Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, January 21
Buffalo, N.Y.
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
Buffalo
Men's Basketball Heads to Buffalo Thursday for MAC Showdown
1/20/2021 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles defeated the Bulls last season, 66-62
| Men's Basketball at Buffalo | |
| Date | Thursday, Jan. 21 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Buffalo, N.Y. | Alumni Arena |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | ESPN+ |
| Listen | WEMU (89.1FM) | TuneIn Radio | Podcast |
| @EMU_MBB | @EMUAthletics | |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will continue Mid-American Conference play on the road when the Eagles take on the University at Buffalo Thursday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside UB's Alumni Arena.
EMU (4-5, 1-4 MAC) dropped a conference affair to in-state rival Central Michigan, 75-64, Jan. 16. UB (5-5, 3-3 MAC) is on a two-game losing streak after falling to Kent State, 84-81, Jan. 19.
Fans can catch the action on ESPN+, with UB's Paul Peck providing the play-by-play, and Matt Mattia 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 (10.0), turnovers forced (17.7), and turnover margin (+4.4). The Eagles' 10.0 swipes per contest ranks fifth in the NCAA. Eastern Kentucky ranks first in the nation with 12.1 steals per game, with VCU, Abilene Christian and St. John's (NY) following with 11.5, 10.5, and 10.1, respectively. Additionally, EMU's 17.7 TO's forced and +4.4 TO margin are good for 16th and 17th among Division I programs, respectively.
Individually, senior Yeikson Montero leads the MAC and ranks 17th in the country in steals per game (2.4). Redshirt junior Bryce McBride is third in the league averaging 2.1 swipes per game, which is good for 50th in the nation. Additionally, redshirt senior Ty Groce ranks third in the MAC in total blocks (12).
THE GREAT SCHEDULING PUZZLE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many teams have had to shuffle their schedules around, including Eastern Michigan. EMU will still host Miami Saturday, Jan. 23, but will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. instead of noon. The contests against Kent State (Jan. 2) and Western Michigan (Jan. 19) have not been rescheduled yet.
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 cancelations during the 2020-21 season. The Eagles have had eight games either postponed, canceled, and/or rescheduled this year: at Valparaiso (canceled), vs. Olivet (rescheduled), vs. Central Michigan (rescheduled), at Buffalo (rescheduled), vs. Kent State (postponed), vs. Akron (rescheduled), vs. Miami (time rescheduled), and vs. Western Michigan (postponed). Throughout the conference, 15 games have been either canceled or postponed, with 12 of those being league games.
GOING FOR 100: Eastern Michigan was perfect from the free throw line, going 13-for-13 at Central Michigan, Jan. 16. It was the first time that the Eagles shot 100 percent from the charity stripe since 2013. EMU last did it when it went 4-of-4 at Kentucky, Jan. 2, 2013.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Eastern Michigan Head Coach Rob Murphy has found some consistency in the Eagles' lineup as four players have started five-or-more games. Redshirt senior Ty Groce, senior Yeikson Montero, and junior Bryce McBride have made the starting lineup in all nine games played this season, while sophomore Drew Lowder has started in five. Those four Eagles have scored a combined 428 points out of EMU's 655 total this year, which comes up to 65.3 percent.
Montero leads the team averaging 13.7 points per game, while Groce and McBride are adding 13.6 and 13.0, respectively. Lowder is also tallying 8.6 points per contest.
GETTING TO THE LINE: Junior Bryce McBride has been able to get himself to the free throw line throughout the first nine games of the season. The Jackson, Tenn. native is shooting 80.0 percent from the charity stripe, sinking 44-of-55 attempts. His free throw percentage ranks ninth in the Mid-American Conference, while his 44 makes is good for sixth. Additionally, his 55 attempts almost doubles other Eagles this season, as the next highest free throw attempts comes from redshirt senior Ty Groce with 29.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: Two Eagles recorded double-doubles in EMU's 75-64 loss at Central Michigan, Jan. 16 in senior Yeikson Montero and redshirt junior Miles Gibson. Montero led the team with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, which was good for his second career double-double. Gibson tallied his third career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The game against CMU was the third time during the 2020-21 season that two Eagles recorded a double-double in a game. The last time EMU has two players notch double-doubles three times in a season was during the 2009-10 season. During the 2017-18 season, Eastern has had two Eagles record double-doubles in a game four times, which is the most since the 1998-99 campaign.
GIBSON GETS ANOTHER: Redshirt junior Miles Gibson is in his first year donning the Green and White and has tallied three double-doubles this season. The Richmond, Va. native recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of play against Central Michigan, Jan. 16.
The guard/forward posted his first and second double-doubles of the 2020-21 season versus Adrian, Dec. 9 and Calvin, Jan. 14. Gibson posted 13 points and a career-high 13 boards against the Bulldogs, then tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds versus the Knights. Gibson leads the team with three double-doubles, which is tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.
GETTING THAT DUB-DUB: Redshirt senior Ty Groce recorded his third career double-double against Calvin, Jan. 14, as he scored a team-best 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Groce shot 8-of-11 from the field and dished out an assist.
The Ypsilanti native notched his first double-double of the 2020-21 season versus in-state rival Central Michigan, Dec. 29. The forward went 7-of-10 from the floor to score 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. This was Groce's second double-double against the Chippewas, as he tallied his first career with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Feb. 11, 2020.
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 4-0 during the 2020-21 campaign when holding their opponents under the 60-point plateau. Additionally, the Green and White has tallied an impressive 88-13 mark during the Rob Murphy era (2011-present) when keeping its competition below 60 points.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan fell, 75-64, to in-state rival Central Michigan, Jan. 16, inside CMU's McGuirk Arena. Eastern shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line against the Chippewas. This is the first the Eagles shot 100 percent from the charity stripe since 2013 when EMU went 4-of-4 at Kentucky, Jan. 2, 2013.
Senior Yeikson Montero led the Eagles with his second career double-double with 19 points and a career-best 14 rebounds to go with two steals. Redshirt junior Miles Gibson also notched a double-double, the third of his career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while redshirt senior Ty Groce and fellow classmate Noah Morgan added 10 points each.
The Eagles shot 36.4 percent from the field (24-of-66) and struggled from beyond the arc, shooting a 12.5 percent clip. CMU went 29-of-62 (46.8 percent) from the field and shot 40 percent (8-of-20) from deep. Eastern outscored the Chippewas in the paint (42-36), second chance points (19-15), and bench points (20-15). But, CMU posted the advantage in points off turnovers (27-10) and fast break points (17-2). The Green and White also won the rebounding battle, 47-37.
ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO: Thursday's game marks the 30th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. The Bulls hold the edge in the all-time series, 17-12, which began in 1971. EMU broke a UB five-game winning streak with a 66-62 victory, Feb. 4, 2020. That was the Eagles' first win over UB since the 2015-16 season when EMU topped the Bulls, 81-69, inside the Convocation Center, Jan. 12, 2016.
EMU is 3-10 in Buffalo, N.Y. and has only beaten the Bulls four times in the Rob Murphy era.
SCOUTING BUFFALO: Led by second-year head coach Jim Whitesell, Buffalo enters Thursday's game coming off a 84-81 loss at Kent State, Jan. 19. UB holds a 5-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Buffalo has four players who are averaging in double-figures. The Bulls are paced by Jeenathan Williams, who is averaging 19.7 points per game and is shooting 49.1 percent from the field (79-of-161). Josh Mballa is contributing nearly a double-double, averaging 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Jayvon Graves follows Mballa with 15.6 points per game and has tallied a team-best 40 assists and 17 steals, while Ronaldo Segu is adding 14.3 points, respectively.
The Bulls average 81.4 points per game and shoot 44.8 percent from the field (309-of-689). UB is averaging 7.3 triples per game and is dishing out 14.9 assists a game. On the defensive side, Buffalo is holding opponents to 76.0 points per game and a 27.1 percent opponent clip from beyond the arc (54-of-199).
ALL-TIME VS. THE MAC: The Green and White hold a 347-440 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (199 times), while facing Western Michigan 113 times and Toledo 111 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 77-85 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will return to the Convocation Center for a Mid-American Conference showdown with Miami Saturday, Jan. 23. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and is the second game of an EMU basketball doubleheader. The EMU women's team will play Ball State at 12 p.m.
EMU (4-5, 1-4 MAC) dropped a conference affair to in-state rival Central Michigan, 75-64, Jan. 16. UB (5-5, 3-3 MAC) is on a two-game losing streak after falling to Kent State, 84-81, Jan. 19.
Fans can catch the action on ESPN+, with UB's Paul Peck providing the play-by-play, and Matt Mattia 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 (10.0), turnovers forced (17.7), and turnover margin (+4.4). The Eagles' 10.0 swipes per contest ranks fifth in the NCAA. Eastern Kentucky ranks first in the nation with 12.1 steals per game, with VCU, Abilene Christian and St. John's (NY) following with 11.5, 10.5, and 10.1, respectively. Additionally, EMU's 17.7 TO's forced and +4.4 TO margin are good for 16th and 17th among Division I programs, respectively.
Individually, senior Yeikson Montero leads the MAC and ranks 17th in the country in steals per game (2.4). Redshirt junior Bryce McBride is third in the league averaging 2.1 swipes per game, which is good for 50th in the nation. Additionally, redshirt senior Ty Groce ranks third in the MAC in total blocks (12).
THE GREAT SCHEDULING PUZZLE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many teams have had to shuffle their schedules around, including Eastern Michigan. EMU will still host Miami Saturday, Jan. 23, but will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. instead of noon. The contests against Kent State (Jan. 2) and Western Michigan (Jan. 19) have not been rescheduled yet.
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 cancelations during the 2020-21 season. The Eagles have had eight games either postponed, canceled, and/or rescheduled this year: at Valparaiso (canceled), vs. Olivet (rescheduled), vs. Central Michigan (rescheduled), at Buffalo (rescheduled), vs. Kent State (postponed), vs. Akron (rescheduled), vs. Miami (time rescheduled), and vs. Western Michigan (postponed). Throughout the conference, 15 games have been either canceled or postponed, with 12 of those being league games.
GOING FOR 100: Eastern Michigan was perfect from the free throw line, going 13-for-13 at Central Michigan, Jan. 16. It was the first time that the Eagles shot 100 percent from the charity stripe since 2013. EMU last did it when it went 4-of-4 at Kentucky, Jan. 2, 2013.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY: Eastern Michigan Head Coach Rob Murphy has found some consistency in the Eagles' lineup as four players have started five-or-more games. Redshirt senior Ty Groce, senior Yeikson Montero, and junior Bryce McBride have made the starting lineup in all nine games played this season, while sophomore Drew Lowder has started in five. Those four Eagles have scored a combined 428 points out of EMU's 655 total this year, which comes up to 65.3 percent.
Montero leads the team averaging 13.7 points per game, while Groce and McBride are adding 13.6 and 13.0, respectively. Lowder is also tallying 8.6 points per contest.
GETTING TO THE LINE: Junior Bryce McBride has been able to get himself to the free throw line throughout the first nine games of the season. The Jackson, Tenn. native is shooting 80.0 percent from the charity stripe, sinking 44-of-55 attempts. His free throw percentage ranks ninth in the Mid-American Conference, while his 44 makes is good for sixth. Additionally, his 55 attempts almost doubles other Eagles this season, as the next highest free throw attempts comes from redshirt senior Ty Groce with 29.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: Two Eagles recorded double-doubles in EMU's 75-64 loss at Central Michigan, Jan. 16 in senior Yeikson Montero and redshirt junior Miles Gibson. Montero led the team with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, which was good for his second career double-double. Gibson tallied his third career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The game against CMU was the third time during the 2020-21 season that two Eagles recorded a double-double in a game. The last time EMU has two players notch double-doubles three times in a season was during the 2009-10 season. During the 2017-18 season, Eastern has had two Eagles record double-doubles in a game four times, which is the most since the 1998-99 campaign.
GIBSON GETS ANOTHER: Redshirt junior Miles Gibson is in his first year donning the Green and White and has tallied three double-doubles this season. The Richmond, Va. native recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of play against Central Michigan, Jan. 16.
The guard/forward posted his first and second double-doubles of the 2020-21 season versus Adrian, Dec. 9 and Calvin, Jan. 14. Gibson posted 13 points and a career-high 13 boards against the Bulldogs, then tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds versus the Knights. Gibson leads the team with three double-doubles, which is tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.
GETTING THAT DUB-DUB: Redshirt senior Ty Groce recorded his third career double-double against Calvin, Jan. 14, as he scored a team-best 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. Groce shot 8-of-11 from the field and dished out an assist.
The Ypsilanti native notched his first double-double of the 2020-21 season versus in-state rival Central Michigan, Dec. 29. The forward went 7-of-10 from the floor to score 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. This was Groce's second double-double against the Chippewas, as he tallied his first career with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Feb. 11, 2020.
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 4-0 during the 2020-21 campaign when holding their opponents under the 60-point plateau. Additionally, the Green and White has tallied an impressive 88-13 mark during the Rob Murphy era (2011-present) when keeping its competition below 60 points.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan fell, 75-64, to in-state rival Central Michigan, Jan. 16, inside CMU's McGuirk Arena. Eastern shot a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line against the Chippewas. This is the first the Eagles shot 100 percent from the charity stripe since 2013 when EMU went 4-of-4 at Kentucky, Jan. 2, 2013.
Senior Yeikson Montero led the Eagles with his second career double-double with 19 points and a career-best 14 rebounds to go with two steals. Redshirt junior Miles Gibson also notched a double-double, the third of his career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while redshirt senior Ty Groce and fellow classmate Noah Morgan added 10 points each.
The Eagles shot 36.4 percent from the field (24-of-66) and struggled from beyond the arc, shooting a 12.5 percent clip. CMU went 29-of-62 (46.8 percent) from the field and shot 40 percent (8-of-20) from deep. Eastern outscored the Chippewas in the paint (42-36), second chance points (19-15), and bench points (20-15). But, CMU posted the advantage in points off turnovers (27-10) and fast break points (17-2). The Green and White also won the rebounding battle, 47-37.
ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO: Thursday's game marks the 30th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. The Bulls hold the edge in the all-time series, 17-12, which began in 1971. EMU broke a UB five-game winning streak with a 66-62 victory, Feb. 4, 2020. That was the Eagles' first win over UB since the 2015-16 season when EMU topped the Bulls, 81-69, inside the Convocation Center, Jan. 12, 2016.
EMU is 3-10 in Buffalo, N.Y. and has only beaten the Bulls four times in the Rob Murphy era.
SCOUTING BUFFALO: Led by second-year head coach Jim Whitesell, Buffalo enters Thursday's game coming off a 84-81 loss at Kent State, Jan. 19. UB holds a 5-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Buffalo has four players who are averaging in double-figures. The Bulls are paced by Jeenathan Williams, who is averaging 19.7 points per game and is shooting 49.1 percent from the field (79-of-161). Josh Mballa is contributing nearly a double-double, averaging 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Jayvon Graves follows Mballa with 15.6 points per game and has tallied a team-best 40 assists and 17 steals, while Ronaldo Segu is adding 14.3 points, respectively.
The Bulls average 81.4 points per game and shoot 44.8 percent from the field (309-of-689). UB is averaging 7.3 triples per game and is dishing out 14.9 assists a game. On the defensive side, Buffalo is holding opponents to 76.0 points per game and a 27.1 percent opponent clip from beyond the arc (54-of-199).
ALL-TIME VS. THE MAC: The Green and White hold a 347-440 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Central Michigan the most (199 times), while facing Western Michigan 113 times and Toledo 111 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 77-85 MAC record and clinched a MAC West title in 2012.
ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will return to the Convocation Center for a Mid-American Conference showdown with Miami Saturday, Jan. 23. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and is the second game of an EMU basketball doubleheader. The EMU women's team will play Ball State at 12 p.m.
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