Eastern Takes On Akron at MAC Tournament For Third Straight Year

#3 Eastern Michigan vs #11 Akron
Date	Thurdsay, March 8 \| 9 p.m.
Venue	Cleveland, Ohio \| Quicken Loans Arena (20,534)
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 kicks off the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament by taking on the University of Akron in the quarterfinals, Thursday, March 8. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 9 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.
   EMU (20-11, 11-7 MAC) finished its regular season with a 71-69 win over Toledo, March 2. Akron (14-17, 6-12 MAC) is coming off a thrilling comeback victory over Western Michigan, 79-78, in the opening round of the tournament in Kalamazoo.
   Chad Bush is set to call the game on WEMU (89.1 FM), with Kyler Ludlow joining as the analyst. The MAC Tournament Quarterfinals will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Michael Reghi on the play-by-play and Murray Bartow providing the analysis.

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 three players named to the All-MAC teams, and a pair to the All-Defensive squad, the league office announced Monday, March 5.
   Junior James Thompson IV earned spots on both the All-MAC First Team, as well as All-MAC Defensive Team. Joining Thompson on the defensive team was senior Tim Bond, who was selected one of the best defenders in the league for the third straight season. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie was named to the All-MAC Third Team, and fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.

MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: EMU has an all-time record of 29-32 in the MAC Tournament, dating back to the 1979-80 season. The Eagles have won the championship and automatic NCAA bid four times, most recently in 1997-98.
   The Green and White are 8-6 under Rob Murphy during his tenure in Ypsilanti, with its best finish a trip to the 2013-14 semi-finals, where the Eagles fell 59-44 to the second seed University of Toledo.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY VS AKRON: Eastern has struggled against Akron in the MAC Tournament, having never defeated the UA in five chances. The Eagles have been eliminated in Cleveland each of the past two seasons by the Zips.

Years		Result
2004-05	at Akron	L, 66-78
2009-10	at Akron	L, 89-97 (2OT)
2010-11	at Akron	L, 53-67
2015-16	vs. Akron	L, 63-65
2016-17	vs. Akron	L, 62-79

MORE MAC TOURNAMENT FIGURES: The 2017-18 season marked the 19th time in program history that an Eagle squad has reached the 20-win plateau, but it is just the first time they've earned a first-round bye to the MAC Tournament under the current system.
   Eastern has an all-time record of 5-8 in Quicken Loans Arena, dating back to March 7, 2007. Fortune has favored EMU when it has been the higher seed in the tournament, with a record of 23-5 as the favorite.

STREAKING: Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie has hit a hot streak in the second half of the MAC season, averaging 20.3 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from beyond the three-point line during that stretch. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native added his third double-double of the season with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance against Central Michigan, Feb. 17, and has also averaged 2.0 blocks and 1.8 steals per game in that time frame.
   As Minnie's game jumped to another level, the Eagles have played some of their best ball of the season in that same stretch. Eastern is currently on a six-game winning streak, its longest of the year, and has won eight of its last nine games.

ABOUT THE STREAK: Eastern's six-game winning streak has come on the strength of the Mid-American Conference's best defense. The Eagles, who lead the league with a 67.2 scoring defense, have allowed just 63.8 points per contest during the streak. EMU has also held teams to just 41.4 percent from the floor during the stretch, forced 12.6 turnovers per game, and has come away with 8.2 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 73.7 points on the heals of 50 precent shooting from the floor. The Eagles have also seen their free throw percentage rise from 62.9 percent to a 79.5 mark. EMU has also taken better care of the ball, turning the ball over just 9.8 times per game during the streak.

LOCK DOWN D: Over the course of the last nine games, Eastern's already stingy defense has gone to another level. The Eagles are allowing just 62.3 points per game and holding opponents to a 39.3 shooting percentage from the floor during that stretch, and they've also forced 124 turnovers, had 76 steals, and swatted 59 shots.
   EMU has had especially tough defense in the opening half of its games. The Green and White have allowed fewer than 25 points in four of the nine games, and have held opponents to under 30 points in all but two matchups. Eastern Michigan most recently held Toledo, the MAC's second-most prolific scoring offense, to just 69 points, 11 lower than its season average (80.2).

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.

ACTION JACKSON SEALS THE DEAL: Redshirt junior Paul Jackson won the game for Eastern in its regular season finale at Toledo, March 2. With the ball and down by two, Jackson drove past his defender and finished through contact at the rim and completed the and-one opportunity to give the Eagles a road win over the University of Toledo, 71-69, at Savage Arena.
   The guard has put together his best six-game run as an Eagle during EMU's win streak. The Stone Mountain, Ga. native has averaged 15.7 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting, while also averaging an 5.2 assists per contest. Perhaps most impressive, however, is that in the last six games he's committed just 10 turnovers for an average of 1.6 turnovers per game.
   The combo guard recorded his first career double-double in the Eagles' 85-79 win over Toledo, Feb. 20, and also set a career-high in assists with 10. Jackson has now notched double-digit points 26 times this season, and has scored 20+ points on seven occasions.

ALL-TIME VERSUS AKRON: Eastern trails the all-time series against Akron, 21-27, and only recently snapped a four-game losing streak against the Zips. EMU and UA did battle this season Jan. 16 inside the Convocation Center, and the Eagles came away with a convincing 63-49 victory.
   Akron has dominated the recent history, with nine wins in the past 11 meetings, and has stymied Eastern in the MAC Tournament, going a perfect 5-0 against the Green and White.

THE MILESTONE MAN: Senior Tim Bond became the Eastern Michigan all-time leader in steals AND joined the 1,000 point club on the same play, Saturday, Feb. 24 against Northern Illinois. The Baltimore, Md. native's tip away for steal number 221 started a fast break to the other end, and after a nifty feed from Malik Ellison, Bond flushed a slam to become the 31st member of the 1,000 point club.

ANOTHER MILESTONE LOOMING: Not only has senior Tim Bond broken the 20-year old career steals record, previously held by Earl Boykins, but he is now just two steals shy of breaking the single-season mark. With 77 swipes on the campaign, he trails only Lorenzo Neely, who set the record of 78 in the 1988-89 campaign.

DOMINATING DEFENSE: Eastern Michigan has the Mid-American Conference's best defense, allowing opponents just 67.2 points per game on the season, and holding them to a conference-best 40.7 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.
   Eastern has held opponents to 69 points-or-less in a game 16 times this season. EMU is 15-1 in those games, having added five more in its last six games against 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 6.2 blocks per game leads the MAC and ranks fourth in Division I, while their block total of 191 also leads the league and is fourth nationally. The Eagles lead the conference in swats by a 68-block margin, with the next closest to EMU's 191 sitting at 123.

ON THE HORIZON: Should Eastern Michigan advance past Akron in the MAC Quarterfinal round, it will take on the winner of the Miami University and University of Toledo quarterfinal matchup, Friday, March 9, at 9 p.m.

Eastern Takes On Akron at MAC Tournament For Third Straight Year

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Malik Ellison

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eastern Takes On Akron at MAC Tournament For Third Straight Year

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Malik Ellison

Paul Jackson

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

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