The Green and White Welcome Valparaiso to the Convo

Men's Basketball vs. Valparaiso
Date	Tuesday, Dec. 3 \| 7 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 WEMU-FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team comes home to the Convocation Center Tuesday, Dec. 3, against Valparaiso University.
   The Eagles are returning home 6-1 after dropping their last contest to UC Irvine, 77-56. The Crusaders come to town with a 5-3 record, having just beat Trinity Christian, 98-71
   Fans can join the action on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (pxp) and Tom Helmer (analyst) or listen to WEMU (89.1) where Chad Bush (pxp) and Matt Dery (analyst) will have the call. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com/livestats or on twitter by following @EMUHoops.

FINDERS KEEPERS: The Eagles currently ranks number one in the country with 12.7 steals per game, and are followed closely by in-state foe Central Michigan (11.5).The Green and White have stolen the ball 89 times this season, including 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 2.1 steals per game, good for fourth in the Mid-American Conference. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native is followed closely by his teammate junior Ty Groce, who is averaging 1.9 steals per game of his own and redshirt senior Boubacar Toure also sits at 1.9 steals per game. 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 (13), and junior Noah Morgan (12).

SHUT 'EM DOWN: The Green and White currently sit at ninth in the nation in scoring defense with an opponent average of 55.1 points per game. That total is also good for first in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles are third in the MAC with a scoring margin of 16.

PRESSURE LEADS TO TURNOVERS: Eastern Michigan is currently second in the MAC in turnover margin at 7.14. The Eagles are pressuring their opponents into 21.4 turnovers a game, and are averaging 14.3 themselves.

CHRIS CAN'T MISS: Redshirt junior Chris Barnes has yet to miss a free-throw through seven 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 three others across the country.

LAST TIME AGAINST VALPARAISO: The last time and only time Eastern has played Valparaiso was in the 2010-11 season as a part of the Lou Henson Tournament, hosted by Oakland and Rochester College. The Eagles fell ,67-74, to the Crusaders, after cutting the deficit to six late but could not complete the comeback.
   EMU was led by Brandon Bowdry and his 24 points, hitting 13-15 free throws in the contest. Darrell Lampley was the only other player to join Bowdry in double-digits with 10 points, while Valpo had four players to record double-digit points. Eastern shot well, 48.4 from the field, 43.8 from three, and 76.9 from the charity stripe, while the Crusaders shot 54.2 from the field, 16.7 from downtown, and 75.0 from the free throw line.

FROM HORIZON LEAGUE TO THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE: This will be the first contest between the Eagles and the Crusaders since Valparaiso moved to the Missouri Valley Conference. The last meeting between the two on Dec. 20, 2010, Valpo was a part of the Horizon League.

ALL-TIME VS THE MISSOURI VALLEY: The Green and White hold a record of 25-53 against Missouri Valley Conference teams. The Eagles have played Illinois State the most during this span, going 10-21, followed by Southern Illinois who holds a 19-4 record against Eastern Michigan.

LAST GAME AGAINST A MISSOURI VALLEY TEAM: The last team that EMU have played against a Missouri Valley team was against Drake, Dec. 8, 2011. The Eagles lost the contest, 53-66, and fell to 2-2 against the Bulldogs all time.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Through seven games, Eastern have had no fewer than eight players record points in each contest. Most recently, the Eagles had 10 players put up points against UC Irvine, Nov. 30, three of which reached double-digits.

"PUT ME IN, COACH": Eastern's bench scoring has out matched that of its opponent in six of the first seven contests, giving EMU a 35-point bench advantage in 2019, 198-163. In the Eagles' most recent contest against UC Irvine, Nov. 30, junior Chris Barnes led the Eagles bench with 10 points, and freshman Shamar Dillard also contributed six.

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 seven games, Toure is averaging 9.7 points, and 8.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor. The redshirt senior's 8.4 rebounds a game is good for fourth in the MAC.

SPLASH CITY: The Green and White have three 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 66.7. Rounding out the shot-hitters is junior Darion Spottsville, sitting at .500.

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.

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 totaled 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 Morgan 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.

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 .611 clipping, recorded double-digit points in three of seven contests for the Eagles thus far.

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.

ON THE HORIZON: The Eagles will travel east down I-94 to take on Detroit Mercy Saturday, Dec. 7, for a 1 p.m. tipoff. EMU will look to avenge the heartbreaker at the Convo last season where they fell to the Titans, 78-74. Fans can watch the action on ESPN+, or listen to WEMU (89.1) where Chad Bush will have the call.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Chris Barnes

Shamar Dillard

Ty Groce

Chris James

Jalen King

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Darion Spottsville

Boubacar Toure

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