Eastern Michigan Athletics

#MACtion is Back: Men's Hoops Host Toledo to Open Conference Season
12/2/2020 3:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles and Rockets tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN3
Men's Basketball vs. Toledo | |
Date | Friday, Dec. 4 | 7 p.m. ET |
Venue | Ypsilanti, Mich. | Convocation Center |
Preview Info | EMU Notes | Game Program | MAC Release |
Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
Watch | ESPN3 |
Listen | WEMU (89.1FM) | TuneIn Radio | Podcast |
@EMU_MBB | @EMUAthletics | |
Attendance Information | No general public attendance will be allowed |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – #MACtion is back as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team opens the 2020-21 Mid-American Conference slate at home against the University of Toledo, Dec. 4. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
The Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAC) put up a valiant fight in their season opener at No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25, as EMU fell to the Spartans, 83-67. Toledo (2-2, 0-0 MAC) has already played four non-conference games and holds a 2-2 overall record. The Rockets are coming off a 70-61 victory over Cleveland State, Dec. 1.
Although fans will not be able to attend the contest, there is an opportunity to catch the game on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley providing the play-by-play and Matt Dery serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will also air the contest with Tom Helmer and Greg Steiner on the call. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com/livestats or on Twitter by following @EMU_MBB.
#MACtion IS BACK: The 2020-21 season marks the 47th year Eastern Michigan will play in the Mid-American Conference. Having been a member of the Cleveland-based conference since the 1974-75 season, the Green and White have tallied a 346-437 overall MAC record.
Friday's contest against Toledo will begin EMU's 20-game conference schedule and marks the 783th Mid-American Conference game in Eastern Michigan history. This year is different as the conference will return to its original state with no divisions. For the MAC Tournament, only the top-eight teams will advance to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Each team will play at least nine of the MAC's 11 institutions twice. The Green and White will play each member of the West Division twice, and four East Division teams (Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, and Miami) twice.
EMU IN MAC OPENERS: The Green and White will begin its 47th year in the Mid-American Conference Friday, Dec. 4, against Toledo inside the Convocation Center. Since the 1974-75 season, Eastern holds a 18-28 mark in MAC openers and a 10-11 record in conference-opening contests in Ypsilanti.
Under Head Coach Rob Murphy, the Eagles are 75-81 in league play and hold a 4-5 record in MAC openers.
AMONG THE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks 33rd in the nation with a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Eagles rank first in the league and sixth in the NCAA with the fewest turnovers at nine, while Butler leads the nation at six. EMU continues to be a defense to be reckoned with as it forced 18 turnovers at Michigan State, Nov. 25, which is good for first in the league and 51st among Division I programs.
Individually, redshirt senior Ty Groce leads the conference and ranks 11th in the country with 3.0 blocks per game, while senior Yeikson Montero's 63.6 field-goal percentage lands him at second in the MAC. Classmate Darion Spottsville is tied with four student-athletes in the conference with a perfect free-throw percentage after he went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe at MSU, Nov. 25.
100th CAREER GAME: Friday's game against Toledo will mark redshirt senior Ty Groce's 100th career game in a Eastern Michigan uniform. Over his career, the Ypsilanti Mich. native is averaging 6.8 points per game and was the leading scorer for the Eagles last season (11.5 ppg). Groce is shooting a 40.9 career field goal percentage and is inching his way into the EMU record books in career steals (113). The forward needs 12 more swipes to rank 10th in program history.
TROPHY HUNTING: Eastern Michigan will search for its first conference championship since 1998 as it enters league play against Toledo, Dec. 4. That year, the Eagles captured the regular-season and tournament titles to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. Overall, EMU has claimed four regular-season and tournament crowns (1988, 1991, 1996, 1998), along with one MAC West title (2012). The Green and White hold a 3-4 record in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a historic trip to the "Sweet 16" in 1991.
COMBINED WINS: Eastern Michigan men's basketball has tallied 203 victories in the Convocation Center since it opened for the 1998-99 season. The Eagles notched their 200th win in the Convo with a 66-62 win over Buffalo, Feb. 4, 2020.
The Convocation Center's dedication game was on Dec. 9, 1998 with a men's basketball game against the University of Michigan in front of a crowd of 7,647 - the largest attendance since its opening. The EMU men's and women's basketball programs have a combined 393 victories inside the Convo - the women's program has accumulated 190 wins since 1998-99.
EXECUTING OFF TURNOVERS: Eastern Michigan's defense was in full force despite the 83-67 loss to No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25. The Eagles capitalized off 18 Spartan turnovers by scoring 29 points off those takeaways.
EMU ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and 49th in the NCAA with 18.0 turnovers forced per game, and the Eagles' +9.0 turnover margin is good for second in the conference and 14th among Division I programs.
SHARING THE WEALTH: Despite not having a full team at Michigan State, Nov. 25, six of the seven Eagles who played scored five-plus points in a 83-76 loss to the Spartans. Senior Yeikson Montero led EMU with 16 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, while redshirt senior Ty Groce and classmate Darion Spottsville added 14 and 12, respectively. Making their EMU debuts, redshirt junior Miles Gibson notched 11 points, and sophomore Drew Lowder and junior Bryce McBride tallied 9 and 5, respectively.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: EMU has won 109 of 142 games at home during the Rob Murphy era, and started last season 6-0 at the Convocation Center. Under coach Murphy, the Eagles have opened the season 6-0 at home in six of his first nine seasons as head coach. EMU posted a 7-0 start in the Convo in three seasons (2014-15; 2016-17; 2017-18).
PROTECTING THE BALL: Eastern Michigan started the 2020-21 season protecting the rock as the Eagles only committed nine turnovers in a 83-76 loss to No. 13 Michigan State, Nov. 25. Out of the seven EMU student-athletes who played at MSU, four of them committed one turnover or less.
The Green and White's nine takeaways rank second in the Mid-American Conference and 14th in the NCAA, while EMU's +9.0 turnover margin is also good for second in the MAC and 14th in the country.
MAKING THEIR DEBUT: Three Eagles suited up for the first time in the Green and White at Michigan State, Nov. 25 - redshirt junior Miles Gibson, junior Bryce McBride, and sophomore Drew Lowder.
Gibson played 31 minutes and recorded a double-figure scoring performance with 11 points. The Richmond, Va. native grabbed four rebounds and added a steal. McBride was the team's assist leader at MSU with four helpers, while he posted five points with three boards and two steals. Lowder tallied nine points to go along with three dimes, two steals, and two rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan dropped an non-conference affair, 83-67, at No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25, inside the Breslin Center to open the 2020-21 season. EMU finished the contest on an 8-4 scoring run, showcased by a redshirt junior Miles Gibson fastbreak layup, but the Spartans prevailed with an 83-67 victory.
Senior Yeikson Montero led the Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and posted a team-high six rebounds. Redshirt senior Ty Groce added 14 points and tied a career-best with three blocks, while senior Darion Spottsville and Gibson recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Bryce McBride notched four assists in his Division I debut, while sophomore Chris James grabbed five rebounds.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 40.6 field-goal percentage (26-of-64), while the Spartan shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55). The Eagles forced 18 MSU turnovers and capitalized with 29 points, while EMU committed just nine giveaways. Eastern held the steal advantage as well, at 8-2. However, MSU pulled down 37 rebounds to Eastern's 29.
SCOUTING TOLEDO: Led by 11th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo enters Friday's game coming off a 70-61 victory over Cleveland State, Dec. 1. The Rockets hold a 2-2 overall record to start the 2020-21 season.
UT has four players averaging double-digit scoring, paced by both Setric Millner Jr. and Ryan Rollins who are recording 15.5 points per game. They are followed by Marreon Jackson (15.0) and Spencer Littleson (12.5), respectively. Littleson leads the team with 14 triples and shoots 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from deep, while Millner Jr. is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game.
The Rockets average 70.5 points per game and are shooting 38.4 percent from the floor (93-of-242), while draining 11.3 three-pointers per contest. On the defensive side, Toledo is holding its opponents to 62.8 points per game with a 22.2 shooting percentage from the three-point line.
LAST TIME VS. TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan dropped the regular-season finale at Toledo 79-57, March 6, 2020, inside UT's Savage Arena. The Rockets held the Eagles to two 3-pointers during the second half.
Two Eagles finished the evening with double-figures in then-juniors Thomas Binelli and Yeikson Montero contributed 12 points each. Binelli drained four triples, while Montero went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied two steals.
Then-redshirt senior Boubacar Toure grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while then-junior Darion Spottsville dished out five assists.
Eastern Michigan shot 40.7 percent from the field (22-of-54), while the Rockets posted the same field goal percentage on 24-of-59 shooting. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent compared to Toledo's 37 percent clip. The Rockets held the rebound advantage over the Eagles at 43-28, but EMU posted more points in the paint (28-22) and off the bench (21-2).
LAST TIME AT HOME VS. TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan earned its first Mid-American Conference win of the 2019-20 season with a 61-57 victory over Toledo, Feb. 1, 2020 inside the Convocation Center. The Eagles have captured each of their last three home meetings against the Rockets.
Then-junior Yeikson Montero scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the second half, and also set personal bests with nine field goals and five three-pointers. He also contributed a pair of steals, a rebound, and a block.
Shining in the post was then-redshirt senior Boubacar Toure, who scored 12 points while pulling down 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and 16th as an Eagle. From there, then-redshirt junior Ty Groce added 10 points, three boards, and three assists, while then-junior Darion Spottsville contributed five points and led the Green and White with four steals and four helpers.
EMU shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor during the second half and 46 percent (23-of-50) overall, while holding UT to a 37.5 percent efficiency. The hosts also bested the Rockets in points in the paint (24-10), steals (10-3), rebounds (33-30), and blocks (3-0).
ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO: Friday's game marks the 110th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Toledo. EMU has met UT the third-most out of any school in the Mid-American Conference with the series dating back to the 1917-18 season (103 years). The Green and White have collided with Central Michigan the most with 197 matchups, followed by Western Michigan with 113.
The Eagles trail in the all-time series at 55-54 as the Rockets posted a 79-57 victory March 6, 2020 to close the 2019-20 regular-season.
Eastern and Toledo are tied at 5-5 over the last 10 games and are 19-31 in Toledo. Eastern Michigan is 10-12 in the Rob Murphy era.
ALL-TIME VS. MAC: The Green and White holds a 343-434 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (196 times), while facing Western Michigan 113 times and Toledo 108 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 76-82 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will continue its two-game homestand as the Eagles host Adrian College Wednesday, Dec. 9, inside the Convocation Center. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m.
The Eagles lead the all-time series, 44-12, with the last meeting resulting in EMU defeating the Bulldogs, 85-54, on Dec. 7, 1966.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – #MACtion is back as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team opens the 2020-21 Mid-American Conference slate at home against the University of Toledo, Dec. 4. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
The Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MAC) put up a valiant fight in their season opener at No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25, as EMU fell to the Spartans, 83-67. Toledo (2-2, 0-0 MAC) has already played four non-conference games and holds a 2-2 overall record. The Rockets are coming off a 70-61 victory over Cleveland State, Dec. 1.
Although fans will not be able to attend the contest, there is an opportunity to catch the game on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley providing the play-by-play and Matt Dery serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will also air the contest with Tom Helmer and Greg Steiner on the call. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com/livestats or on Twitter by following @EMU_MBB.
#MACtion IS BACK: The 2020-21 season marks the 47th year Eastern Michigan will play in the Mid-American Conference. Having been a member of the Cleveland-based conference since the 1974-75 season, the Green and White have tallied a 346-437 overall MAC record.
Friday's contest against Toledo will begin EMU's 20-game conference schedule and marks the 783th Mid-American Conference game in Eastern Michigan history. This year is different as the conference will return to its original state with no divisions. For the MAC Tournament, only the top-eight teams will advance to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Each team will play at least nine of the MAC's 11 institutions twice. The Green and White will play each member of the West Division twice, and four East Division teams (Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, and Miami) twice.
EMU IN MAC OPENERS: The Green and White will begin its 47th year in the Mid-American Conference Friday, Dec. 4, against Toledo inside the Convocation Center. Since the 1974-75 season, Eastern holds a 18-28 mark in MAC openers and a 10-11 record in conference-opening contests in Ypsilanti.
Under Head Coach Rob Murphy, the Eagles are 75-81 in league play and hold a 4-5 record in MAC openers.
AMONG THE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks 33rd in the nation with a 1.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Eagles rank first in the league and sixth in the NCAA with the fewest turnovers at nine, while Butler leads the nation at six. EMU continues to be a defense to be reckoned with as it forced 18 turnovers at Michigan State, Nov. 25, which is good for first in the league and 51st among Division I programs.
Individually, redshirt senior Ty Groce leads the conference and ranks 11th in the country with 3.0 blocks per game, while senior Yeikson Montero's 63.6 field-goal percentage lands him at second in the MAC. Classmate Darion Spottsville is tied with four student-athletes in the conference with a perfect free-throw percentage after he went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe at MSU, Nov. 25.
100th CAREER GAME: Friday's game against Toledo will mark redshirt senior Ty Groce's 100th career game in a Eastern Michigan uniform. Over his career, the Ypsilanti Mich. native is averaging 6.8 points per game and was the leading scorer for the Eagles last season (11.5 ppg). Groce is shooting a 40.9 career field goal percentage and is inching his way into the EMU record books in career steals (113). The forward needs 12 more swipes to rank 10th in program history.
TROPHY HUNTING: Eastern Michigan will search for its first conference championship since 1998 as it enters league play against Toledo, Dec. 4. That year, the Eagles captured the regular-season and tournament titles to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. Overall, EMU has claimed four regular-season and tournament crowns (1988, 1991, 1996, 1998), along with one MAC West title (2012). The Green and White hold a 3-4 record in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a historic trip to the "Sweet 16" in 1991.
COMBINED WINS: Eastern Michigan men's basketball has tallied 203 victories in the Convocation Center since it opened for the 1998-99 season. The Eagles notched their 200th win in the Convo with a 66-62 win over Buffalo, Feb. 4, 2020.
The Convocation Center's dedication game was on Dec. 9, 1998 with a men's basketball game against the University of Michigan in front of a crowd of 7,647 - the largest attendance since its opening. The EMU men's and women's basketball programs have a combined 393 victories inside the Convo - the women's program has accumulated 190 wins since 1998-99.
EXECUTING OFF TURNOVERS: Eastern Michigan's defense was in full force despite the 83-67 loss to No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25. The Eagles capitalized off 18 Spartan turnovers by scoring 29 points off those takeaways.
EMU ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and 49th in the NCAA with 18.0 turnovers forced per game, and the Eagles' +9.0 turnover margin is good for second in the conference and 14th among Division I programs.
SHARING THE WEALTH: Despite not having a full team at Michigan State, Nov. 25, six of the seven Eagles who played scored five-plus points in a 83-76 loss to the Spartans. Senior Yeikson Montero led EMU with 16 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, while redshirt senior Ty Groce and classmate Darion Spottsville added 14 and 12, respectively. Making their EMU debuts, redshirt junior Miles Gibson notched 11 points, and sophomore Drew Lowder and junior Bryce McBride tallied 9 and 5, respectively.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: EMU has won 109 of 142 games at home during the Rob Murphy era, and started last season 6-0 at the Convocation Center. Under coach Murphy, the Eagles have opened the season 6-0 at home in six of his first nine seasons as head coach. EMU posted a 7-0 start in the Convo in three seasons (2014-15; 2016-17; 2017-18).
PROTECTING THE BALL: Eastern Michigan started the 2020-21 season protecting the rock as the Eagles only committed nine turnovers in a 83-76 loss to No. 13 Michigan State, Nov. 25. Out of the seven EMU student-athletes who played at MSU, four of them committed one turnover or less.
The Green and White's nine takeaways rank second in the Mid-American Conference and 14th in the NCAA, while EMU's +9.0 turnover margin is also good for second in the MAC and 14th in the country.
MAKING THEIR DEBUT: Three Eagles suited up for the first time in the Green and White at Michigan State, Nov. 25 - redshirt junior Miles Gibson, junior Bryce McBride, and sophomore Drew Lowder.
Gibson played 31 minutes and recorded a double-figure scoring performance with 11 points. The Richmond, Va. native grabbed four rebounds and added a steal. McBride was the team's assist leader at MSU with four helpers, while he posted five points with three boards and two steals. Lowder tallied nine points to go along with three dimes, two steals, and two rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan dropped an non-conference affair, 83-67, at No. 13/12 Michigan State, Nov. 25, inside the Breslin Center to open the 2020-21 season. EMU finished the contest on an 8-4 scoring run, showcased by a redshirt junior Miles Gibson fastbreak layup, but the Spartans prevailed with an 83-67 victory.
