Steiner serving as the analyst. The game can also be heard on WEMU 89.1 with Chad Bush on the play-by-play and Kyler Ludlow as analyst.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern suffered a hard-fought 84-81 overtime loss at North Florida to wrap up its longest road trip of the season Nov. 29.
Trailing by as many as 12 in the second half, Eastern forced its first overtime since Nov. 11, 2016 by outscoring North Florida 17-9 over the final 8:34 of regulation. The Osprey hit a three with eight seconds left in the game to tie the score at 77-77, and the Eagles were unable to connect on the other end.
Overtime was nearly as exciting as regulation, but once UNF grabbed the lead off a pair of free throws, the home team never relinquished it again. EMU had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but could not get a shot off in time.
Junior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) put together a monster performance for the Eagles, scoring a season-high 29 points and grabbing a season-best 15 boards for his sixth double-double of the campaign. Also registering a double-double was Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)), who scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first of the season,.
Joining the frontcourt duo in double-digit scoring was point guard Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)), who tossed in 18 points and grabbed a career-high five rebounds. Senior Tim Bond (Baltimore Md.-City College) added eight points, eight boards, six steals, and four assists.
RARE AIR: Junior big man James Thompson IV is one of just eight players in the country averaging over 16 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and owns a shooting percentage above 60 percent. The others are Deandre Ayton (Arizona), Marvin Bagley (Duke), Devontae Cacok (UNC-Wilmington), Chris Cokley (UAB), Jessie Govan (Georgetown), Brandon McCoy (UNLV), and Jordan Murphy (Minnesota). In addition, just four of those players (Murphy, Cacok, Govan, and Thompson) are averaging more than 12 rebounds.
REBOUND MACHINE: Thompson's rebounding numbers not only rank among the best in the Mid-American Conference, but also all of the NCAA. The junior leads the conference in rebounds per game (4th nationally), offensive rebounds per game (7th nationally), total rebounds (13th nationally), and defensive rebounds per game (15th nationally). The Baton Rouge, La. native is also fourth in the country in double-doubles with six in seven games.
ALL-TIME VS OAKLAND: Wednesday is the 17th all-time meeting between Eastern Michigan and Oakland. The Eagles and Golden Grizzlies haven't played each other since the 2015-16 season when EMU traveled to Rochester and suffered a 91-81 defeat. Three current members of the Green and White were contributing members of that squad, as James Thompson had eight points and eight rebounds, Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) added seven points and three boards, and Tim Bond had a six point, six rebound performance.
The last time Oakland and Eastern did battle inside the Convocation Center was Nov. 17, 2014. The Eagles came away with an 89-77 victory in what was the second 'W' of a seven-game win streak to start 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 10.3 steals per game through its first seven contests. Led by Tim Bond's 3.1 steals per game, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top-10 in average steals per game, totaling 72 thefts thus far.
SLICE AND DICE: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson has upped his scoring to another level of late, turning in 16 points per game during the four-game stretch of the Hoosier Tip-off Classic, bringing his average to 15.1 after an 18-point performance at North Florida. Jackson has done most of his scoring off the dribble-drive, shooting 43 percent from the floor. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native has also averaged four assists, two steals, and two rebounds per game.
MINNIE STAYS HOT: Elijah Minnie has put together a tremendous first seven games as a member of the Green and White. The redshirt junior scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, had three blocks, and swiped three steals in his debut against Spring Arbor, and has averaged 17.0 points per game since. The 22 points were the most scored in a debut-game since Willie Mangum IV scored 18 in 2015, and the 49 combined points is the most by a new player in the modern statistical era (1998-present).
The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also put on a show at Indiana, Nov. 24, scoring 20 points and burying a career-high five triples in the EMU loss. Minnie was named to the Hoosier Tip-off Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 13 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal per game. He also logged his first double-double of the season against North Florida, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards.
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 18 rebounds behind Vince Giles (788, 1981-85) for seventh all-time, and is just the 13th player in EMU history to have both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in their career.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to the Convocation Center to conclude its two-game home stretch for a matchup against head coach Rob Murphy's Alma Mater, NCAA Division II's Central State, Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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