Men's Hoops Readies for Northeastern

Men's Basketball vs. Northeastern
Date	Tuesday, Dec. 17 \| 7 p.m. ET
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM)
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to action, inside the Convocation Center, Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. against Northeastern University.
EMU is coming off a road-win over Detroit Mercy, 55-51, Saturday Dec. 7 inside historic Calihan Hall. The Huskies enter the contest with a 5-5 record, besting teams such as Boston, Harvard, and Weber State. The Eagles enter the arena with a 8-1 record, with their only loss coming from UC Irvine on the road.
   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 rank second in the country with 11.8 steals per game, and first in the Mid-American Conference, in-state foe Central Michigan is second in the league with 10.6. The Green and White have stolen the ball 106 times this season, including 22 times against Goshen, Nov. 11, which leads the MAC for single game performances, and 15 times against UMBC in the Jamaica Classic, tying for the most in Classic history.
   Junior Yeikson Montero and redshirt junior Ty Groce are playing with sticky hands, currently snagging 1.9 steals per game, good for sixth in the MAC. Five players have double-digit steals on the season, Montero (17), Groce (17), redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (15), and juniors Noah Morgan (14), Chris Barnes (10), and Darion Spottsville (10).

SHUT 'EM DOWN: The Green and White currently sit 12th in the nation in scoring defense holding their opponents to 57.3 points per game. That total is also good for first in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles are fifth in the MAC with a scoring margin of 13.6.

PRESSURE LEADS TO TURNOVERS: Eastern Michigan is currently second in the MAC with a 4.78 turnover margin. The Eagles are pressuring their opponents into 20.1 turnovers a game.

CREEPING TOWARDS THE POLLS: Eastern Michigan received 26 points for the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll in its most recent release, the week of Dec. 9. The last EMU team to receive votes was the 2018-19 squad, which received 13 points on Dec. 3, 2018. The last time the Eagles cracked into the poll was during the 2017-18 campaign. EMU was ranked in the poll twice, hitting its best spot, No. 22, Nov. 20, 2017.

BOXOUT: Eastern Michigan leads the MAC in rebounding defense, holding opponents to 31.9 rebounds a game this season. The Eagles are followed closely by Ohio, at 32.5.

CHRIS CAN'T MISS: Redshirt junior Chris Barnes has yet to miss a free-throw through nine 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, hitting 16-of-16 .

DARION DISHING DIMES: Junior Darion Spottsville is the floor general for the Eagles on the court, leading the team with 22 assists this season. In the Green and White's last contest, Dec. 7 against Detroit Mercy, the Phoenix, Ariz. native registered seven of the teams 12 assists in the game, which is the second time this year he has led the team.

TY TEARING THROUGH: Redshirt junior Ty Groce is thriving this season, leading the team with 116 points, 12.9 per game, through nine games this season. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native has hit double-digits in six of nine games this year, leading the Green and White in five of those. Groce has reached double-digits in three consecutive games now, scoring 10 at UC Irvine Nov. 30, hitting a career high of 23 against Valparaiso Dec. 3, then backing that up with 16 points at Detroit Mercy Dec. 7. The redshirt junior has also set a career-high this season in rebounding, snagging 11 boards against UMBC Nov. 22 in the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic, and tying his high in blocks with three at North Texas Nov. 16.
   During the 2018-19 season, Groce finished the season with 160 points and 101 rebounds; numbers that he is on pace to shatter this year, having already grabbed 47 rebounds.

CHARITY STRIPE: The Eagles have found their way to the charity stripe 229 times through nine games this season, a total that is 100 more at this point last season. In fact, the Green and White have had more free throw attempts than its opponent in each game played this year, holding a 1.9 margin against the opposition, almost doubling their number.
   Converting those opportunities into points, junior Chris Barnes leads the team from the charity stripe, shooting 100 percent on 16-of-16, The Compton, Calif. native is followed by freshman Shamar Dillard who hits 81 percent from the free throw line, sinking 17-of-21.

TOURE TAKEOFF: Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure is shooting 66.1 percent (37-56) from the field this year, which leads the team. The Dakar, Senegal native shot 5-of-7 against UC Irvine, in a double-double performance, Nov. 30, then came home to the Convocation Center and shot 6-of-8 against Valparaiso, Dec. 3. The redshirt senior has been efficient while shooting but also anchors the Eagles 2-3 zone, having tied his career-high for blocks in a game with four at Detroit Mercy, Dec. 7.

LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHEASTERN: The only time Eastern Michigan played Northeastern, the Huskies came away with the victory in Boston, Mass., 81-67, Dec. 1, 2018. The Eagles had three players register double-figure scoring, led by Elijah Minnie's 24 points. James Thompson IV had 10 points and nine rebounds and then-redshirt junior Boubacar Toure had 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
   EMU led by as many as 14 in the first half but Northeastern went on a 13-2 run to close out the half. NU carried over the momentum in the second half and was able to withstand the Green and White pressure to secure the win.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: EMU has won 107 of 140 games at home during the Rob Murphy era, and have started the 2019-20 campaign 4-0 at the Convocation Center.

ALL-TIME VS. CAA: The Eagles are 2-3 against Colonial Athletic Association teams, and are 1-1 in the Rob Murphy era. Eastern Michigan holds a 1-1 record against James Madison, and an 0-1 record against UNC Wilmington. The 2018-19 season served as the first meeting for EMU and Drexel, with the Green and White coming away with the 66-62 win. Eastern also holds an 0-1 record against Northeastern after a loss 81-67 loss last season.

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 nine games, Toure is averaging 9.9 points, and 8.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 66 percent from the floor. The redshirt senior's 8.4 rebounds a game is good for sixth in the MAC.

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.

ON THE HORIZON: EMU will take a short trip north to East Lansing, Mich. Saturday, Dec. 21, taking on the Spartans of Michigan State (6-3), who are currently ranked 16th in the nation by the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The action is set to start at 7 p.m at the Breslin Center.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Barnes

Shamar Dillard

Ty Groce

Elijah Minnie

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Darion Spottsville

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics