EMU Hoops Opens Home Week with Akron Tuesday Night

Men's Basketball vs. Akron
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 16 \| 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
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center, Tuesday, Jan. 16 for a 7 p.m. battle against the University of Akron.
   Fans can watch Tuesday's game on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Greg Steiner (analyst) on the call. Chad Bush will handle the broadcast duties for 89.1 FM WEMU, with Kyler Ludlow serving as analyst.

THOMPSON NAMED TO LOU HENSON MID-SEASON WATCH LIST: The award for Mid-Major Player of the Year will be announced on March 31, 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship. Thompson comes into this week's game averaging 15.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest.

ROAD WOES: Eastern has struggled in games away from the Convocation Center this season, dropping four straight, winning just two true road games in six chances, while also starting Mid-American Conference play 0-2 away from home.
   The Eagles have a shooting percentage nearly seven points better at home than they do in road match ups, .501 to .438, and average 81.4 points per game in the friendly confines compared to 69.2 in enemy territory.

ALL TIME VS AKRON: The Eagles are 20-27 all-time against the Zips, with EMU struggling against Akron over the last 12 years.
   Not only has Eastern lost nine of the last 10 against Akron, the Green and White have just three wins against the Zips since the 2005 season for a record of 3-17. EMU's last win was a 78-75 victory at home, Feb. 14, 2015, and have since lost four straight.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 91 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 99 points away from becoming the 31st player to don the Green and White and join the 1,000 point club.
   Thompson became the 30th Eagle to eclipse the 1,000 point threshold earlier this season, and would become just the third player all-time to join the exclusive 1,000 point, 1,000 rebound club. Only all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry (2006-11) hold spots in both 1,000 clubs.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern saw another halftime lead slip out of its grasp with a sloppy second half at Northern Illinois, Saturday, Jan. 13. The Eagles led by as many as eight in the first half, and never trailed by more than 11, but six three-balls from the Huskies in the second stanza sealed the deal late. Both teams shot 45 percent from the field, but NIU's 33 percent clip from deep ended up being the difference. NIU also controlled its possessions all game, holding EMU to a season-low four steals.
   Redshirt junior Paul Jackson was EMU's leading scorer with 19 points, while junior James Thompson IV registered the 51st double-double of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Jordan Nobles was the other EMU player in double figures, finishing with 11.

AMONG THE LEADING LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.4), blocks per game (5.8), and team field goal percentage (.471). The Eagles are also in the top three in defensive field goal percentage (2nd - .420), scoring defense (2nd - 70.5), and scoring margin (3rd - +5.2).
   Individually, James Thompson IV leads five categories (double-doubles, defensive rebound avg., offensive rebound avg., total rebound avg., and field goal percentage), while also being in the top six in blocks per game. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks sixth in scoring with an average of 16.9 per game, and is first in the MAC in free throw shooting with a 87.3 percentage. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.6) and 12th in scoring (15.6).

JAMES THOMPSON IV IS GOOD: Junior James Thompson IV, who comes into the game averaging 15.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest, picked up his Mid-American Conference-leading 12th double-double of the season with a 15-point, 12-rebound performance in the Eagles' loss at Northern Illinois.
   Thompson IV was named MAC West Division Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 17 after he registered his ninth double-double in 10 games against Long Beach State, Dec. 16. The Baton Rouge, La. native scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while shooting 9-of-12 (.750) from the floor and adding two blocks and a steal in the Eagles' 85-80 road victory.

LIKE, REALLY, REALLY GOOD: Thompson is among the upper-echelon of big men in all of college basketball. Not only does he rank fifth in rebounds per game (11.7), he's also sixth in double-doubles (12), and is seventh in field goal percentage (67.1).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the national leader in rebound average for a career (11.1 rebounds per game), and is fifth in NCAA Division I in career rebounds (897), trailing four seniors.

#DEFENDTHENEST: Eastern Michigan's defense has been one of the keys components to its success this season, with the Eagles swiping 159 steals and blocking 99 shots (both totals lead the MAC) in the first 17 games. EMU is second in the league with a defensive field goal percentage of .420, and also ranks fourth in the conference with a +2.3 turnover margin.

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 9.7 steals per game through its first 17 contests. Led by Tim Bond's MAC-leading 2.6 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 159 thefts thus far.

MINNIE STAYS HOT: With his 25-point performance against Central Michigan, Jan. 9, Elijah Minnie has scored double-digits in 14 out of the 17 Eagles' games this season. He currently ranks sixth in the conference in scoring average at 16.9 points per game.
Minnie's 25-point output against Central Michigan, combined with his 25-point performance in the Mid-American Conference opener at Ball State, gives the redshirt junior 20-or-more points in eight of the Eagles' first 16 games.
Minnie 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 16.8 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, Nov. 29, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards.

DISHING IT OUT: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson has established himself as one of the top point guards in the Mid-American Conference, currently sitting in second in the league with a 47 assists per game average. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native has had four or more assists in 13 of Eastern's 17 games, and is also averaging 15.6 points per game.

MID-MAJOR TOP 25: Eastern Michigan saw itself ranked in the collegeinsider.com Top 25 for two weeks this season. The Eagles debuted in the poll as the no. 22 team in the week of Nov. 20, and slid to the no. 24 spot in the Nov. 27 poll. They have already beaten two opponents that have been ranked (Oakland and Central Michigan), while also playing at Ball State.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles return to action Saturday, Jan. 20 when it takes on Ohio University at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

Jordan Nobles

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics