Men's Hoops Travels to Toledo for MAC Rematch Tuesday

Men's Basketball at Toledo
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 12 \| 7 p.m. ET
Venue	Toledo, Ohio \| Savage Arena
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1FM) \| TuneIn Radio \| Podcast
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

TOLEDO, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will hit the road for the second time during the 2020-21 season when the Eagles travel 50 miles on US-23 to take on the University of Toledo Tuesday, Jan. 12. The Mid-American Conference mid-week showdown is slated to start at 7 p.m. inside UT's Savage Arena.
   EMU (3-3, 1-2 MAC) picked up its first MAC victory of the season when it stunned Akron, 71-59, Jan. 9. Toledo (10-3, 5-0 MAC) remains undefeated in conference play and has won seven straight. Tuesday's game will be a rematch between the Eagles and Rockets, with Toledo taking home the 91-74 victory, Dec. 4.
   Fans can catch the action on ESPN3, with Mason Lowry providing the play-by-play and Rhett Boyd serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will also broadcast the game with Tom Helmer on the call. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com/livestats or on Twitter by following @EMU_MBB.

AMONG THE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan leads the Mid-American Conference in three statistical categories: steals per game (12.0), turnovers forced (20.0), and turnover margin (+7.7). The Eagles' 12.0 swipes per contest and +7.4 TO margin both rank second in the NCAA, while EMU's 20.0 TO's forced are good for fifth in the nation.
   Individually, senior Yeikson Montero leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the country in steals per game (2.8), while redshirt junior Bryce McBride is second in the conference and 12th in the nation with 2.7 swipes a game. Additionally, redshirt senior Ty Groce ranks first in the league in both blocks per game (1.8) and total blocks (11).

FIRST MAC WIN: Eastern Michigan returned to the win column, as the Eagle posted a 71-59 victory over Akron, Jan. 9. The win was EMU's first Mid-American Conference victory of the 2020-21 season. The Green and White held the Zips to 59 points, a season-low for UA. Additionally, the EMU defense forced 17 Akron turnovers which led to 17 Green and White points.

COVID WOES: It's no secret that the schedule is always up in the air due to COVID-19 protocols and EMU has fallen victim to game postponements and cancellations during the 2020-21 season. The Eagles have had six games either postponed, cancelled, and/or rescheduled this year: at Valparaiso (cancelled), vs. Olivet (rescheduled), vs. Central Michigan (rescheduled), at Buffalo (postponed), vs. Kent State (postponed), and vs. Akron (rescheduled). Throughout the conference, 12 games have been either cancelled or postponed with nine of those being league games.

LOWDER CAREER-DAY: Sophomore newcomer Drew Lowder broke out of his shell and posted a career-day against Akron, Jan. 9. The Jackson, Mich. native paced the Eagles with a career-best 18 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field. The guard led the Green and White with three triples and added three assists in nearly 29 minutes of play.
   Lowder has scored in double-figures twice this year and is averaging 10.4 points per game. The sophomore ranks 12th in the Mid-American Conference averaging 2.0 three-pointers per game.

SHARING THE WEALTH: Eastern Michigan has shown that there is not a clear leading scorer, and are sharing the point wealth this year. The Eagles have had three games with at least five players scoring in double-figures. Most recently against Akron, Jan. 9, all five EMU starters scored in double-figures, as sophomore Drew Lowder led with a career-high 18 points. Senior Yeikson Montero recorded his fifth double-digit scoring performance with 14 points, while redshirt senior Ty Groce, junior Bryce McBride, and senior Noah Morgan added 10 points apiece, respectively.
   Five Eagles scored in double-digits in the 94-65 victory over Olivet College, Dec. 27. Montero led the Green and White with a season-high 25 points, while McBride recorded his fourth-straight double-figure scoring performance with 17 points. Lowder and senior Darion Spottsville each added 11 points, and sophomore Chris James scored 10, respectively.

HOLD 'EM TO 60-OR-LESS: When holding opponents to 60 points-or-less, Eastern Michigan has better luck in the win column. The Eagles are 3-0 during the 2020-21 campaign when holding their opponents under the 60-point plateau. Additionally, the Green and White has tallied an impressive 87-13 mark during the Rob Murphy era (2011-present) when keeping its competition below 60 points.

SHUTTING DOWN MR. AKRON: Heading into the game against Akron, Jan. 9, UA's Loren Cristian Jackson led the Mid-American Conference averaging 24.5 points per game, which ranked fourth in the nation. Eastern Michigan's tenacious defense held the senior to 10 points, two assists, and four turnovers in 32 minutes of play.
   The Eagles' zone defense was too much for the Zips, as UA committed 17 turnovers and shot 25 percent (7-of-28) from the three-point line. Additionally, Akron's 59 points scored was a season-low for the Zips.

BLOCK PARTY: Five Eagles recorded at least one block in the 71-59 victory over Akron, Jan. 9. Redshirt senior Ty Groce, seniors Yeikson Montero and Noah Morgan, redshirt Miles Gibson, and junior Bryce McBride each added a block against the Zips.
   The Eagles have posted two games during the 2020-21 season with at least three players having recorded one block. The first occurrence was against Adrian, Dec. 9, when Groce posted a career-high 4 blocks, and senior Axel Okongo and sophomore Chris James added two each, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan captured its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season after stunning Akron, 71-59, Jan. 9. The Eagles snapped the Zips' three-game win streak, while holding UA's Loren Crisitan Jackson to just 10 points. This was also EMU's first win over Akron since the 2017-18 season when the Eagles swept the Zips.
   All five EMU starters scored in double-figures as sophomore Drew Lowder paced all scorers with a career-high 18 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field, and hitting another career-best with 3-of-6 (.500) shooting from deep. Senior Yeikson Montero followed close behind recording 14 points of his own, paired with six rebounds and two steals. Junior Bryce McBride was another strong contributor, registering 10 points towards the Eagles' effort. The Tennessee native shot 4-of-5 from the field and wrangled in three rebounds, matching his career-high. In addition, redshirt senior Ty Groce and classmate Noah Morgan also added 10 points apiece.
   The Green and White shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field, compared to the Zips' 42.0 efficiency (21-of-50). Both squads struggled from the three point line as the Eagles posted a 26.1 percent clip (6-of-23), while UA went 7-of-28 (25.0 percent). EMU held the scoring advantages in fast break points (17-14), points off turnovers (17-12), and points in the paint (34-24). Akron outrebounded EMU, 35-31, and posted a 20-9 edge in points off the bench.

ALL-TIME VS. TOLEDO: Friday's game marks the 111th 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 198 matchups, followed by Western Michigan with 113.
   The Eagles trail in the all-time series at 56-54, as the Rockets took the first game of the 2020-21 season series with a 91-74 victory in the Mid-American Conference opener. Toledo has also won the last two meetings.
   Toledo holds the 4-6 advantage over the last 10 games and has won three of the last four contests. The Eagles are 19-31 inside UT's Savage Arena and are 10-13 in the Rob Murphy era.

SCOUTING TOLEDO: Led by 11th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo enters Tuesday's game on a seven-game winning streak. The Rockets posted a 95-78 against Ohio, Jan. 8. UT holds a 10-3 overall record with a 5-0 start in Mid-American Conference play.
   UT has four players averaging double-digit scoring, paced by Marreon Jackson who is averaging 16.2 points per game. Ryan Rollins follows with 14.4 points a game, while Setric Millner Jr. and Spencer Littleson are adding 13.7 and 12.6, respectively. Millner Jr. is grabbing a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game, while Jackson has dished out 65 assists. Littleson is shooting 48.3 percent (56-of-116) from the field and leads the team with a 46.7 clip (43-of-92) from beyond the arc.
   The Rockets average 77.1 per game and are shooting 43.1 percent (339-of-786) from the field, while draining a league-best 10.5 triples per game. On the defensive side, Toledo is holding its opponents to 68.5 points per game with a 28.3 shooting percentage from the three-point line.

TOLEDO IN THE POLLS: Toledo ranks 12th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll which was announced Jan. 4. The Rockets received 373 votes, which is the highest among Mid-American Conference teams. UT is among six MAC teams who have received votes, but is one of two teams in the league who are ranked.

Team	Ranking	Points
Toledo	12th	373
Bowling Green	14th	317
Ohio	N/A	28
Akron	N/A	24
Buffalo	N/A	17
Kent State	N/A	9

LAST TIME AT SAVAGE: 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).

ALL-TIME VS. THE MAC: The Green and White holds a 347-439 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (199 times), while facing Western Michigan 113 times and Toledo 109 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 76-84 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.

STEAL MACHINES: Eastern Michigan is known for their tenacious defense and giving opponents fits and the 2020-21 season is no different. The Eagles are averaging 12.0 steals per game, which leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks second in the NCAA.
   Senior Yeikson Montero leads the team with 17 steals, (2.8 spg), while junior Bryce McBride and senior Ty Groce have tallied 16 and 11, respectively. Montero's 2.8 steals per game ranks first in the MAC and seventh nationally.

PROTECTING THE RIM: Eastern Michigan ranks third in the Mid-American Conference averaging 3.50 blocks per game (21 total) through the first six games this season. The Eagles totaled a season-high eight blocks in a 95-35 win over Adrian, Dec. 9.
   Redshirt senior Ty Groce leads the MAC averaging 1.8 blocks per game (11 total), which is also good for 56th in the NCAA. The forward has recorded at least one block in every game this year, including two games with 3-or-more swats. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native recorded a career-high four blocks against the Bulldogs, Dec. 9.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern will return to Ypsilanti for a mid-week non-conference game against Calvin College, Jan. 14. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Binelli

Miles Gibson

Ty Groce

Chris James

Drew Lowder

Bryce McBride

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Axel Okongo

Darion Spottsville

Boubacar Toure

Eastern Michigan Athletics