Senior Yeikson Montero led the Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and posted a team-high six rebounds. Redshirt senior Ty Groce added 14 points and tied a career-best with three blocks, while senior Darion Spottsville and Gibson recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Bryce McBride notched four assists in his Division I debut, while sophomore Chris James grabbed five rebounds.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 40.6 field-goal percentage (26-of-64), while the Spartan shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55). The Eagles forced 18 MSU turnovers and capitalized with 29 points, while EMU committed just nine giveaways. Eastern held the steal advantage as well, at 8-2. However, MSU pulled down 37 rebounds to Eastern's 29.
SCOUTING TOLEDO: Led by 11th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo enters Friday's game coming off a 70-61 victory over Cleveland State, Dec. 1. The Rockets hold a 2-2 overall record to start the 2020-21 season.
UT has four players averaging double-digit scoring, paced by both Setric Millner Jr. and Ryan Rollins who are recording 15.5 points per game. They are followed by Marreon Jackson (15.0) and Spencer Littleson (12.5), respectively. Littleson leads the team with 14 triples and shoots 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from deep, while Millner Jr. is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game.
The Rockets average 70.5 points per game and are shooting 38.4 percent from the floor (93-of-242), while draining 11.3 three-pointers per contest. On the defensive side, Toledo is holding its opponents to 62.8 points per game with a 22.2 shooting percentage from the three-point line.
LAST TIME VS. TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan dropped the regular-season finale at Toledo 79-57, March 6, 2020, inside UT's Savage Arena. The Rockets held the Eagles to two 3-pointers during the second half.
Two Eagles finished the evening with double-figures in then-juniors Thomas Binelli and Yeikson Montero contributed 12 points each. Binelli drained four triples, while Montero went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied two steals.
Then-redshirt senior Boubacar Toure grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while then-junior Darion Spottsville dished out five assists.
Eastern Michigan shot 40.7 percent from the field (22-of-54), while the Rockets posted the same field goal percentage on 24-of-59 shooting. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent compared to Toledo's 37 percent clip. The Rockets held the rebound advantage over the Eagles at 43-28, but EMU posted more points in the paint (28-22) and off the bench (21-2).
LAST TIME AT HOME VS. TOLEDO: Eastern Michigan earned its first Mid-American Conference win of the 2019-20 season with a 61-57 victory over Toledo, Feb. 1, 2020 inside the Convocation Center. The Eagles have captured each of their last three home meetings against the Rockets.
Then-junior Yeikson Montero scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the second half, and also set personal bests with nine field goals and five three-pointers. He also contributed a pair of steals, a rebound, and a block.
Shining in the post was then-redshirt senior Boubacar Toure, who scored 12 points while pulling down 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and 16th as an Eagle. From there, then-redshirt junior Ty Groce added 10 points, three boards, and three assists, while then-junior Darion Spottsville contributed five points and led the Green and White with four steals and four helpers.
EMU shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor during the second half and 46 percent (23-of-50) overall, while holding UT to a 37.5 percent efficiency. The hosts also bested the Rockets in points in the paint (24-10), steals (10-3), rebounds (33-30), and blocks (3-0).
ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO: Friday's game marks the 110th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Toledo. EMU has met UT the third-most out of any school in the Mid-American Conference with the series dating back to the 1917-18 season (103 years). The Green and White have collided with Central Michigan the most with 197 matchups, followed by Western Michigan with 113.
The Eagles trail in the all-time series at 55-54 as the Rockets posted a 79-57 victory March 6, 2020 to close the 2019-20 regular-season.
Eastern and Toledo are tied at 5-5 over the last 10 games and are 19-31 in Toledo. Eastern Michigan is 10-12 in the Rob Murphy era.
ALL-TIME VS. MAC: The Green and White holds a 343-434 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (196 times), while facing Western Michigan 113 times and Toledo 108 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 76-82 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will continue its two-game homestand as the Eagles host Adrian College Wednesday, Dec. 9, inside the Convocation Center. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m.
The Eagles lead the all-time series, 44-12, with the last meeting resulting in EMU defeating the Bulldogs, 85-54, on Dec. 7, 1966.
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