EMU Hoops Takes On Sam Houston State in CIT Second Round

Eastern Michigan vs Sam Houston State
Date	Monday, March 19 \| 6:30 p.m. CT
Venue	Huntsville, Texas \| Johnson Coliseum (6,100)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	WatchCIT.com
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues its run at the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) championship with a trip to the Lonestar State to take on Sam Houston State University. The Eagles and Bearkats square off Monday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Johnson Coliseum.

EMU (22-12, 11-7 MAC) wasted no time in disposing Niagara in its first round matchup, rolling to a 83-65 win in the Convocation Center behind 29 points from Elijah Minnie. SHSU (19-14, 12-6 Southland) received a first round bye in the CIT, and has not played since losing to Southeastern Louisiana, March 9, in the Southland Conference Tournament, 89-79.

Chad Bush is set to call the game on WEMU (89.1 FM), with Kyler Ludlow joining as the analyst. The CIT will be broadcast on the CBS Digital Network, with Matt Pedersen on the play-by-play.

RECORD SETTING START: In the Eagles' 83-65 win over Niagara in the CIT opener, redshirt junior Elijah Minnie set a new personal record for points in a game with 29. Senior Tim Bond pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds while registering his second-ever double-double, adding 11 points.

Minnie's 29 points were the second-most in an EMU postseason game, as were his 12 field goals made. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native also drained five three-pointers, which ties for third-most. Junior James Thompson IV etched his name in the postseason record book thanks to 10 made field goals, good for a tie for fourth all-time, while also pulling down 16 boards, tying Theron Wilson and Marcus Kennedy for the program record.

CIT HISTORY: This season marks Eastern's second trip to the CIT, as EMU earned a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament after the 2013-14 season, ending a 16-year postseason tournament drought. The Eagles defeated Norfolk State, 58-54, in the opening round game, played at the Convocation Center. The Green and White's run to a championship ended with a 69-56 setback at Columbia.

BACK IN THE POSTSEASON: Eastern Michigan is back in the postseason for the first time since playing in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season.

Only two members of that team, senior Tim Bond and redshirt junior Jordan Nobles, were members of the Eagles' team that season, but neither played in EMU's lone game at Louisiana-Monroe.

ALL TIME VS. SAM HOUSTON STATE: Eastern and Sam Houston State are playing one another for the first time in program history. EMU last played in the Lonestar State Nov. 13, 2016 in a 91-64 loss to Southern Methodist.

RECORDS ON THE HORIZON: With 22 wins on the year, EMU is tied for the fourth-most wins in a single season. If the Eagles make a run to the CIT Championship, they could tie the program record of 26.

Eastern currently holds the best shot block average in program history at 6.4 blocks per game, and needs just five blocks to move ahead of the single-season block record of 222. The Green and White are currently fifth all-time in total steals at 298, and have a chance to to move into the top three for three-point field goals made, currently sitting at fourth all-time with 220.
As would be expected, there are a few individuals who are on the verge of single-season records as well. Senior Tim Bond has already set the new steals mark with 84, while redshirt junior Elijah Minnie has the record for most points scored by a junior in his sights. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native has scored 583 points this season, and trails just Earl Boykins and Lindell Reason on the single-season lis.

In fact, this year marks a special feat that has never been achieved in program history. Three juniors (Minnie, Paul Jackson, and James Thompson IV), have scored 500-or-more points, marking the first time that three teammates have topped the 500-point plateau. Two teammates scoring 500+ points in a single season has only happened two other times, as EMU Hall of Famers Derrick Dial and Earl Boykins did it in both their junior and senior seasons.

WE'LL BE MISSING HOME: EMU has never won a playoff game when playing in the opposing team's home venue. Its losses to Columbia (2014 CIT) and Louisiana Monroe (2015 CBI) were played on the road.

Playing at home has been a major advantage for Eastern Michigan in the 2017-18 season, as the Eagles finished the home portion of the 2017-18 season with an outstanding record of 14-3 inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center.

MURPHY IN THE POSTSEASON: Eastern Michigan will be playing in its third postseason of the Rob Murphy era, having one other appearance in the CIT as well as the College Basketball Invitational. EMU is 2-2 with wins over Niagara and Norfolk State, and losses to Columbia and Louisiana-Monroe.

POSTSEASON HARDWARE: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the tournament, March 10. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 assists per game during the Eagles' two-game stretch in Cleveland. He became the first EMU player since Carlos Medlock in 2010 to be dubbed with All-Tournament accolades.

MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH: With the game hanging in the balance in the closing moments of the Mid-American Conference Tournament semi-final, redshirt junior Paul Jackson gave the Eagles a 63-61 lead with just 20 seconds to go. Toledo answered with a three-pointer with just eight seconds to go, and time expired as a Kevin McAdoo lay-up rimmed out.

