EMU Hoops Finishes Non-Conference Slate at No. 5 Kansas

Men's Basketball at Kansas
Date	Saturday, Dec. 29 \| 1 p.m. CT
Venue	Lawrence, Kan. \| Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 FM)
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

LAWRENCE, Kan. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team wraps up its non-conference slate Saturday, Dec. 29, as it travels to the University of Kansas to take on the No. 5 ranked Jayhawks at 1 p.m. CT at historic Fogg Allen Fieldhouse.
   The Eagles evened their record at 6-6 on the season thanks to a home win over Siena Heights, Dec. 22, while the Jayhawks, are coming off their first loss of the season at No. 18 Arizona State, on the same day.
   The game will be broadcast on Jayhawk TV / ESPN+ with Dave Armstrong on play-by-play, Nick Bahe providing analysis, and Kennetra Pulliams serving as sideline reporter. Eastern fans can also listen to Chad Bush and Kyler Ludlow on WEMU 89.1 Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUHoops on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

ANOTHER SHOWDOWN AGAINST THE TOP 5: Eastern Michigan is set to take on Associated Press No. 5 Kansas after already taking on No. 1 Duke earlier in the season. A tough non-conference schedule is no stranger to Head Coach Rob Murphy, as this is the second time in his tenure the Eagles have taken on a pair of teams in the top five (at No. 3 Kentucky, Nov. 27, 2013, and at No. 2 Syracuse, Dec. 31, 2013).

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT: After not recording a double-double in four straight games and having just two through his first 11 games, senior James Thompson IV moved from forward back to center and responded with 17 points and a season-best 16 rebounds against Siena Heights.

THE DIRTY HALF DOZEN: For just the second time in Head Coach Rob Murphy's tenure and the first time since Jan. 2, 2016, EMU had six players finish with 10-or-more points against Siena Heights.
Kevin McAdoo (18), James Thompson IV (17), Paul Jackson (13), Ty Groce (10), Elijah Minnie (10), and Tariq Silver (10), all finished in double figures.

ANOTHER NEW LOOK FIVE: Eastern Michigan has used six different starting lineups in its first 12 games, as the matchup against Siena Heights marked the fifth consecutive game with a new starting five. Sophomores Malik Ellison and Kevin McAdoo made their first starts of the 2018-19 season, while redshirt sophomore Ty Groce re-joined the first five. Redshirt senior Paul Jackson, redshirt junior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon), and junior Damari Parris (Bowie, Md.-Evelyn Mack Academcy (Trinity Valley C.C.) were relegated to the bench, while senior James Thompson IV and redshirt senior Elijah Minnie rounded out the rest of the starters against Siena Heights, Dec. 22.

ONCE IS NEVER ENOUGH: EMU is playing the University of Kansas for the first time in program history Saturday, Dec. 29, and is playing in the state of Kansas for just the second time ever.
   Eastern played Wichita State University at Henry Levitt Arena Dec. 12, 1975, and came out on the losing side of the battle, 96-62. The then-Hurons were led by Bob Riddle, who had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Daniel Hoff poured in 15 and Ken Brooks added 10.

ALL-TIME VS. BIG 12: Eastern's showdown at Kansas marks just the fifth game for the Green and White against the Big 12 Conference in its 120-year history, holding an all-time record of 2-2. The Eagles fell to 0-2 against TCU earlier this season with an 87-69 setback in Fort Worth Nov. 26, adding to a loss against the Horned Frogs from Dec. 21, 1999.
   Eastern's two wins came when it defeated Texas Tech as part of the Sierra Medical Center Sun Carnival in El Paso, Texas, 93-77, in the 1995-96 season, and also took down Baylor at the Connecticut Classic, 71-69, Jan. 11, 1975.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: During the Rob Murphy era of EMU hoops, the Eagles have taken on opponents ranked in the AP's Top 25 poll 11 times (Duke x2, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, UMass, and Syracuse x3).
   Since the 1976-77 season, Eastern has played 43 games against Top 25 opponents and hold a record of 2-41.

LAST RANKED WIN: EMU's last victory over a ranked opponent in the regular season was a lifetime ago. Literally. No player on the current Eastern Michigan team was alive when the Green and White defeated No. 14-ranked Wisconsin in the Bowen Fieldhouse in Ypsilanti, Dec. 10, 1994.
   Eastern came out on top of the Badgers with a 92-76 win.

CHASING DOWN THE REBOUND RECORD: Senior James Thompson IV is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,216 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 210 boards to pass all-time EMU record holder Kennedy McIntosh. He is also first in the NCAA in active career double-doubles with 62 and trails McIntosh as EMU's all-time leader by 16.

MINNIE RISING: Redshirt senior Elijah Minnie has seen his production rise over the past four games, scoring 24, 16, 15, and 10 points respectively in that time. The forward has shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from downtown in the last four games.

IS MCADOO BACK(ADOO)?: Sophomore Kevin McAdoo started the season hot, averaging 9.9 points through the first four games he played, with the Eagles going 3-1 over that stretch. Over the next five games, however, Eastern went 1-4 while the shooting guard put up just 4.8 points per game.
   The sophomore bust out for his best performance of the season against Siena Heights, dropping in 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Though EMU lost to UC Irvine, McAdoo looked more like himself, dropping in 11 points on 40-percent shooting, while also coming away with two steals.

SWIPER NO SWIPING: The Eagles are having a "down" season compared to previous years in the defense category, currently ranking fourth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (69.6 ppg), and coming in sixth in defensive field goal percentage (42.9) after leading both categories in 2017-18.
   In fact, after leading the league in steals by nearly 50 a season ago, Eastern is currently second in the MAC in steals per game (8.0) and total steals (96).

TURNOVER CITY: Though not having as many steals this season, Eastern is still forcing opponents into plenty of turnovers. EMU's opponents have been forced into 15-or-more turnovers seven times this season, including in its most recent game against Siena Heights, Dec. 22. The Saint's 22 turnovers tied a season-best set against Central State, Dec. 8.

THREE-POINT WOES: Eastern Michigan has had two-fold troubles at the three-point line this season, shooting just 27.3 percent from downtown on offense, while allowing opponents to shoot 35.7 percent. In fact, the Eagles have made (66) three's and have allowed (117) 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 eight-or-more long-range shots in nine games this year. Only three, Duke, Boston, and UC Irvine have not.

ON THE HORIZON: With the non-conference portion of the schedule wrapped, Eastern Michigan welcomes the No. 21 ranked University at Buffalo to Ypsilanti for Friday night #MACtion, Jan. 4. The game is the first of two nationally televised games in the MAC season, as the Eagles and Bulls tip off at 9 p.m. on CBSSports.

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Players Mentioned

Malik Ellison

Ty Groce

Paul Jackson

Kevin McAdoo

Elijah Minnie

Damari Parris

Tariq Silver

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics