#MACtion Returns to Ypsi with Western Michigan Saturday

Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Saturday, Feb. 23 \| 2 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
Tickets	Order Tickets Online or call 734.487.3669

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team looks to push its home winning streak to three Saturday, Feb. 23, when it welcomes Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan University for a 2 p.m. tip inside the Convocation Center.
   Eastern (12-14, 6-7 MAC) is coming off its most dramatic win of the season in which it topped MAC West-leading Toledo, 76-69, Feb. 19, while Western (8-18, 2-11 MAC) took down Miami in overtime, 84-79, Feb. 16.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley on play-by-play and David Anderson providing analysis. Eastern fans can also listen to Chad Bush on WEMU 89.1. Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUHoops on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

SECOND HALF SURGE: For just the second time this season, Eastern Michigan erased a halftime deficit to top an opponent, taking down Toledo after trailing by four at the break.
   In fact, the Eagles trailed by 12 as late as the 11:07 mark in the second stanza before going on a 22-0 run to climb ahead. The 12 point comeback ties for largest in a game this season with EMU's win at Ohio, Feb.12, when the Green and White erased a 12-0 Bobcat lead.

IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL ITS OVER: The second half comeback of 12 points is the largest of the 2018-19 season for Eastern, and the most in a regular season game since coming back from a 10-point deficit at Central Michigan University, Feb. 17, 2018.
   More noticeably, Eastern overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat the University of Akron in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: Eastern's slow start to MAC play in 2018-19 almost mirrors the start to conference action in 2017-18 exactly. Not only is its record after 13 games identical to last season's at 6-7, EMU also had the same record after five games (2-3), eight games (3-5), and 10 games (4-6).
   The Eagles went on to rattle off six straight wins to end the season to finish second in the MAC West and secure a first round bye in the MAC Tournament.

TURNING TURNOVERS TO POINTS: Eastern was able to take advantage of 16 Toledo miscues in its Feb. 19 victory, scoring 23 points off the Rockets' turnovers. It was the second-most points off turnovers for the Eagles against a Division I opponent this season, trailing only its 27-point output at Western Michigan.

A WIN WOULD: Eastern Michigan currently sits in eighth place in the Mid-American Conference standings, tied with both Miami and Akron with records of 6-7. A win would place the Eagles at .500 in league play and vault them closer to the MAC Tournament first round bye. It would also bring them closer to the top of the MAC West standings, as they currently trail Toledo by two games and Central Michigan by one.

TOUGHEST IN THE MAC: The Eagles' record of 12-14 comes against the 52nd-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. Ohio has the next-hardest strength of schedule with the 83rd-ranked difficulty in the country.
   Diving deeper into the numbers shows that Eastern has also played more games against Quadrant One and Two opponents (11; five Q1, six Q2) than any other conference foe, with a record of 2-9. Western Michigan is the next closest with 10 (five Q1, five Q2) games, while Kent State is third with nine (two Q1, seven Q2). The University at Buffalo has the best record in the league in its eight games, going 6-2.

MURPHY'S 11: Eastern Michigan head coach Rob Murphy stuck with his 11th starting lineup of the season in its win over Toledo, Feb. 19. The Eagles used the combination of redshirt senior Paul Jackson, sophomore Kevin McAdoo, redshirt sophomore Ty Groce, senior James Thompson IV, and redshirt senior Elijah Minnie start a game for the second time this season.

ALL-TIME VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan are playing for the 111th time in program history Saturday, Feb. 23 with the Broncos holding the all-time edge, 60-50. The Eagles are 32-24 playing in Ypsilanti, but came out on on the losing end a season ago, falling to the Broncos 71-57 in the Convocation Center, Jan. 30.
   The Green and White won earlier this season in Kalamazoo, 93-67, and have now won four of its last six meetings with Western.

AGAINST WESTERN 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 9-6 against Western, and is 6-1 in the friendly confines of the Convocation Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE BRONCOS: The Green and White rolled to one of its most impressive wins over Western Michigan in program history, coming away from University Arena with a 93-67 win. Eastern's 26-point victory over Western tied the record for largest margin of victory over WMU with the Eagles' 89-63 win on Feb. 7, 1996.
   Additionally, 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.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior James Thompson IV is the NCAA's active career rebound leader with 1,369 during his three-plus seasons with Eastern. The Baton Rouge, La. native needs 58 boards to pass all-time EMU record holder Kennedy McIntosh.
   Eastern also has a pair of redshirt seniors trying to become members of the 1,000 point club, as both Paul Jackson and Elijah Minnie are within striking distance of the milestone. Jackson needs 125, or an average of 20.8 over the final seven games, to reach the mark. Minnie has slightly less ground to cover, needing 68 points, or an average of 11.3 points per game, in that stretch.

DEFENSE RISING: The Eastern Michigan defense has been rising up the MAC statistical rankings and now sits in fourth place in points allowed and sixth in defensive field goal percentage on the season. The Eagles are holding opponents to 69.4 points per contest and allow them to shoot 43.2 percent from the floor.

#MACTION JACKSON: After redshirt senior Paul Jackson's 13-game double-digit scoring streak was snapped after being held to just three points at Kent State, Feb. 16, the Stone Mountain, Ga. native came back with a vengence against Toledo, scoring 19 points, dishing out five assists, and swiping five steals. The redshirt senior has averaged 14.4 points since MAC, and has also averaged 5.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 rebounds per contest.
   The 13-game streak streak falls one short of Jackson's best of 14 that he rattled off from Nov. 12 to Jan. 6 last season.

CRASHING THE BOARDS: Eastern Michigan has made a living crashing the boards in the 2018-19 season. The Eagles are second in the the Mid-American Conference in offensive rebounds per game, and their 12.7 boards on the offensive side is 29th-best in the NCAA. Senior James Thompson IV currently ranks fourth in Division I in offensive rebounds per game, hauling in 3.96 caroms per contest.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: The Eagles have slowly climbed to the top of the MAC when it comes to blocked shots this season. Not only is their 4.6 blocks per contest best in the league, but three players are inside the top eight: Boubacar Toure, 3rd - 1.4; Eljiah Minnie, 6th - 1.2; James Thompson IV, 8th - 1.1. No other team has more than two in the top 15.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan is now at the top of the league in blocked shots per contest, swatting aside 4.6 per game. The Eagles are second in the MAC in offensive rebounds per game (12.7), thanks in large part to senior James Thompson IV. The forward leads the league in offensive rebounding by nearly a full rebound (4.0) this season, while also sitting in second in the league in field goal percentage (64.5) and rebounding (10.2). The forward also has the top rebounding mark in MAC-only action, pulling down 10.7 boards per contest.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan finishes off its three-game stay in the Convocation Center Tuesday, Feb. 26 against Central Michigan University at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Ty Groce

Paul Jackson

Kevin McAdoo

Elijah Minnie

James Thompson IV

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics