EMU Hoops Kicks Off Crucial Road Swing at Kent State Tuesday

Men's Basketball vs. Kent State
Date	Tuesday, Feb. 6 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Kent, Ohio \| M.A.C. Center (6,327)
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 hits the road for a two-game road trip beginning at Kent State University in an inter-division Mid-American Conference bout, beginning at 7 p.m., Feb. 6, at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.
   The Eagles (13-10, 4-6 MAC) stymied Ball State defensively Feb. 3, winning 58-41 in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. Meanwhile, Kent State (12-11, 6-4 MAC) followed up its upset of MAC-leading Buffalo Jan. 30 with a road loss to Bowling Green, Feb. 3, 70-62.
   Chad Bush will have the call on WEMU (89.1 FM). The game will also be shown on ESPN3 and broadcasted by Ty Linder on play-by-play and Tanner Castora serving as analyst.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: EMU tied a program-record 13 blocks in its 58-41 victory over Ball State Feb. 3. The feat had been accomplished three other times, all during the Rob Murphy era, against Marygrove (Dec. 12, 2016), Robert Morris (Nov. 14, 2013), and Cleveland State (Nov. 18, 2013).
   Eastern now has double-digit team blocks in three games this season (11 vs. Rochester, Dec. 29, 10 vs. Akron, Jan. 16). No other team in the Mid-American Conference has had double-digit team blocks since league play began.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Two Eagles are closing in on coveted thresholds, as junior James Thompson IV is just 10 rebounds away from 1,000, while senior Tim Bond is 44 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, joining all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) and Brandon Bowdry.

DOMINATING DEFENSE: For the fifth time this season, the Eagles held their opponent to less than 50 points in a game. EMU added a season-low 41 point effort against Ball State to go along with impressive performances against South Florida (47), Rochester (48), Miami (48), and Akron (49) to a combined 233 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 Rob Murphy's arrival in Ypsilanti, the Eagles have let 38 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.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY II: Not only did Eastern's block party against Ball State Feb. 3 etch the Eagles a new place in the EMU record book, but it also catapulted the Green and White into the NCAA elite when it comes to shot blocking. Eastern Michigan's 6.3 blocks per game ranks fourth in Division I, while their block total of 145 is fifth.
   The 145 total is already good for fifth all-time in the EMU record books, and if the Eagles are able to keep their current pace of 6.3 per game, they'll finish second all-time with 202 blocks.

AMONG THE LEAGUE's LEADERS: EMU leads the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (8.9) and blocks per game (6.3). Eastern ranks ninth in the NCAA in steals, fifth in blocks, and is the only team in the country ranked in both top tens.     The Eagles are also in the top three in defensive field goal percentage (1st - .406), scoring defense (1st - 68.0), and team field goal percentage (1st - 40.6).
   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 three in blocks per game and sitting eighth in scoring (15.5). Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie currently ranks eighth in scoring with an average of 15.6 per game, second in blocked shots per game with a 1.7 average, and fourth in free throw shooting at 83.1 percent. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson is fourth in assists per game (4.2) and 15th in scoring (14.9).

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 (12.2) and offensive rebounds per game (4.5), he's also fourth in double-doubles (16) and seventh in field goal percentage (68.0).
   The Baton Rouge, La. native is the NCAA Division I active career leader in rebound average at 11.3 caroms per game, while he is fifth in career rebounds (990), trailing four seniors.

CHANGING IT UP: EMU shuffled the starting lineup for the fifth time this season prior to the Ball State game, Feb. 3, marking the third straight game the Eagles used a different look in the starting five. Redshirt freshman Ty Groce was replaced in the starting lineup by senior Tim Bond, who responded with a stat-stuffing performance of 11 points, seven rebounds, a career-high four blocks, three steals, and three assists. Before 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.

ALL-TIME VERSUS KENT STATE: The Eagles are 32-42 all-time against the Golden Flashes, with Kent State owning the series when played at Kent. Eastern has won just eight times in the history of the matchup, and last won in Kent, Feb. 7, 1998, a span of 11 games.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior James Thompson IV recorded his 55th career double-double with his 14-rebound and 11-point output against Ball State, Feb. 3. Thompson, who is ranked second nationally in active career double-doubles, still trails Kennedy McIntosh by 23 on EMU's all-time list.

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 15 to pass and become the all-time thefts leaders .
   The Baltimore, Md. native currently has 56 steals on the year with an average of 2.4 per game, which ranks second in the conference. The tally also puts him on pace for 77 in the season, just behind the all-time single-season record of 78, set by Lorenzo Neely, in the 1988-89 season.

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 8.9 steals per game. Led by Tim Bond's 2.4 steal per game average, the Eagles have three players ranked within the conference's top eight in average steals per game, totaling 204 thefts thus far.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles continue their road swing by finishing their home-and-home with MAC East adversary Bowling Green, Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.

EMU Hoops Kicks Off Crucial Road Swing at Kent State Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Malik Ellison

Ty Groce

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics