In-state Rival Central Michigan Comes to Town Tuesday, Jan. 11

Men's Basketball vs. Central Michigan
Date	Tuesday, Jan. 11 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| George Gervin GameAbove Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| 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 welcomes in-state rival Central Michigan University to the George Gervin GameAbove Center Tuesday, Jan. 11. The Mid-American Conference affair is scheduled for 7 p.m.
    Eastern (6-7, 1-0 MAC) was unable to hold onto an early lead against Ball State, Jan. 11, falling at home to the Cardinals, 78-72. Central (2-11, 1-1 MAC) is hoping to remain healthy after having two of its last three games postponed. CMU last hit the court Jan. 4 against Toledo, dropping an 82-54 contest before its tilt against Western was called off.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley (pxp), Justin Rose (analyst), and Kristy King (sideline) on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer on the call.

NINE, NINE: Eastern Michigan senior forward Nate Scott had a good outing against Ball State, Jan. 8, putting up nine points and nine boards, a game-high number. The rebounding total was the most for Scott since he grabbed 10 boards in EMU's season-opening game at Indiana, Nov. 9.
   Scott currently leads the team with a 5.8 rebounds per game average, and has recorded five-or-more boards in six games, including each of his last three outings.

FIRST START FOR DJ: Redshirt junior Derek Ballard Jr. earned his second-career start and first of the season when he took the floor with the first five against Ball State, Jan. 8. The Southfield, Mich. native's first start came against Olivet, Dec. 27, 2020. Ballard did not disappoint against the Cardinals, where he dropped a season-best seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a 1-of-2 mark from deep.

WE WANT IT MORE!: Eastern Michigan leads NCAA Division I basketball with an average of 79.5 possessions per game. Head Coach Stan Heath's uptempo Eagles have pushed that total to 87.2 possessions per game at home.
   Last season, EMU averaged 71.3 possessions per game, ranking 164th in Division I.

TRANSFERRING TO THE TOP: Freshman Noah Farrakhan tops the list for the top transfer scoring average increases across the Division I ranks. Farrakhan has notched a 14.9 point per game increase, while Western Michigan's Lamar Norman Jr. ranks second with a 13.9 ppg jump from a year ago.

TURNING IT DARI(ON): Senior guard Darion Spottsville put together one of his best performances of the season in Saturday's game against Ball State. The Phoenix, Ariz. native recorded a season-best 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while also hitting four of his five free throw attempts, another season-best.
   After averaging just 5.2 points per game through EMU's first 10 games of the season, Spottsville has turned it on as of late. He is putting up 11 points per contest over his last three games, and has scored 10+ points in each. That is the longest stretch of consecutive double-digit outings in his career.

BIG OFF THE BENCH: EMU's bench players continue to be one of the best units in the Mid-American Conference this season. After outscoring the Ball State bench, 22-12, Jan. 8, EMU has now held the bench scoring advantage in eight of its 13 games this season, including both of its MAC matchups.
   Junior captain Bryce McBride is a sure candidate for the MAC's Sixth Man of the Year award, as he has put up 12.2 points per game on 47 percent shooting this season. Despite coming off the pine, he is third on the team with a 29.6 minutes per game average.

BENCH BOSS(ES): Eastern has now gotten 20+ points from its bench in 11 of its 13 games this season. Additionally, EMU is averaging 23.0 points per game from its bench this season, a significant advantage over its opponents, which average just 19.5 points per game from their non-starters this season.

SENIOR STUDS: Monty Scott, Nate Scott, and Darion Spottsville have combined to score 36 percent of the team's points this season, including 34 percent of all Eagles scoring over the last five games.

DROP IT LIKE IT'S SCOTT: Senior Monty Scott has scored double-figures in 10-of-13 games this season. The senior guard has averaged 14.0 points per game on 74-of-160 shooting (46.3%).

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT: EMU is averaging 27.8 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference and 59th nationally. Eastern grabbed 26 defensive boards in its most recent game, against Ball State, Jan. 8.

PAINT THE TOWN GREEN: Eastern Michigan has averaged 32.8 points per game in the lane this season. EMU's season-high was 46 paint-points at UC San Diego, while the low came against Michigan State when the squad notched just 14. Most recently, the Eagles scored 34 of their 72 points in the paint vs. Ball State, Jan. 8.
   EMU has scored 40+ points in the paint four times this season, most recently against Western Michigan, Jan. 4.

NOAH STOPPIN' HIM: Freshman Noah Farrakhan continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game, ranking fifth in the Mid-American Conference and 83rd in the nation. Most recently, Farrakhan scored 13 points against Ball State, Jan. 8.

NEW BLOOD: A total of 69.8 percent (663-of-949) of EMU's scoring and 70.0 percent (335-of-476) of its rebounding have come from newcomers to the roster. Of that 69.8 percent of the team's total scoring, an incredible 39.4 percent (374-of-949) have come from just two players: freshman guard Noah Farrakhan and senior guard Monty Scott, who happen to be half brothers.

PLAYING THEM TIGHT: EMU has had plenty of high-leverage moments to open the year. A total of eight of its 13 games this season have been decided by six points-or-less.

BACKWARDS DAY?: While statistics are a good indicator of success and failure, there are certain cases where anomalies happen. For Eastern Michigan, that is true that the free thrown line. This season, the team is an amazing 5-1 when shooting less than 70 percent at the charity stripe. Conversely, the team is 1-6 when shooting above the 70 percent mark.
   If that was not enough, how about the fact that EMU is yet to win a game when shooting 40 percent-or-better from deep (0-2), but has captured six victories while shooting less than 40 percent-or-less from beyond the arc.

MIGHTY MONTY: Senior Monty Scott continues to show his veteran leadership, as he is first on the team in field goals made (74) and third in field goal percentage (46.3 percent). Scott's 46.3 percent is seventh in the MAC and 174th nationally. The Union, N.J. native also leads the team with 37 assists.

BENCH HERO BRYCE: Junior Bryce McBride has been stellar off the bench this season, totaling 130 of his 146 points as a reserve. Eastern Michigan has seen 299 points from its non-starters this season, with McBride being the responsible party for 48.8 percent of those. Furthermore, the junior has led the team in points coming off the pine in three contests. Most recently, the guard scored 18 of EMU's 27 bench points against WMU, Jan. 4.

SWAT TEAM: Eastern Michigan currently ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference in total blocks (46) and fifth in blocks per game (3.5). EMU is led by senior Nate Scott who has totaled 11, while both classmate Darion Spottsville and freshman Mo Njie each have 10. Scott's 11 swats sits at seventh in the conference individually.

TAKING COOKIES FROM THE JAR: The Eagles most recently forced Ball State into 19 turnovers, while securing seven steals, Jan. 8. EMU averaged seven steals per game this season, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference. The teams 91 total steals is also good for fourth in the conference. Freshman Noah Farrakhan tied his season-high in the contest, collecting for of Eastern's seven swipes.
   Farrakhan currently tops the team in steals per game with 1.5, which is seventh on the conference. Senior Monty Scott leads the squad in total swipes with 17, and that is tied for ninth in the league.

CHIP DIP: Tuesday's game will be the 203rd meeting between Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. EMU has met CMU the most out of any school in the Mid-American Conference with the series dating back to 1906. The Chippewas hold the all-time series advantage with a 104-98 mark. Although CMU has taken the last two games in the series, EMU is 6-4 against CMU over the last 10 games.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE CHIPPEWAS: Yeikson Montero recorded his second career double-double with 19-point, 14-rebound performance, while Miles Gibson (12 points, 11 boards) also accomplished the feat, however, it was Central Michigan that came away with the victory, 75-64, Jan. 16, 2021 in Mount Pleasant.
   A six-point CMU lead ballooned to 16 out of the break, a deficit that EMU eventually got back down to 11, however, it was too little to late for the Green and White.

DOMINANT AT HOME: EMU has dominated Central Michigan in Ypsilanti during the series' last 24 meetings. The Green and White are 16-8 at home against CMU since 1999, and have won consecutive games on five different occasions during that stretch.
   The Eagles are 12-11 in Mount Pleasant during that period.

BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: EMU's game against an in-state rival also means the continued quest for the "Michigan MAC Trophy." Given annually to one of the Michigan-based, Mid-American Conference institutions (EMU, WMU, CMU), the trophy is awarded to the team which has the best head-to-head record against each other. It is one of just two regularly-awarded trophies between three teams (the other is the Commander-in-Chief's trophy between Army, Navy, and Air Force).
   Originated in 2005, EMU has claimed ownership three times (2017, 2018, and 2020). Last year, Eastern Michigan was 0-2 against CMU while downing WMU in the only meeting.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to the road with a trip to DeKalb, Ill. this weekend, Jan. 15, to battle Northern Illinois. Game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. CT) from the Convocation Center.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

In-state Rival Central Michigan Comes to Town Tuesday, Jan. 11

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Players Mentioned

Derek Ballard Jr.

Noah Farrakhan

Miles Gibson

Bryce McBride

Yeikson Montero

Mo Njie

Monty Scott

Nate Scott

Darion Spottsville

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