EMU Men's Basketball Heads West to the Golden State

Men's Basketball at UC Irvine
Date	Saturday, Nov. 30 \| 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET)
Venue	Irvine, Calif. \| Bren Events Center (4,984)
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Television	BigWest.tv
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team heads to the Golden State to take on the University of California Irvine Saturday, Nov. 30, to get even with the Anteaters after last seasons tough four-point loss. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. (7 p.m. PT).
   Eastern Michigan is 6-0 after returning home from Montego Bay, Jamaica. It is the best start by the Eagles since the 2014-15 season when they opened 7-0. Following a 31-6 year with an NCAA Tournament appearance, UCI is 4-4 after a 92-67 victory over Louisiana at the MGM Grand Event in Las Vegas, Nov. 26
   Fans can listen on WEMU (89.1 FM) with Chad Bush on the call, or follow along with live stats on EMUEagles.com.

FINDERS KEEPERS: The Eagles currently rank number in the country with 14.2 steals per game, and are followed closely by in-state foe Central Michigan (13.0).The Green and White stole the ball 15 times against UMBC in the Jamaica Classic, tying for the most in Classic history.
   Junior Yeikson Montero is playing with sticky hands, currently snagging 2.5 steals per game, tying for first in the Mid-American Conference. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native is followed closely by his teammate junior Ty Groce, who is averaging 2.2 steals per game of his own. Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure also cracks the top ten, sitting at eight with 2.0 steals per game. Also, every player who has set foot on the court this year for the Green and White has registered at least one steal, while four players have double-digit steals, Montero (15), Groce (13), Toure (12), and junior Noah Morgan (10).

SHUT 'EM DOWN: The Green and White currently sit at fourth in the nation in scoring defense with an opponent average of 51.5 points per game. That total is also good for first in the Mid-American Conference.

ROSE HALL DIVISION CHAMPIONS: The in-season tournament was the first won by Eastern Michigan since 2014 when it took home the EMU Showcase at the Convocation Center. Additionally, that same season is also the last time Eastern Michigan began the year with a 6-0 mark.

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE: EMU brought home the hardware from Jamaica, as they went 2-0 at the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic, Nov. 22-24. This is the first in-season tournament title for Eastern since it won its own event in 2014. The Green and White defeated UMBC, 62-45, Nov. 22, and then claimed victory over North Carolina A&T, 58-54, Nov. 24, to bring the Rose Hall Division Championship to Ypsilanti.
   Two Eagles were recognized by the tournament for their performances. Junior Yeikson Montero was selected to the All Tournament Team in the Rose Hall Division, as he totalled 20 points in the classic, scoring 10 in each contest, including sinking the game clinching free-throws against North Carolina A&T, Nov. 24. Fellow junior Noah Morgan was the tournaments Most Valuable Player out of the Rose Hall Division. The Mount Vernon, N.Y. native led the team in scoring both games, posting 11 points against UMBC, Nov. 22, and 12 points against NC A&T, Nov. 24, which tied his career-high.

MORGAN PRODUCES IN JAMAICA: Junior Noah   the Eastern Michigan men's basketball team to a 2-0 week and the championship of the Rose Hall Division of the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic, Nov. 22-24. Morgan and the Eagles used a strong defensive pressure to force 42 turnovers while holding both squad's under 55 points. For the week, Morgan averaged 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assist, and 2.0 steals in 36.0 minutes per contest. Against UMBC, Morgan poured in 11 points (4-of-10 shooting) in 32 minutes. He followed it up with a 12 point, five rebound, three steal contest against North Carolina A&T.
   In the four games that Eastern Michigan played as a part of the in-season tournament, Morgan averaged 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals a contest, while leading the squad with seven three-pointers and 33.8 minutes on the floor. Eastern held its four opponents to just 52.2 points per game while out-scoring them by nearly 10-points a contests. Rob Murphy's team was masterful defensively with an average of 20.8 turnovers forced of the four-game span, while swiping 13.0 steals a game.

CHRIS CAN'T MISS: Redshirt junior Chris Barnes has yet to miss a free-throw through six games this season. The Compton, Calif. native is leading the Mid-American Conference as the only player still at 100 percent from the charity stripe, and is tied for first with six others across the country.

GOING BACK TO CALI: Two players from EMU will be returning home to the Golden State on the trip to UC Irvine. Junior Chris Barnes hails from Compton, Calif., while Chris James comes to Eastern out of Long Beach, Calif.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Through six games, Eastern have had no fewer than eight players record points in each contest. Most recently, the Eagles had nine players put up points against UMBC, Nov. 22, and eight who got on the board against North Carolina A&T, Nov. 24, while playing at the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic.

"PUT ME IN, COACH": Eastern's bench scoring has outmatched that of its opponent in each of its first six contests, giving EMU a 70-point bench advantage in 2019, 179-109. In the Eagles' most recent contest against North Carolina A&T, Nov. 24, the Green and White tallied 24 points from its non-starting five, an effort that outmatched the opponent by 11. Additionally, freshman Shamar Dillard led the bench in scoring with 12 points, tying for the team lead and setting a new career-high.

LAST TIME AGAINST UC IRVINE: Eastern dropped a defensive battle to UCI last season in Ypsilanti, the Anteaters eked out a 52-48 win at the Convocation Center, Dec. 19, 2018. The Eagles were led by Elijah Minnie, putting up 15 points, two blocks, and a steal. Boubacar Toure helped out with seven rebounds and two blocks , while Ty Groce had three blocks of his own.
   EMU led by three at the half, but UC Irvine used a 16-0 run in the second half to clinch the victory. The Green and White outshot UCI, but were outrebounded, 47-27.

THE OTHER MEETING WITH UIC: Saturday will be the third meeting of Eastern and UC Irvine, with the first meeting occurring Dec. 18, 1981. The Eagles fell to the Anteaters, 76-59, in Missoula, Mont. Eastern had two double-digit scorers in the contest, Johnnie Bailey (14) and Anthony White (13). UC Irvine's All-American Kevin Magee dropped 29 points on Eastern in the loss.

ALL-TIME VS BIG WEST: Eastern Michigan holds a 2-1 record against the Big West Conference, having defeated Long Beach State twice, in back-to-back seasons. The first victory came Dec. 29, 2016, 98-72, and the second contest was Dec. 16, 2017, 85-80. The only loss coming from UC Irvine last season, 2018-19, where the Eagles fell to the Anteaters, 52-48.

LAST TIME ON THE LEFT COAST: The trip marks Eastern's first to the state of California since 2017-18 when they played at Long Beach State University, Dec. 16, 2017. EMU rallied from nine down for an exciting 85-80 road victory at the Walter Pyramid.
   The game had 11 lead changes and 10 ties in a thrilling 40 minutes of action, as the Eagles withstood a fast and furious final charge from the 49ers to pull out the victory.
   Four players finished in double-figures for the Eagles, as Elijah Minnie led the team with 23 points. James Thompson IV dominated the inside game with 19 points and 11 rebounds, registering his ninth double-double this season, while Paul Jackson tossed in 18 and had a season-high seven assists.

WHAT WAS LOST: After losing 1,674 points (75%) and 670 rebounds (89%) of production from the 2018-19 team, EMU is in search of new offensive leaders this season. The top returner in each category from last year's squad is redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (266 points, 243 rebounds), a likely candidate to be a production leader this season. Through six games, Toure is averaging nine points, and 7.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 65.7 percent from the floor.

SPLASH CITY: The Green and White have four players shooting 50%-or-better from the field so far in the 2019-20 season. Leading the way is junior Jalen King who holds a clip of 68.8 off the bench followed by redshirt senior Boubacar Toure who is shooting 65.7. Rounding out the shot-hitters is freshman Chris James shooting .528, junior Darion Spottsville who has a 50.0 shooting percentage.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE: Eastern Michigan will face off against nine different Division I conferences as a part of its non-conference slate. The Eagles will take on teams from, America East, Big Ten, Big West, Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, the Horizon League, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, and Mountain West conferences, in addition to their Mid-American Conference match ups.

JAMES…CHRIS JAMES: Freshman guard Chris James is off to a great start in his freshman season. The Long Beach, Calif. native is leading the team from deep, shooting .688 clipping, recorded double-digit points in three of four contests for the Eagles thus far. James also leads the Eagles from deep, averaging .615 (8-13).

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will return home to the Convocation Center to take on Valparaiso Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. It will be the team's first meeting since the 2010 campaign when the Crusaders notched a 74-67 triumph in tournament play in Rochester, Mich., Dec. 20, 2010.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Barnes

Shamar Dillard

Ty Groce

Paul Jackson

Chris James

Jalen King

Elijah Minnie

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Darion Spottsville

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics