EMU Opens Home Campaign Friday, Nov. 12, vs. Illinois State

Men's Basketball vs. Illinois State
Date	Friday, Nov. 12 \| 6 p.m. ET
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Digital Game Program \| Media Guide.
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will play its first contest of the season inside the Convocation Center Friday, Nov. 12, when it welcomes Illinois State University to Ypsilanti. The game will be Head Coach Stan Heath's first home game at his alma mater. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan is still in search of its first victory of the year after nearly upsetting Indiana University, 68-62, on opening night. Meanwhile, Illinois State looks to remain unblemished following a 68-63 home triumph over UNC Wilmington, Nov. 9.
   Ryan Wooley and Reggie Butler will call the contest for ESPN3, while Dannie Rogers reports from the sideline. The game will also be aired on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app with veteran broadcaster Tom Helmer behind the microphone.

WELCOME HOME!: Friday's game marks a homecoming for EMU Head Coach Stan Heath as well as EMU Assistant Coach Bob Simon, who are both EMU graduates. A three-year letterwinner at EMU from 1985-87 and 17-year head coaching veteran, Heath returned to the Ypsilanti campus to become the program's 30th head coach on April 12, 2021.
   To celebrate the return of basketball, EMU has a series of giveaways that will only be available to those in attendance for the Nov. 12 home game.
   In addition to the in-game amenities and entertainment that fans are accustomed to, 1,000 attendees will also leave the game with a special gift; A commemorative, specially wrapped "Stan Heath Bar," will be given away upon exiting the Convocation Center. The treats do not end there. A total of 10 bars will contain special "golden tickets," that entitle the recipient to unique and exclusive Eastern Michigan experiences.

TOP-100: EMU is ranked in the NCAA's top-80 in the following statistical categories:

OFFENSE:
No. 45 in free throw percentage (81.2 percent)
No. 76 in highest 3-point percentage (39.1 percent)
No. 76 in 3-point field goals per game (9.0)

DEFENSE:
No. 12 in opponents offensive rebound percentage (12.5 percent)
No. 24 in defensive rebounds per game (35)
No. 25 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (16.7 percent)

THREES COMPANY: Three Eagles started the 2021-22 season shooting 40 percent-or-better from three. Senior captain Bryce McBride started heating up in the second half at Indiana, Nov. 9, shooting 66.6 percent overall (2-of-3) by hitting both in the second stanza. McBride ties for the fifth best three-point shooting percentage in the conference to kick off the year. Freshman Noah Farrakhan shot 42.8 percent from deep, hitting 3-of-7, all in the second half as well. Senior Thomas Binelli was also able to shoot 40 percent (3-of-5) from beyond-the-arc. Overall, the Eagles shot 39.1 percent on three pointers at Assembly Hall.

FARRAKHAN GOING FAR: Freshman transfer Noah Farrakhan continues to impress on the big stage, after leading Eastern in scoring over two exhibition games (Oakland-27, Goshen-18), he conducted a second half comeback that just fell short at Indiana, Nov. 9.
   Farrakhan scored two points in the first half, as the Eagles were down 17 at halftime. The freshman went on to score 16 points in the second half, including EMU's final 14 points. The Newark, N.J. native hit a three with 24 seconds left in the contest to bring the Green and White within two, 62-64, but were unable to hold off the Big Ten power and fell 62-68.

NATE THE GREAT: Senior transfer Nate Scott greatly assisted in the battle of the boards at Indiana, Nov. 9, leading the team with 10 rebounds. While this was the first official game for Scott as an Eagle, the double-digit boards performance is the first of his collegiate career, topping his career-high at Northern Illinois of nine. Furthermore, the senior had the fifth best individual rebounding effort in the Mid-American Conference on opening night.

WELCOME BACK BINELLI: Senior Thomas Binelli started the 2021-22 with a solid defensive performance and tied for first in the Mid-American Conference after snagging three steals at Indiana, Nov. 9, tying his career-high from Central Michigan, Feb. 2, 2020. Binelli recorded a career-best, two-blocks in the contest as well, good for second in the conference.

DON'T LET THEM GET GOING: Eastern Michigan played strong defensively against Indiana, Nov. 9, holding the Hoosiers to 16.7 percent from three. That ties for second in the Mid-American Conference and 25th in the nation after first-day action.

KEEP IT 100: The Eagles 84.3 percent free throw percentage Tuesday night at Indiana, Nov. 9, was helped in large part by two Eagles shooting 100 percent from the charity stripe. Junior Bryce McBride and senior Thomas Binelli were both perfect on their free throws, making 6-of-6 and 2-of-2, respectively.

PLAYIN' EM CLOSE: Eastern Michigan played Indiana down to the wire, Nov. 9 in Bloomington, Ill. EMU may have lost, 62-68, but they never backed off or quit and were down by as much as 21 early in the second half.
   Eastern came back in the second half to make it a one-possession game with 24 seconds left, 62-64. The opening-night performance was the closest the Eagles have played a Power Five team since losing in double overtime to Pittsburgh, 90-93, Nov. 11, 2016. Furthermore, it is the closest the Green and White have played a Big Ten team since beating Michigan 45-42, inside Crisler Center, Dec. 12, 2014.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE ILLINOIS STATE: Eastern Michigan is 10-21 against Illinois State all-time, but has won the most recent meeting between the two. The Eagles defeated the Redbirds 72-63, Dec. 4, 2007, at the Convocation Center.

ALL-TIME VERSUS MVC: The Eagles are 25-53 against Missouri Valley Conference teams all-time. EMU has played Illinois State the most, 31 times (10-21), followed by Southern Illinois who it has competed against 23 times (4-19). Eastern holds winning records over Evansville (2-1) and Loyola-Chicago (4-1).

IT'S BEEN AWHILE: The last time Eastern challenged Illinois State was Dec. 4, 2007, inside the Convocation Center. EMU came away with the 72-63 victory over ISU after being down 10 points at halftime.
   Number nine on the all-time scoring list (1,574), former Eagle Carlos Medlock led the charge for the Green and White, scoring 18 points. Teammate Justin Dobbins chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, as well as sealing the game by taking a charge on the defensive end.
   The EMU defense was the difference in the game, holding the Redbirds to just 32 percent (18-of-55) from the field. The Eagles won the battle of the boards, 39-36, and also connected on 26-of-31 free throws for 83.9 percent for the game.

NEW ADDRESS, HOPEFULLY SAME RESULT: Stan Heath will be coaching his first game on the Eastern Michigan sideline at the Convocation Center, but it will not be the first game for Heath in the venue. During the 2001-02 campaign, the then-Kent State bench boss led his team to an 82-62 victory, Jan 29, 2002, en route to an Elite Eight appearance.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: EMU has won 119-of-161 games at home and started last season 6-0 at the Convocation Center.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern will kick off the DePaul Blue Demon Classic by traveling to Highland Heights, Ky. to take on Northern Kentucky Thursday, Nov. 18. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Binelli

Noah Farrakhan

Bryce McBride

Nate Scott

Eastern Michigan Athletics