Eastern Returns Home Saturday to Take On Miami

Men's Basketball vs. Miami
Date	Saturday, Feb. 2 \| 12 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (8,754)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU 89.1 FM
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Saturday, Feb. 2 when it welcomes Miami University to Ypsilanti for a 12 p.m. tipoff.
   The Eagles (9-12, 3-5 MAC) are coming off a tough 86-82 road loss to Central Michigan, Jan. 29, while Miami (11-10, 3-5 MAC)is looking to get back on track after losing a tight one at home to the University of Toledo, 66-63.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley on play-by-play and Greg Steiner providing analysis. 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 HEADER FUN: Saturday's double dip will mark the fourth time this season that the Convocation Center will play host to an Eastern Basketball doubleheader. The double feature gets started at noon with the EMU-Miami showdown, while the EMU women will take on Northern Illinois University at approximately 2:30 p.m.
In the past five seasons, the Eagles have played 19 doubleheaders in the Convocation Center, posting a 12-7 record, highlighted by a 3-0 mark this season.

20-POINT POWER: With redshirt senior Paul Jackson scoring 21 and sophomore Kevin McAdoo dropping in 20 against Central Michigan, Jan. 29., Eastern had two players score 20+ points in the same game for the first time this season.
TOURE'S TORRID SHOOTING: Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure notched his sixth double-double of the season against Central Michigan, Jan. 29, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Dakar, Senegal native shot 7-of-9 from the floor and has his MAC-leading field goal percentage up to 68.9 percent.

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET: Even though EMU came out on the short end against Central Michigan, Jan. 29, redshirt senior Elijah Minnie stuffed the stat sheet against the Chippewas to the tune of 18 points, three blocks, three rebounds, and two assists. The forward leads the MAC in conference three-pointers made with 32, averaging 4.0 per contest.

FREE THROW EXTRAVAGANZA: In Eastern's four-point loss at Central Jan. 29, the Chippewas knocked down 26-of-28 (92.8 percent) free throws, marking the most made shots from the charity stripe for an opponent since Jan. 23, 2018 when Buffalo went 27-36.
   The last time an opponent shot over 92 percent from the line against EMU was when Central Michigan shot 25-of-27 (92.5 percent) just last season, Jan. 9, 2018, in a game in which the Eagles won 79-75.

EAGLES > 80... NORMALLY GOOD: For the first time this season, Eastern Michigan fell in a contest in which it scored 80-or-more points when it lost to Central Michigan, 86-82, Jan. 29.
   It was the first time the Green and White dropped a contest scoring 80-or-more points since coming up short at Oakland University, 86-81, Dec. 22, 2017. In fact, during the Rob Murphy era of EMU basketball, the Eagles have amassed a 44-10 record when scoring over 80 points.

ALL-TIME VS. MIAMI: The history between Eastern Michigan and Miami dates back to the 1976 season, and the Eagles trail the RedHawks in the all-time series, 26-49. EMU has a record of 14-18 at home, has won the last three meetings in the Convocation Center, and has run its win streak over MU to five straight.
   The Green and White held the upper hand in the lone meeting last season, defeating Miami, 58-48, in Millett Hall, Jan. 27. Then-junior James Thompson IV led Eastern with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Paul Jackson scored a game-high 15.

AGAINST MIAMI IN THE MURPHY ERA: Since head coach Rob Murphy began his tenure as head coach of Eastern Michigan in the 2011-12 season, he has accumulated an overall record of 7-3 against Miami, including five straight wins and a home record of 3-0.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE REDHAWKS AT HOME: Eastern has not played Miami in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center since the 2015-16 season. In that game, Raven Lee lit up the scoreboard, finishing with 46 points on 9-of-11 shooting from three-point land and 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. James Thompson IV added 15 points in the Eagles' 94-69 victory.

CHASING DOWN THE REBOUND RECORD: Senior James Thompson IV is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,324 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 103 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.

EIGHT IS GREAT: After using a different starting lineup for seven consecutive games, Eastern Michigan rolled out the same starters for the eighth straight game against Central Michigan, Jan. 29. 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 9-12 is a bit misleading, as they have played the 14th-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 (71.4 ppg), and coming in ninth 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 13.86 boards on the offensive side is 11th-best in the NCAA. Senior James Thompson IV is third in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game at 4.33.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan sits on top of the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (13.8), thanks in large part to senior James Thompson IV. The forward leads the league in offensive rebounding by more than a full rebound (4.3) this season, while also sitting in second in the league in field goal percentage (65.0) and rebounding (10.5). The forward also has the top rebounding mark in MAC-only action, pulling down 11.8 boards per contest.
   Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure leads the league in field goal percentage at 68.9 percent, is third in blocked shots at 1.4 per contest, and is sixth in rebounding at 7.9 caroms per contest.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to action Saturday, Feb. 9 against Northern Illinois University at 2 p.m. The game is Alumni Reunion Day, with all-time EMU legends like Earl Boykins and Ben Braun scheduled to be in attendance.

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Players Mentioned

Paul Jackson

Kevin McAdoo

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics