Men's Basketball Returns Home to Face WMU on "Glow Night"

Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 30 \| 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) -- After a stifling defensive performance at Miami University, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the Convocation Center Tuesday, Jan. 30, to host in-state rival Western Michigan University. The Mid-American Conference West Division tilt tips at 7 p.m.
The Eagles (12-9, 3-5 MAC) limited their fourth opponent this year to less than 50 points, as the RedHawks managed just 48 points in EMU's 10-point victory at Millett Hall, Jan. 27. Meanwhile, the Broncos (12-9, 4-4 MAC) wrapped up a three-game homestand with a 79-72 home triumph over Northern Illinois University, Jan. 27 .
Chad Bush and Kyler Ludlow will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM). The game will also be shown on ESPN3 as part of the campus connection initiative, where Ryan Wooley will have the play-by-play and Greg Steiner will provide the analysis.

GLOW NIGHT: Break out your glow in the dark gear and head over to the Convo Tuesday for EMU's inaugural "glow night." Fans attending the contest will be given glow t-shirts, necklaces, and bracelets as they pass through the turnstiles for use during a special lights-out halftime performance. Help us "glow out" the arena with a special glow-in-the-dark stroll off from the national Pan-Hellenic Greek Council & the Multicultural Greek Council.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 41 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 66 points away from becoming the 31st player in EMU's history to 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.

MILLETT MAGIC: Historically, the Eagles have not fared well when playing at Millett Hall, however, you would not know that after their last two visits to the venerable arena. In fact, the Green and White had not entered Oxford, Ohio, and walked away victors in over 20 years ahead of last season's trip to Miami. Eastern topped Miami, 74-57, Jan. 14, 2017, before winning its second straight, 58-48, Jan. 28.
It marked the first time the Eagles have won back-to-back trips to Millett in program history.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Rob Murphy's squad has limited four opponents to less than 50 points in a game this season. EMU held South Florida (47), Rochester (48), Miami (48), and Akron (49) to a combined 192 points in those contests. Furthermore, the remaining 11 Mid-American Conference teams have accomplished the feat a total of six times in 2017-18, as Central Michigan has done it twice while Akron, Kent State, Miami, and Ohio have each done it once.
Since Murphy's arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles have let 37 opponents score less than 50 points. The 2012-13 squad did it on 11 occasions, while the 2011-12 team did it seven times en route to a MAC West Division title.

AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (9.1) and blocks per game (6.0). EMU is the only team in the NCAA that is ranked in the top nine in both categories. The Eagles are also in the top three in scoring defense (1st - 69.1), team field goal percentage (2nd - .467), and defensive field goal percentage (2nd - .412).
Individually, James Thompson IV leads five categories (double-doubles, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, total rebounds, and field goal percentage), while also being in the top four in blocks per game. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks ninth in scoring with an average of 15.7 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.71 average, and fourth in free throw shooting at 84.6 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.4) and eighth in scoring (15.9).

THOMPSON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior James Thompson IV is among the upper-echelon of big men in all of college basketball. Not only does he rank second nationally in rebounds per game (11.8) and offensive rebounds per game (4.48), he's also fifth in double-doubles (14) and seventh in field goal percentage (66.7).
The Baton Rouge, La. native is the NCAA Division I active career leader in rebound average at 11.1 caroms per game, while he is fifth in career rebounds (958), trailing four seniors.

CHANGING IT UP: EMU shuffled the starting lineup for just the third time this season prior to the Miami game, Jan. 27. Freshman Malik Ellison earned his first career start at the point guard spot while redshirt junior Paul Jackson shifted to shooting guard. To pave the way for Ellision, redshirt junior Elijah Minnie came off the bench for the first time in his EMU career.
The switch paid off as EMU won by 10, with EMU's bench outscoring Miami, 21-9. The Eagles also outpaced the RedHawks by 20 points in the paint, 32-12.

ELITE COMPANY FOR MR. BOND: With Tim Bond's first steal against Ohio, Jan. 20, he became just the second player in EMU history to tally 200 steals in their career. Bond, who trails only Earl Boykins, needs just 16 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
Bond currently has 52 steals on the year with an average of 2.5 per game, which ranks second in the conference. The tally also puts him on pace for 80 to surpass Lorenzo Neely, who holds the EMU single-season record for steals with 78 in the 1988-89 season.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Western Michigan by a 12-game margin, 48-60. EMU split a pair of contests with the WMU a year ago, as the home team won each matchup. Despite trailing in the all-time series however, the Green and White have won eight straight against the Broncos inside the Convocation Center.
In the first meeting of last year, the Eagles bested the Broncos, 86-80, behind a 26-point, 11-rebound game from James Thompson IV, Jan. 17, 2017. Western Michigan got revenge later in the season, defeating Eastern, 88-80, in Kalamazoo, Feb. 18, 2017.

BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Tuesday continues the 13th battle for the Michigan MAC Trophy for Eastern Michigan. The Michigan MAC Trophy was created in 2005 by the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. There are three trophies, one given to the winner of the football series and the other two to the winner of the men's and women's basketball series.
Last year, the Eagles' claimed the trophy for the first time. EMU was 3-1, WMU was 2-2 and CMU was 1-3. The Broncos have won it seven times most recently in 2014, while the Chippewas have four titles with the most recent one coming in 2016.
EMU is already 1-0 in the chase to keep the trophy, having upended CMU, 79-74, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 9. Meanwhile, WMU has yet to battle CMU in 2018.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 86 of its 112 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball, and have started the 2017-18 season 9-2 in the friendly confines of the Convo. The Eagles have racked up a solid home-court advantage since the doors opened on the Convocation Center during the 1998-99 campaign. The Green and White have won 60 percent of the contests played in the building, piling up a 179-117 all-time mark.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 53rd career double-double with his 12 point and 11 rebounds performance against Miami, Jan. 27. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 25 on EMU's all-time list.

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 9.1 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.48 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 192 thefts thus far.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles wrap up a rare two-game homestand Saturday, Feb. 3, against Ball State University. The game will be the first leg of a doubleheader with the women's team hosting Central Michigan University. The men's contest tips at 12 p.m. with the women's game to follow at approximately 2:30 p.m. For tickets, call 734.487.3669 or visit EMUEagles.com/tickets.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Malik Ellison

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics