Men's Basketball Concludes Non-conference Slate Against Calvin Thursday

Men's Basketball vs. Calvin
Date	Thursday, Jan. 14 \| 7 p.m. ET
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Program
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics
Attendance Information	No general public attendance will be allowed

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns home to host non-conference opponent Calvin University Thursday, Jan. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:04 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
   EMU (3-4, 1-3 MAC) dropped a Mid-American Conference affair to rival Toledo, 96-63, inside UT's Savage Arena, Jan. 12. Calvin (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) has not played a game during the 2020-21 season yet, but finished with a 15-11 overall record last season with a 9-5 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association mark.
   Fans can catch the action on ESPN3, with Ryan Wooley providing the play-by-play and Greg Steiner serving as the analyst. 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 (11.1), turnovers forced (18.6), and turnover margin (+6.6). The Eagles' 11.1 swipes per contest ranks second in the NCAA, while EMU's +6.6 TO margin and 18.6 TO's forced are good for sixth and 10th in the nation, respectively.
   Individually, senior Yeikson Montero leads the MAC and ranks 13th in the country in steals per game (2.6), while redshirt junior Bryce McBride is second in the conference and 25th in the nation with 2.4 swipes a game. Additionally, redshirt senior Ty Groce is tied for first in both blocks per game (1.6) 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 seven games either postponed, cancelled, and/or rescheduled this year: at Valparaiso (cancelled), vs. Olivet (rescheduled), vs. Central Michigan (rescheduled), at Buffalo (rescheduled), vs. Kent State (postponed), vs. Akron (rescheduled) and vs. Miami (time reschedule). Throughout the conference, 13 games have been either cancelled or postponed with 10 of those being league games.

LOWDER CAREER-DAY: Sophomore newcomer Drew Lowder 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 10.2 points per game. The sophomore ranks 11th in the Mid-American Conference averaging 2.2 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. 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.

80 IS NOT THE MAGIC NUMBER: There are many factors that go into the result of a game, but allowing opponents to score 80-plus points is kryptonite for the Green and White. The Eagles are 0-4 this season when allowing 80-or-more points in a game. In the Rob Murphy era (2011-present), EMU is 8-45 when giving up 80+ points.
   However, when Eastern Michigan scores more than 80 points, it is 2-0 this season and 9-10 since Murphy took the helm of the program.

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.

SETTLING IN: Junior college transfer Bryce McBride from Dyersburg Community College (Tenn.) is settling in well in Ypsilanti, averaging 14.1 points per game on 29-of-70 (.414) shooting from the field, and is 9-of-33 (.273) from beyond the arc, while averaging 30.9 minutes a game. The newcomer leads the team in assists with 22 and second in steals with 17. The junior's 2.4 steals per game is good for second in the Mid-American Conference and 30th in the nation.
   McBride is currently third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1), and 12th in assists per game (3.1). The Jackson, Tenn. native has tallied a career-high four assists three times this season.

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 have 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.

SCOUTING CALVIN: Led by second-year head coach Bill Sall, Calvin enters Thursday's game having not played a game during the 2020-21 season. The Knights finished last season with a 15-11 overall record and a 9-5 conference mark.
   Playing the Eagles will mark the third time Calvin has faced a Mid-American Conference opponent in its 101-year history of men's basketball, and the first time CC will compete against EMU.
   Calvin returns two of its returning starters from a year ago in Thad Shymanski and Emmett Warners who averaged 15.0 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Shymanski posted a 45.9 field-goal percentage last season, while Warners led the team with 1.1 blocks per game. Alex Bos ranked second on the team with 8.5 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
   The Knights averaged 76.8 points per game last year and shot 43.8 percent from the field. Calvin ranked second in Division III in free throw percentage at 80.1 with East Texas Baptist leading the nation at 80.6 percent. Additionally, Calvin is 240-68 (77.9 percent) when it connects on six-or-more three pointers in a game over the last 11 year. Last season, the Knight connected on six-or-more triples in 24 of its 26 games.

ALL-TIME VS. MIAA: The Green and White holds a 189-105 program mark against Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) teams. Eastern has played Adrian the most at 57 times, while facing Alma and Albion 56 and 53 times, respectively.
The Eagles have played seven of the eight MIAA programs that sponsor men's basketball, with the best records against Adrian (45-12), and Albion (38-15). For Thursday's game, EMU will add another MIAA team to its opponent list when it faces Calvin for the first time in program history.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: EMU has won 109-of-143 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).

COMBINED WINS: Eastern Michigan men's basketball has tallied 206 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 396 victories inside the Convo - the women's program has accumulated 190 wins since 1998-99.
   On the anniversary of the Convo dedication, Dec. 9, 2020, Eastern put up the largest margin of victory (+60) for a men's squad inside the building, trouncing Adrian College, 95-35.

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 11.1 steals per game, which leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks second in the NCAA.
   Senior Yeikson Montero leads the team with 18 steals, (2.6 spg), while junior Bryce McBride and senior Ty Groce have tallied 17 and 12, respectively. Montero's 2.6 steals per game ranks first in the MAC and 13th nationally.

PROTECTING THE RIM: Eastern Michigan ranks third in the Mid-American Conference averaging 3.14 blocks per game (22 total) through the first seven games this season. The Eagles totaled a season-high eight blocks in a 95-35 win over Adrian, Dec. 9.
   Redshirt senior Ty Groce is tied for first in the MAC averaging 1.6 blocks per game (11 total), which is also good for 81st in the NCAA. The forward has recorded at least one block in six of the seven games 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 travel north to Mid-American Conference and in-state rival Central Michigan Saturday, Jan. 16. Tipoff from McGuirk Arena is slated for 4:30 p.m.
   The Eagles and the Chippewas clashed earlier this season, Dec. 29, with CMU taking home the 87-60 victory in game one of the 2020-21 season series.

Men's Basketball Concludes Non-conference Slate Against Calvin Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Miles Gibson

Ty Groce

Chris James

Drew Lowder

Bryce McBride

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Axel Okongo

Darion Spottsville

Eastern Michigan Athletics