The loss snapped the Green and White's seven-game winning streak and gave EMU its first loss since Feb. 10 at Bowling Green.

COMEBACK KIDS: Eastern trailed by 17 points at the 9:59 mark of the second half in its MAC quarterfinal game against Akron Thursday, March 8, but rallied on the strength of its pressure defense and a 21-1 run. The victory over the Zips was the first for the Eagles in the MAC Tournament, as well as its first win in Cleveland since March 11, 2015. Eastern avenged five season-ending setbacks to Akron, including twice in the last two seasons.

Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, including his 1,000th career point (479 at Robert Morris, 541 at EMU), while also grabbing 14 rebounds and coming away with three steals. Fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson added 15 points and five assists, while senior Tim Bond chipped in 15 points and grabbed eight boards.

QUARTET HONORED BY MAC: After its best Mid-American Conference season under Head Coach Rob Murphy, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was rewarded with the defensive player of the year, three players named to the All-MAC teams, and a pair to the All-Defensive squad.

Senior Tim Bond was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year after being selected to the all-defensive team for the third straight season. Junior James Thompson IV earned spots on both the All-MAC First Team, as well as All-MAC Defensive Team. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie was named to the All-MAC Third Team, and fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.

STREAKING: The Eagles have played some of their best ball of the season over the final month of the season, having won 11 of its last 13 games, including a season-best seven-game winning streak.

ABOUT THE STREAK: Eastern's winning ways have come on the strength of the Mid-American Conference's best defense. The Eagles, who lead the MAC with a 66.8 scoring defense, have allowed just 63.1 points per contest in the last eight games. EMU has also held teams to just 40.9 percent from the floor during the stretch, forced 12.9 turnovers per game, and averaged 8.4 steals per contest.

The offense has kicked its production up a notch as well. After averaging 65.2 points per game through the first 12 games of MAC play, the Green and White have averaged 71.5 points on the heals of 47.9 precent shooting from the floor. The Eagles have also seen their free throw percentage rise from 62.9 percent to a 80.5 mark.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie was named MAC Player of the Week, March 5, for the second consecutive week. He joined junior James Thompson IV as two-time winners for the Eagles this season.

Minnie scored 21.5 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the floor and 35.0 percent from the three-point line. He added 8.5 rebounds per contest, was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, and also had three blocks and two steals on the week.

THE MILESTONE MAN: Senior Tim Bond has completely rewritten the Eastern Michigan record book when it comes to defense, as the Baltimore, Md. native set the new record for single-season steals in the MAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Akron. His 78th steal of the season passed Lorenzo Neely, and etched Bond's name atop another steal category.

His first record came when he became the all-time leader in steals AND joined the 1,000 point club on the same play, Sat., Feb. 24 against Northern Illinois. The senior's tip away for steal 221 started a fast break to the other end, and Bond flushed a slam to become the 31st member of the 1,000 point club.

DOMINATING DEFENSE: Eastern Michigan has the Mid-American Conference's best defense, allowing opponents just 66.8 points per game on the season, and holding them to a conference-best 40.4 shooting percentage. The Eagles have been even better since league play began, allowing just 65.4 points per game while holding opponents to a 40.1 mark from the floor.

EMU has held opponents to 69 points-or-less 18 times this season. EMU is 16-2 in those games, having added seven more in its last nine games against Niagara (W, 83-65), Toledo (L, 63-64), Akron (W, 67-58), Toledo (W, 72-69), Western Michigan (W, 74-58), Miami (W, 58-57), Central Michigan (W, 72-67), and Northern Illinois (W, 82-53).

The Eagles had a season-low 41 point effort, Feb. 3, against Ball State to go along with impressive performances against Spring Arbor (60), Arkansas State (59), South Florida (47), Rochester (48), Miami (48), and Akron (49).

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: Eastern's 13-block performance against Ball State, Feb. 3, etched a new place in the EMU record book, tying three other occasions in which the Eagles had 13 rejections. It also catapulted the Green and White into the NCAA elite when it comes to shot blocking. Eastern Michigan's 6.4 blocks per game leads the MAC and ranks third in Division I, while their block total of 218 also leads the league and is third nationally. The Eagles lead the conference in swats by a 73-block margin, with the next closest to EMU's 218 sitting at 145.

ON THE HORIZON: Should Eastern Michigan advance past Sam Houston State in the second round, the Eagles will play a to-be-determined opponent, scheduled to take place between March 22-25.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Kevin McAdoo

Elijah Minnie

Jordan Nobles

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics