EMU Hoops Welcomes Bowling Green for MAC Home Opener Saturday

Men's Basketball vs. Bowling Green
Date	Saturday, Jan. 6 \| 12 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,783)
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 hosts Bowling Green State University Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Convocation Center for its 2017-18 Mid-American Conference home opener.
   Fans can watch Saturday's game on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley (play-by-play) and Jimmy King (analyst) on the call. Chad Bush will handle the broadcast duties for WEMU, joined by Kyler Ludlow as analyst.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan struggled in the second half against Ball State Tuesday, Jan. 2, falling 70-62 to open up Mid-American Conference play at Worthen Arena.
   For the first time this season, EMU (9-5, 0-1 MAC) lost a game in which it led at halftime, as BSU (10-4, 1-0 MAC) outscored the Eagles 39-26 in the second half to send the Eagles home with the loss.
   Elijah Minnie had fantastic first half, pouring in 17 of his 25 points in the opening stanza. He was joined in double figures by fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson, who scored 14 points and had four assists. Tim Bond had a well-rounded performance, with nine points and eight boards to go along with a pair of assists.
   After Eastern shot a blistering 48 percent (15-of-31) from the floor in the first half, including 56 percent (5-of-9) from the three-point line, Ball State held EMU to just 30 percent (9-of-30) from the floor in the second half, and 25 percent (3-for-12) from downtown. The Cardinals used a 15-2 scoring run over a five-minute span midway through the second to turn a five-point deficit into an eight-point advantage, and never turned back.

ALL TIME VS BOWLING GREEN: The Eagles are 43-48 all-time against the Falcons, with EMU winning the last matchup between the two, Jan. 10, 2017, by an 81-53 final score.
Both teams come in with records of 9-5 on the season, with Eastern's RPI at 153 and Bowling Green's at 238. Eastern Michigan's non-conference strength of schedule was ranked considerably more difficult than Bowling Green according to both the NCAA (276 to 321), and KenPom (197 to 306).
    The Green and White holds an all-time record of 24-18 against Bowling Green in games played in the Convocation Center, but has not won at home since Jan. 29, 2014 (69-57).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Eastern Michigan has won 85 of its 109 home games during the Rob Murphy era of Eagles basketball, and have started the 2017-18 season 7-0 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 177-115 all-time mark.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 129 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 132 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 3rd 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 (2006-2011) hold spots in both 1,000 clubs.

AMONG THE LEADING LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (10.1), blocks per game (6.0), turnover margin (1st - + 3.0), and team field goal percentage (.472). The Eagles are also in the top three in scoring margin (2nd - +6.6), scoring defense (2nd - 69.9), and defensive field goal percentage (3rd - .418).
   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 five in blocks per game. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks seventh in scoring with an average of 17.1 per game, and leads the MAC in free throw shooting with a 90.2 percentage. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is second in assists per game (4.7) and 11th in scoring (15.9), while senior Tim Bond is leading the conference in steals per game (2.71)

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 10.1 steals per game through its first 13 contests. Led by Tim Bond's 2.71 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top six in average steals per game, totaling 141 thefts thus far.

DOMINATING DEFENSIVE DUO: Both the men's and women's basketball teams at Eastern Michigan have become known for their stifling defense over the years. In fact, the stout defensive play of seniors Tim Bond and Sasha Dailey puts the pair in limited company across the country.
EMU is one of two schools in the nation to have players ranked inside the country's top-16 in steals and steals per game for both men's and women's basketball. Bond is sixth in steals per game (2.85) and ninth in total steals with 37, while Dailey is ranked 11th in steals per game (3.50) and 16th in steals (42). The duo joins Lamar University's Chastadie Barrs and Zjori Bosha.

MINNIE STAYS HOT: With his 13-point performance at Syracuse, Dec. 27, Elijah Minnie has scored double-digits in 11 out of the 14 Eagles' games this season. He currently ranks seventh in the conference in scoring average at 17.1 points per game.
Minnie's 25-point output in the Mid-American Conference opener at Ball State gives the redshirt junior 20-or-more points in seven of the Eagles' first 14 games.
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 16.8 points per game since. The 22 points were the most scored in a debut-game since Willie Mangum IV score 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.

#DEFENDTHENEST: Eastern Michigan's defense has been one of the keys to its success to start the 2017-18 season, with the Eagles swiping 141 steals and blocking 84 shots (both totals lead the MAC) in the first 14 games. EMU is first in the conference with a +3.0 turnover margin, and also ranks third in the league with a defensive field goal percentage of 41.8.

SLICE AND DICE: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson has established himself as one of the top point guards in the Mid-American Conference, averaging 15.9 points per contest as well as leading the team with 4.7 assists per game on the season. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native is currently second in the MAC in assists per game, sixth in steals per game (1.64), and 11th in scoring average.

JAMES THOMPSON IV IS GOOD: Junior James Thompson IV, who comes into the game averaging 15.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest, was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 17.
   The Baton Rouge, La. native registered his ninth double-double in 10 games against Long Beach State, Dec. 16, when he scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The junior shot 9-of-12 (.750) from the floor and added 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 seventh in rebounds per game (11.5), he's also eighth in double-doubles (9), and is 10th in field goal percentage (66.4).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the national leader in rebound average for a career (11.0 rebounds per game), and is fifth in NCAA Division I in career rebounds (871), trailing four seniors.

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 played two opponents that have been ranked (Oakland and Ball State), and welcome No. 22 Central Michigan to the Convocation Center next week.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern will play host to in-state rival Central Michigan Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.

EMU Hoops Welcomes Bowling Green for MAC Home Opener Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics