Men's Hoops Heads to Beantown to Take On Northeastern

Men's Basketball vs. Northeastern
Date	Saturday, Dec. 1 \| 3 p.m.
Venue	Boston, Mass. \| Matthews Arena (6,000)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	NESN Plus
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

BOSTON (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Saturday, Dec. 1, with a road game at Northeastern University in Matthews Arena at 3 p.m.
   The Eagles enter Saturday's game at 4-4 on the season after falling to TCU in Fort Worth, 87-69, Nov. 26. The Huskies return to Boston for just their second home game of 2018-19, coming off a road win at Bucknell, 96-78, Nov. 28.
   The game will be broadcast on NESN Plus with a broadcast crew of Patrick McHugh, Alex Vispoli, and Jim Cain. Chad Bush will also have the call on WEMU 89.1 FM. Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUHoops on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

NEW LOOK FIVE: After toying with the lineup over the last two games, Eastern settled on a new look to one of four starting five's used in the first eight games. Junior Damari Parris (Bowie, Md.-Evelyn Mack Academy (Trinity Valley C.C.)) shifted from shooting guard to point guard, and redshirt sophomore Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) returned as one of the forwards, joining Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)), James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist), and Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) in the starting lineup.

THE AIR UP THERE: First-year big man Boubacar Toure registered his third double-double of the season at TCU Nov. 26, when he poured in a career-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The center shot 9-of-15 from the floor and connected on 5-of-7 chances at the charity stripe.

BYE BYE BENCH POINTS: After outscoring its opponents from the bench in back-to-back games, EMU's reserves could not keep pace with TCU's hot shooting, getting outscored, 45-7, Nov. 26.

DEFENSE DOES IT AGAIN: After leading the Mid-American Conference in blocks and steals per game in 2017-18, the Eagles' defense is back at the top of the conference standings in the early part of this season. EMU's 40 blocks is tops in the league, while its average of 5.0 is tied for second. Eastern is also currently in fourth in steals per game at 7.6.

CRASHING THE BOARDS: For the second consecutive game, the Eagles had an impressive performance on the glass, out-rebounding TCU, 32-28, in the loss. Of Eastern's 32 rebounds, 13 were on the offensive glass, marking the seventh time in eight games that the Green and White grabbed double-digit offensive boards.
   EMU's game against Detroit Mercy, Nov. 24, saw the Eagles grab a season-best 48 total rebounds including 23 offensive boards. The 23 caroms marked the highest for an EMU team since Dec. 1, 2014, when the Green and White pulled down 25 against Marygrove, and its best against an NCAA Division I since Feb. 9, 2000, when the Eagles had 25 against Kent State.

THREE-POINT WOES: Eastern Michigan has had two-fold troubles at the three point line this season, shooting just 28.3 percent from downtown on offense, while allowing opponents to shoot 35.5 percent. In fact, the Eagles have made nearly half as many three's (42) as they have allowed (83) so far in 2018-19.

THREE-POINT TROUBLES, CONT.: Eastern Michigan has yet to make double-digit three pointers in a game this season, yet has allowed opponents to make 10-or-more long-range shots in six games this year. Only two, Duke and Boston, have not.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHEASTERN: Eastern Michigan and Northeastern are playing one another for the first time Saturday, Dec. 1.
   In fact, the Eagles have faced just two opponents from the Huskies' conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, for a total of three games. EMU is 1-1 against James Madison University and 0-1 against UNC Wilmington.

EMU IN MASSACHUSETTS: EMU has only played in the state of Massachusetts on two occasions in its 121 year history, coming up short both times.
   Eastern fell to Boston University, Dec. 7, 1991, by a score of 70-64, and more recently lost at the University of Massachusetts, Jan. 5, 2013, by a final tally of 75-61.

EMU VS. THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS: Eastern's history against the Bay State is relatively brief, having played just seven games against schools from Massachusetts in program history. The Eagles are 3-1 against Boston, and hold an 0-3 record against UMass.

CHASING DOWN THE REBOUND RECORD: Senior James Thompson IV who is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,176 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 250 boards to pass all-time EMU record holder Kennedy McIntosh. He is also second in the NCAA in active career double-doubles with 61 and trails McIntosh as EMU's all-time leader by 17.

BOO IS BALLIN': Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure has made an immediate impact on the court, currently ranking second in the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (3.5), third in blocks per game (2.1), and sixth in total rebounds per contest (8.8).

GROCE'S MINUTES ADD UP: In games that redshirt sophomore Ty Groce has gotten more than 10 minutes of playing time, the Ypsilanti native has averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. In games that the forward has played 10 or fewer minutes, he's averaging just 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds.

ON THE HORIZON: After a week's break, Eastern returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Dec. 8, to take on Central State University at 12 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ty Groce

Paul Jackson

Damari Parris

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics