Eagles Conclude Homestand Saturday With Ohio Rematch

Men's Basketball vs. Ohio
Date	Saturday, Jan. 18 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Radio	WEMU 89.1
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team concludes a two-game homestand Saturday, Jan. 18, as the Eagles welcome Mid-American Conference East Division foe Ohio University for a rematch in the Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
   EMU (10-7, 0-4 MAC) is still in search of its first MAC victory, as the Eagles have dropped four-straight conference matchups. Eastern Michigan was unable to pull off the early second-half comeback as it fell to West Division opponent Ball State, 69-52, Jan. 14. Ohio (9-8, 1-3 MAC) suffered its third conference loss at Buffalo, 76-73, Jan. 14, and have posted its only MAC victory against Eastern Michigan, 74-68, Jan. 7, in Athens, Ohio.
   Fans can watch the action on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley and Tom Helmer or listen to WEMU (89.1 FM) where Chad Bush and Matt Dery will have the call. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com or on Twitter by following
@EMUHoops.

AMONG THE LEADING LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads both the nation and the Mid-American Conference in steals per game (11.3). EMU also ranks third among Division I teams in total steals with 192. The Eagles are forcing 18.8 turnovers per game; which leads the league and ranks eighth in the nation. Eastern's scoring defense of 63.1 points per game ranks third in the conference behind Ball State (61.6 ppg) and Akron (62.5ppg), while the Eagles' 393 free-throw attempts is good for second in the MAC.
   Individually, redshirt senior Boubacar Toure ranks second in the MAC with a 63.0 field goal percentage (68-of-108) and ranks third (39th nationally) with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Dakar, Senegal native is fourth in the league in blocks per game (1.4). Redshirt junior Ty Groce is leading the team with 35 steals, which is tied-for-second in the MAC and 33rd in the nation. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native also is tied-for-third in the league with 2.1 steals per contest.

NAIL-BITERS: Eastern Michigan has seen nail-biters slip from its fingers in the last two-of-three games, at Ohio (Jan. 7) and at Northern Illinois (Jan. 11). EMU lost both games with a margin of six-or-less points. Before MAC play, the Eagles boasted a 5-0 record in games decided by six-or-fewer.

TOURE IN MACTION: Boubacar Toure has started strong offensively and defensively in the Mid-American Conference portion of the 2019-20 campaign. The redshirt senior is averaging nearly a double-double with 9.8 points and 11.8 rebounds in the four games so far in league play. He is shooting 54 percent from the floor (18-33) and has recorded five blocks. The Dakar, Senegal native notched two double-doubles in MAC play and nearly missed another one at Ohio, Jan. 11. Toure's 11.8 rebounds per game ranks second in the conference, along with his 1.5 blocks per contest is good for fifth.

CRASHIN' THE BOARDS: Boubacar Toure has pulled down 10+ rebounds in eight games this season and has led the team in rebounding 13-of-17 games this year. The redshirt senior leads the team averaging 8.7 boards per game (148 total), including 5.4 defensive and 3.2 offensive rebounds per contest. In MAC play, Toure is averaging 11.8 boards to go along with 9.8 points per game.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DEDICATION: Redshirt junior Ty Groce leads Eastern Michigan in scoring with 11.2 points per game. Juniors Noah Morgan and Yeikson Montero also average double-figures as they are each tallying 10.4 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Groce and Montero are the only Eagles to reach double-digits in 11 games this year, while Morgan has tallied double figures in nine contests. Groce posted a career-high 23 points against Valpo, Dec. 3, while Montero scored a career-best 18 points at Ohio, Jan. 7. Morgan tallied a career-best 21 points versus Valpo.
   In MAC play, two Eagles are averaging in double-figures in Montero (12.3) and Morgan (11.0). Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure and Groce are tallying 9.8 and 8.0 points per game, respectively, in the first four games of conference play.

FINDERS KEEPERS: The Eagles lead both the nation and Mid-American Conference with 11.3 steals per game. In-state foe Central Michigan is second in the league with 9.4. The Green and White have stolen the ball 192 times this season, including 10+ swipes in 10 games this season. The Eagles notched a season-high 22 steals against Goshen, Nov. 11, which leads the MAC for single-game performances, and 18 swipes versus Concordia, Dec. 30. The 15 steals against UMBC in the Jamaica Classic, Nov. 22, are tied for the most in Classic history.
   Redshirt junior Ty Groce leads the team with 2.1 steals per game (35 this season), which is tied-for-third in the MAC, followed closely by junior Yeikson Montero's 2.0 steals per game. Eight players have double-digit steals on the season, which includes EMU's primary starting-five: Groce (35), Montero (34), junior Noah Morgan (28), redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (22), junior Darion Spottsville (19), freshman Chris James (15), junior Chris Barnes (12), and junior Jalen King (10), respectively. Eastern Michigan is the only school in the MAC that has eight players with steals in double figures.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: Despite a 71-68 loss to Northern Illinois, Jan. 11, redshirt senior Boubacar Toure posted his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Dakar, Senegal native has pulled down double-figure rebounds in eight games this year, including four of the last six games. The redshirt senior has led the Eagles on the boards in 11-of-17 games in the 2019-20 campaign. Toure has tallied 13 double-doubles in his EMU career.

versaTYle: Redshirt junior Ty Groce has proven to be a versatile player on the floor. He leads the team with 190 points (11.2 ppg). The Ypsilanti, Mich. native has hit double-digits in 11 games during the 2019-20 campaign, and in eight of 11 games (10 at UC Irvine, Nov. 30; 23 vs. Valpo, Dec. 3; 16 at Detroit Mercy, Dec. 7; 10 vs. Northeastern, Dec. 17; 12 at UNLV, Dec. 28; 11 vs. Concordia, Dec. 30; 13 vs. Akron, Jan. 4; 12 at Ohio, Jan. 7).
   Groce has led the Green and White in scoring in 11 games this season, including a career-high 23 points versus Valpo, Dec. 3. The guard also posted a career-best in rebounds (11) against UMBC, Nov. 22, in the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic, dished out a career-high in assists (5) versus Concordia, Dec. 30, and tied his career-best in blocks (3) at North Texas, Nov. 16. Groce finished the 2018-19 season with 160 points and 101 rebounds; numbers that he is on pace to shatter this year, having already grabbed 81 rebounds.
   In conference, the redshirt junior is recording 8.0 points per game to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists a contest.

THE CONVO: Eastern Michigan wraps up a six-game streak of playing in a Convocation Center (Dec. 30 - Jan. 18), but of course some are not in Ypsilanti, Mich. Ohio, Northern Illinois and Kent State are among EMU who have its men's basketball programs play in the Convocation Center. Eastern will host four opponents in the Convo and two games on the road at Ohio's and NIU's Convocation Center.

SHUT 'EM DOWN: The Green and White ranks third in the MAC and 53rd in the nation holding their opponents to 63.1 points per game. Ball State leads the conference in scoring defense (61.6 ppg) with Akron following with 62.5 points per game, respectively. The Eagles have held eight opponents to under 55 points in 2019. This fierce defense has outscored the opposition by double-digits in five games this season and is 11th in the MAC with a scoring margin of +2.6.
   EMU has topped three opponents by 30+ points in the non-conference portion of its 2019-20 schedule (Siena Heights, Nov. 8; Goshen, Nov. 12; Concordia; Dec. 30). Eastern's largest victory margin was against Goshen when the Eagles won by 52 points (101-49). The 52-point margin is tied for fourth in the Rob Murphy era. The highest victory margin under Murphy is 62 points when the Eagles defeated Siena Heights, 117-55, Dec. 11, 2016, inside the Convocation Center. This victory margin (+62) and points scored (117) ranks first in the EMU record books.

PRESSURE LEADS TO TURNOVERS: The Eastern Michigan defense is forcing opponents to turn the ball over 18.8 times a game, which leads the MAC and ranks eighth among Division I teams. EMU also holds a +3.1 turnover margin (18.8-15.6), which is good for second in the league and 36th in the NCAA. Eastern holds a 6-4 mark (10 games) when it forces more opponents turnovers. In addition, the EMU's defensive pressure has forced 20+ opponent turnovers in seven games this season. The Eagles are protecting the ball well as they have posted nine games with 15 or less turnovers and two with less than 10.

DISHING DIMES: Four Eagles have tallied 25-or-more assists this season in Darion Spottsville (32), Noah Morgan (31), Ty Groce (29), and Yeikson Montero (26). Spottsville leads the team with 1.9 helpers per game, while Morgan, Groce and Montero are dishing out 1.8, 1.7, and 1.5, respectively.
   Spottsville registered seven of the team's 12 assists in the game against Concordia, Dec. 20, while Groce notched a career-high five helpers. He has led the Eagles in assists six times during the 2019-20 campaign. Morgan posted five assists in back-to-back contests (vs. Siena Heights, Nov. 8; vs. Goshen, Nov. 12) to start the 2019-20 season and has also led the Eagles in assists six times this season.

.500 OR BETTER: The Eagles have two players that are shooting 50 percent-or-better from the field. The Green and White are led by redshirt senior Boubacar Toure, hitting at 63.0 percent on 68-of-108 shooting, which ranks second among MAC players. Toure has shot over 70 percent from the field (min. seven attempts) in seven games this season. His season-high of 77.8 percent (7-of-9) was hit against Michigan-Dearborn, Nov. 14 and Concordia, Dec. 30. The Dakar, Senegal native is followed by junior Jalen King at 53.8 percent (14-of-26).

BOXOUT: Eastern Michigan ranks fifth in the MAC in rebounding defense, holding the opposition to 35.8 rebounds per game this season. The league is led by Ohio with 33.2 and then followed by Ball State (34.8), Northern Illinois (35.0), and Kent State (35.1), respectively. The Eagles have outrebounded their opponents in eight games this year, including two with a double-digit margin (+23 vs. Goshen, Nov. 12; +16 vs. Michigan-Dearborn, Nov. 14). In the seven losses this season, EMU has been outrebounded by 10 or more in three of them (-10 at UC Irvine, Nov.30; -10 at Michigan State, Dec. 21; -20 at UNLV, Dec. 28).

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan is still in search of its first Mid-American Conference victory as the Eagles were defeated by East Division rival Ball State, 62-59, Jan. 14, inside the Convocation Center. Eastern Michigan (10-7; 0-4 MAC) was greeted by a stingy Ball State (10-7, 3-1 MAC) defense which held the Eagles to its lowest first half scoring total of the season at just 14 points. Although the Eagles fought back in the second half, the Cardinals proved too powerful to overcome.
   EMU was paced by junior Noah Morgan, who led the team in scoring with 14 points while also keeping busy on the defensive-end, wrangling five rebounds and one steal. Junior Yeikson Montero reached double-digits in scoring as well with 12 points, and pestered the Cardinal offense by gathering three steals. Coming into the game, Montero ranked fourth in steals per game in the MAC averaging just under two. His performance marked his sixth-straight game recording a steal. Junior Thomas Binelli put on a valiant defensive effort, acquiring a career-high six rebounds.

ALL-TIME VS. OHIO: Saturday's game marks the 76th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Ohio. EMU trails OU, 50-26, in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1972-73 season. The Bobcats won the first meeting of the 2019-20 campaign, 74-68, in Athens, Ohio, Jan. 7. The Eagles are 3-7 against Ohio in the last 10 games and boast an 18-17 record inside EMU's Convocation Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST OHIO: Eastern Michigan and Ohio last met less than two week ago, Jan. 7, ending in a 74-68 OU victory inside the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. The Eagles' late rally was not enough to overcome its 22 turnovers. EMU trailed 62-50 with 6:36 to play in the second half, but responded with a 15-6 run over the next five minutes to pull back within three-points.
   Junior Yeikson Montero notched his ninth double-figure scoring performance of the season, as he finished with a career-high 18 points, including four from beyond the arc. He also pulled down five rebounds, and tallied five steals and three assists while leading EMU with 34 minutes on the floor. Redshirt junior Ty Groce also reached double-digits for the 11th-time this year with 12 points to go along with six boards, four assists and four steals. Defensively, redshirt senior Boubacar Toure led all players with 10 rebounds, nine of which were defensive, and swapped away two shots.
   EMU posted a solid offensive performance as the Eagles shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field compared to Ohio's 46.4 percent (26-for-56) efficiency. Eastern struggled beyond the three-point line in the second half, ending the evening with a 38.1 clip (8-for-21), while the Bobcats shot 48 percent (13-for-27) from deep.
    The Eagles recorded more steals with the 17-11 advantage and forced 21 OU turnovers. EMU outscored Ohio in the following categories: turnovers (23-21), in the paint (28-22), fast breaks (16-4) and the bench (22-12). The Bobcats outrebounded EMU by two (35-33) and forced 22 Eastern turnovers, the most this season.

SCOUTING OHIO: Led by first-year head coach Jeff Boals, Ohio enters Saturday's game coming off a 76-73 loss at Buffalo, Jan. 7. The Bobcats hold a 9-8 overall record (1-3 MAC) and are 1-4 over the last five games.
   OU has three players averaging double-digit scoring, who is led by sophomore guard Jason Preston (16.1 ppg). He is followed by redshirt sophomore forward Ben Vander Plas (15.2) and redshirt senior guard Jordan Dartis (13.9), respectively. Dartis leads the Bobcats with 49 3-pointers, while Vander Plas (52.4) and graduate student Sylvester Ogbonda (51.2) are shooting above 50 percent from the floor. On the boards, Vander Plas is averaging a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game, while Preston is dishing out almost eight helpers per contest.
   Ohio averages 71.6 points per game and are shooting 45.5 percent from the field (443-974), which ranks second in the MAC. The Bobcats are also dishing out 15.1 assist per game. On the defensive side, Ohio is holding its opponents to a league-best 33.2 rebounds per game.

CHARITY STRIPE: The Eagles have found their way to the charity stripe 393 times so far this season, which ranks 31st in the nation and second in the MAC. EMU is averaging 23.1 free throw attempts per game, which ranks second in the league behind Central Michigan (23.3). Through 17 games in 2018, the Eagles attempted 275 free throws, which is 118 less from their current total. In fact, the Green and White have had more free-throw attempts than its opponent in 13 games this year.
   Converting those opportunities into points, junior Chris Barnes leads the team from the charity stripe, shooting 83.3 percent on 20-of-24, Barnes is followed by classmate Yeikson Montero and freshman Shamar Dillard who hit 75.5 (37-49) and 75.0 (33-44) percent from the free-throw line, respectively.

TOURE TAKEOFF: Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure is shooting a team leading 63.0 percent (68-108) from the field this year, which ranks second in the MAC. He is averaging 3.3 offensive boards a game (56), which is good for third in the Mid-American Conference. The Dakar, Senegal native has notched eight double-figure scoring performances as well as pulling down 10+ boards in eight games this season. Toure leads the team with five double-doubles with his most recent performance (14 pts., 11 rebs.) at Northern Illinois, Jan. 11.
   The redshirt senior has been efficient while shooting, but also anchors the Eagles' 2-3 zone, having tied his career-high in blocks (4) at Detroit Mercy, Dec. 7. The redshirt senior center is tied-for-third in the league with 1.4 blocks per game (23 total) and has totaled 22 steals.

ALL-TIME VS. MAC: The Green and White hold a 337-426 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (195 times), while facing Western Michigan 111 times and Toledo 105 times. Since the 1974-75 season when Eastern started competing in the MAC, EMU has won four regular-season titles and four MAC Tournament titles (1988, 1991, 1996, 1998), which led to four NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Rob Murphy, the Eagles hold a 69-72 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will travel south on US-23 to Bowling Green, Ohio as the Eagles take on the Falcons Tuesday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Stroh Center. EMU and BGSU collided in Ypsilanti, Jan. 22, 2019, when the Falcons ran away with the 80-67 victory. The Eagles are on a three-game losing streak against the Falcons and hold 4-6 mark over the last 10 games. Under the Rob Murphy era, the Eagles are 5-7 against BGSU.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Barnes

Thomas Binelli

Shamar Dillard

Ty Groce

Chris James

Jalen King

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Darion Spottsville

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics