Eagles Head to Cleveland for Quarterfinal Matchup with Akron

Men's Basketball vs. Akron (MAC Tournament Quarterfinals)
Date	Thursday, March 9 \| Noon
Venue	Cleveland, Ohio \| Quicken Loans Arena (20,562)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	Buckeye Cable Sports Network \| ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- For the fifth consecutive season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will head to Cleveland, Ohio for the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. After defeating Northern Illinois University, March 6, the Eagles (16-16, 7-11 MAC) travel to Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, for a MAC Tournament quarterfinal contest. Just like last season, as the No. 8 seed, the Green and White will take on the tournament's No. 1 seed, the University of Akron, in the first quarterfinal contest of the tournament. Game time at "The Q" is slated for Noon, Thursday, March 9.

The Green and White heads into the game with the Zips (24-7, 14-4 MAC) following a thrilling, 72-69, victory over NIU at the Convocation Center. Senior Ty Toney blocked a desperation three-pointer as time expired to give the Green and White its fifth-straight appearance in the MAC Quarterfinals.

Akron received a bye after taking home the No. 1 seed after finishing its conference season as the MAC Regular Season Champion for the second consecutive season and its fourth in the last six. The Zips closed out the regular season with a 66-56 victory over MAC East Division rival, Kent State, March 3, in Kent, Ohio.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Akron matchup will have both audio and video on Thursday. 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 Buckey Cable Sports Network, where Mason Lowry will call the UA versus EMU contest. Pat Vuyancih will join Lowry on the broadcast to provide analysis. In addition, Gabriella Kreuz will provide insight as the sideline reporter. Fans can also stream the game on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app.

ALL-TIME VERSUS AKRON: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Akron by a seven game margin, 20-27. Eastern dropped a pair of games against the Zips a season ago, and followed that up by falling in both of the regular season matchups earlier this season.

In the game at the J.A.R., Jan. 20 the Eagles spread the wealth with eight players contributing on the score sheet, led by seniors Ty Toney and Willie Mangum IV, who finished with 17 and 13, respectively. Sophomore Baylee Steele also finished in double figures, scoring 10 while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.

In the contest at EMU, the Zips shooting a scorching 52.9 percent from beyond the arc in a game that saw Akron connect on 18 triples. Mangum, Toney, and sophomore James Thompson IV stood out for the Eagles. Mangum notched 22 points, while Toney added 17. Thompson was able to manage 19 points and 14 rebounds in a double-double performance.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE ZIPS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Jimond Ivey	G	So.-So.	6-4	195	10.0	5.8	2.0	Cleveland, Ohio-Ginn Academy
2	Kwan Cheatam Jr.	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-10	235	11.5	7.3	2.0	Cincinnati, Ohio-Winton Woods
14	Noah Robotham	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-1	165	8.7	2.2	2.9	Las Vegas, Nev.-Bishop Gorman
23	Isaiah Johnson	C	Sr.-Sr.	6-10	290	16.2	7.4	2.9	Cincinnati, Ohio-Walnut Hills
55	Antino Jackson	G	Jr.-Jr.	5-9	160	11.3	2.2	2.8	Houston, Texas-Cypress Springs

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan hosted Northern Illinois in a MAC Tournament First Round game, March 6, at the Convocation Center. The No. 8-seeded Eagles defeated the No. 9-seeded Huskies, 72-69, punching their ticket to Cleveland for the fifth-straight season.

In the victory, The Green and White finished the game 27-of-54 (50 percent) from the floor, also sinking six three-pointers in the process. EMU finished with 38 points in the paint, compared to NIU's 32. Additionally, the Eastern defense forced 15 Northern turnovers, cashing them in for eight steals and 12 points off turnovers. Finally, the Green and White dominated in fast break points by a tally of 15-2. Leading the way for the Eagles was James Thompson IV, who notched his 38th career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Ray Lee also scored 20, hitting three long balls while also dishing three assists. The only other Eagle to finish in double figures was Ty Toney, who had 13 points.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS: The Akron Zips are flying high, winners of the MAC Regular Season title, boasting an overall record of 27-4 and a MAC leading 14-4 mark in conference play. The preseason favorite in the MAC East Division, the Zips rely heavily on the long ball, connecting on 10.5 three point field goals per game, good for fifth in the nation, while their 37.8 three-point field goal percentage is third in the MAC and 58th in the country. Isaiah "Big Dog" Johnson is Akron's go to threat, scoring 16.2 points per game while connecting on his field goal attempts at an astounding 63 percent clip, which is good for ninth-best in the NCAA. Not only is Johnson great scoring the basketball, but he is one the Zips' leading assist men. The 6-foot-10, 290 lbs. senior center averages 2.9 dimes per contest.

CLEVELAND BOUND: For the fourth consecutive season, Head Coach Rob Murphy and his squad will head to Cleveland, Ohio to compete as one of the final eight teams in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament. Since 2011-12, when the Eagles were knocked out of the first round, EMU has advanced until at least the quarterfinal round each of the last four seasons, including a run to the semifinal round during the 2013-14 campaign. That was the first time Eastern had made the semifinals since the 1997-98 season.

AKRON COME TOURNAMENT TIME: Thursday's quarterfinal round matchup in the MAC Tournament will be just the fifth time that Eastern and Akron met on the hardwood in the tournament. The Zips have bounced the Eagles from the tournament in each of those matchups. In a pair of MAC Tournament games in which the Green and White has seen the Zips in Cleveland, Akron has knocked off EMU in double overtime, 97-89, in 2010, before defeating EMU in a tightly contested, 65-63, game a year ago.

BOND AND THOMPSON EARN POSTSEASON MAC AWARDS: The EMU men's basketball team saw a pair of its own earn MAC postseason accolades following exceptional seasons from each. Tim Bond was named to the conference's All-MAC Defensive Team for the second consecutive season, while James Thompson IV earned All-MAC Second Team honors for the second year in a row.

KEEPING IT IN HOUSE: Eastern Michigan has had the luxury of finishing in the top-eight of the conference since Rob Murphy arrived as the head coach. Since taking over, Murphy has guided his team to a top-eight seed in each of the six years he's been in charge. After winning the MAC West Championship in 2012, Murphy's squad was the No. 5 seed and in 2013 the Green and White held the No. 7 seed. In 2013-14, the Eagles finished as sixth-best in the conference before claiming the No. 8 seed the last three seasons.

MURPHY IN THE MAC TOURNEY: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, Rob Murphy has taken his squad to at least the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in each of the last five seasons. Overall, in his six seasons at the helm, Murphy owns a 9-5 record in MAC Tournament games, while he made his way to the semifinal round of the tournament during the 2013-14 season, which was the farthest an EMU team had gone in the tournament since the 1997-98 campaign. Eastern Michigan holds an all-time record of 31-31 since the MAC Tournament's inception.

TOURNAMENT TIME AT THE CONVO: Currently, the Eagles have hosted eight MAC Tournament games at the EMU Convocation Center. In those eight contests, Eastern holds a record of 6-2, winning the last four. Under Rob Murphy, the Eagles have hosted seven games for the first round. In those seven games, EMU has taken on Northern Illinois four times, holding a 3-1 record versus NIU.

EMU AT "THE Q": The EMU men's basketball team has made it to Quicken Loans Arena on eight different occasions since the MAC began hosting its postseason tournament at the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Overall, Eastern Michigan holds a 7-8 record when playing at Quicken Loans Arena, while Rob Murphy owns a 4-4 mark in the city of Cleveland.

RAY LEE IN THE MAC TOURNEY: Ray Lee has made his mark on the EMU record books to be sure, but he has also appeared in 10 MAC Tournament games over the past four seasons. Through those 10 games, Lee is posting 15.1 points per game to go along with 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals. Removing his redshirt freshman season, Lee is averaging 17.5 points in the last three MAC Tournaments.

GOING FOR NUMBER FOUR: The Eagles have won four MAC Tournament titles since its inception during the 1979-80 season. The most recent title came during the 1997-98 season when the Eagles went into the MAC Tournament after finishing the regular season as the third place team in the West Division, similar to this season. The Milton Barnes coached squad knocked off Miami in the championship game, 92-77. That team fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

STAT YOU VERY MUCH: For the eighth consecutive season, the EMU Athletic Media Relations Office will be called upon to serve as the official statistics crew of the 2017 MAC Tournament. Under the direction of Greg Steiner, the office worked the 2010-17 tournament logging more than 60 hours over a four day span at Quicken Loans Arena. The office has also worked as the stat crew for the past six Marathon MAC Football Championship games and the previous seven MAC Baseball Tournaments. This year's MAC basketball crew consists of Greg Steiner, Sean Hostetter, Chris Puzzuoli, Katie Gonzales, MaryKate Halm, Mark Panhorst, Dan Whitaker, and Ken Dewey.

WHAT'S NEXT?: Should the Eagles continue to advance in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament, they will square off with the winner of the No. 5 seed Western Michigan versus the No. 4-seeded Cardinals of Ball State game, which would take place 30 minutes following the culmination Eastern Michigan's noon contest with Akron, March 11.

Eagles Head to Cleveland for Quarterfinal Matchup with Akron

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eagles Head to Cleveland for Quarterfinal Matchup with Akron

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Related Videos