Eagles Continue In-State Road Swing at Central Michigan Tuesday Night

Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 29 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Mount Pleasant, Mich. \| McGuirk Arena (5,300)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM
Twitter	@EMU Hoops \| @EMUAthletics

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues its road swing Tuesday, Jan. 29, taking on in-state rival and Mid-American Conference West foe Central Michigan University at 7 p.m. in McGuirk Arena.
   The Eagles coasted with a wire-to-wire 93-67 victory over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Jan. 26, while Central Michigan fell on the road to Toledo, 76-72, to fall to 3-4 in conference play.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Eastern fans can also listen to Chad Bush and Matt Dery on WEMU 89.1. Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUHoops on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: For the second time this season, EMU had two players put up double-doubles to help the Eagles to victory over Western Michigan. Senior James Thompson IV scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his 68th career double-double, while redshirt senior Paul Jackson poured in 12 points and dished out 10 assists for the second double-double of his career.
   Thompson (24 pts, 14 rbs) and redshirt junior Boubacar Toure (12 pts, 14 rbs) accomplished the feat against Detroit Mercy, Nov. 24.

SO CLOSE!: Redshirt senior Elijah Minnie's 29 points was a single tally away from breaking his career-high for points against Western Michigan, Jan. 26.
   The Pittsburgh, Pa. native set a new high for both field goals (11), and three-point field goals (7) made.

JACKSON JOINS RARE CLUB: There have been as many presidents of the United States as there have been Eastern Michigan players with double-doubles of points and assists since the turn of the century.
   Paul Jackson joined Tim Bond (12 pts, 10 ast vs. Siena Heights, Dec. 11, 2016), Mike Talley (13 pts, 10 ast vs. Miami, Jan. 10, 2015), and CJ Grantham (19 pts, 11 ast vs. Grambling State, Dec. 23, 2000) with his 12 point and 10 assist showing against Western Michigan Jan. 26.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: Eastern's 26-point victory over Western Michigan tied the record for largest margin of victory over WMU with the Eagles' 89-63 win on Feb. 7, 1996.
   The 93 points against the Broncos was the most scored against Western since putting up 94 in a double overtime loss (94-101), Feb. 6, 2002.

ALL-TIME VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The rivalry between Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan dates back over 113 years, with the two teams having first played one another in the 1906 season. EMU won that matchup, 24-19. Since then, the two teams have played the series tight, with CMU holding a 100-93 advantage.
   The Eagles held the upper hand in both meetings last season, winning both in Ypsilanti (79-74, Jan. 9) and at McGuirk Arena (72-67, Feb. 17) to run its current win streak over the Chippewas to six.

AGAINST CENTRAL IN THE MURPHY ERA: Since head coach Rob Murphy began his tenure as the bench boss for Eastern Michigan in the 2011-12 season, he has accumulated an overall record of 10-5 against Central, and is 4-3 when playing in Mount Pleasant.

LAST TIME IN THE MOUNT: EMU's victory in Mount Pleasant last season was the second win in what would eventually become a seven-game win streak, carrying the Green and White to the No. 2 seed in the MAC West and punching its ticket to Cleveland.
   The Eagles overcame a 10-point second half deficit to shock the Chippewas in their own building, as then-senior Tim Bond gave Eastern the lead for good with an and-one with under a minute to go. James Thompson IV led the way with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Elijah Minnie registered his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 boards. Paul Jackson added 15 points and four assists, while Bond finished with seven points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal.

CHASING DOWN THE REBOUND RECORD: Senior James Thompson IV is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,316 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 111 boards to pass all-time EMU record holder Kennedy McIntosh. He is also first in the NCAA in active career double-doubles with 68 and trails McIntosh as EMU's all-time leader by 10.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN: After using a different starting lineup for seven consecutive games, Eastern Michigan rolled out the same starters for the seventh straight game against Bowling Green, Jan. 22. Redshirt senior Paul Jackson was joined by sophomore Kevin McAdoo, redshirt junior Boubcar Toure, senior James Thompson IV, and redshirt senior Elijah Minnie in the starting five for each #MACtion game of the season.

TOUGHEST IN THE MAC: The Eagles' record of 9-11 is a bit misleading for those not paying attention. Eastern has played the 16th-hardest schedule in the country (according to KenPom), including three games against Associated Press Top-25 teams and two against opponents in the top-10.
   Miami is the next-closest team with the 72nd-most difficult schedule in the country.

SWIPER NO SWIPING: The Eagles are having a "down" season compared to previous years in the defense category, currently ranking sixth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (70.7 ppg), and coming in 10th in defensive field goal percentage (43.9) after leading both categories in 2017-18.

CRASHING THE BOARDS: Eastern Michigan has made a living crashing the boards in the 2018-19 season. The Eagles not only lead the Mid-American Conference in offensive rebounds, but their 14.0 boards on the offensive side is 10th-best in the NCAA. Senior James Thompson IV is second in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game at 4.40.

THREE-POINT WOES: EMU has had two-fold troubles at the three-point line this season, shooting just 30.3 percent from downtown on offense, while allowing opponents to shoot 34.8 percent. The Eagles have made 126 three's and have allowed 179 in 2018-19.

FOUR SCORERS IN FIVE GAMES (SO FAR): For the fifth time this season, Eastern Michigan had four-or-more players score double-digits in a Mid-American Conference game when a quartet did so against Western Michigan, Jan. 26. Redshirt senior Elijah Minnie (29), sophomore Kevin McAdoo (16), senior James Thompson IV (14), and redshirt senior Paul Jackson (12), most recently accomplished the feat.

MAKING IT RAIN: After attempting just two three-point field goals in his career (going 1-for-2), senior James Thompson IV has decided to show off his range in his EMU swansong. The Baton Rouge, La. native has made two shots from downtown twice this season, and is shooting 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from long range.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan sits on top of the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (14.0), thanks in large part to senior James Thompson IV. The forward leads the league in offensive rebounding by more than a full rebound (4.4) this season, while also sitting in second in the league in field goal percentage (64.5) and rebounding (10.7). The forward also has the top rebounding mark in MAC-only action, pulling down 12.3 boards per contest.
   Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure leads the league in field goal percentage at 68.2 percent and is sixth in rebounding at 7.8 caroms per contest.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Saturday, Feb. 2 when it welcomes Miami University to Ypsilanti for a 12 p.m. contest. The day is Student Greek Challenge day that will also include an EMU women's basketball game against Northern Illinois University following the men's contest.

Eagles Continue In-State Road Swing at Central Michigan Tuesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Paul Jackson

Kevin McAdoo

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics