Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Purdue Fort Wayne
Eagles Flying South for Two at Cancun Challenge
11/20/2022 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern set to face Purdue Fort Wayne in opener Nov. 22 in Cancun, Mexico
| Men's Basketball at Cancun Challenge | |
| Date | Tuesday, Nov. 22 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Cancun, Mexico | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya - 2022 Cancun Challenge |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes (PDF) | Media Guide (PDF) | Digital Game Program |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | FloHoops.com |
| Listen | WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) | The Varsity Network App | Eastern Insider Podcast |
| @EMU_MBB | @EMUAthletics | |
OPENING TIPS:
» Eastern enters its trip to Mexico with a 1-3 record after falling in overtime at Oakland University, 92-90, Nov. 19, in Rochester Hills, Mich. The Eagles erased a 19-point deficit to force overtime before eventually falling to the Golden Grizzlies.
» Eight teams are set to compete in Mexico with the four in the Riviera Division being joined in Cancun by the four teams in the Maya Division: No. 13/15 Auburn University, Bradley University, Liberty University, and Northwestern University.
» The Eagles are no strangers to overseas play as their most recent trip away from the United States saw them capture the Rose Hall Division title at the 2019 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic.
» Eastern is 8-6 all-time when playing outside the United States with previous trips including the 2019 Jamaica Classic (2-0), the 1989 (2-1) and 1992 (1-2) San Juan Shootout, and the 2001 (1-2) and 2004 (2-1) Paradise Jam events.
» Emoni Bates is averaging 23.0 points per game, which ranks second in the Mid-American Conference by 0.2 points behind Western Michigan University's Lamar Norman Jr. (23.2).
» Noah Farrakhan ranks fifth in three-point percentage (.500) while also ranking seventh in the MAC in assists per game (3.0) and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1).
» Three Eagles are ranked in the top 25 of the MAC in free throw percentage, led by Orlando Lovejoy is ranked ninth (.875) to lead a team ranked third in the league (.800). EMU also ranks 14th in the NCAA through games played Nov. 19.
SNOW BIRDS: When Eastern plays in Cancun, Mexico, Nov. 22-23, the tournament will mark the sixth time the Eagles have played in an event outside the United States and the first time since Eastern won the Rose Hall Division title at the 2019 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic. The Eagles have also played in the San Juan Shootout (1989, 1992) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and twice in the Paradise Jam (2001, 2004) in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
RIVIERA DIVISION: Eastern will play in the Riviera Division, which - sorry Mastodons - should be renamed the Eagle Division because of the teams involved. Along with Eastern (1-3, 0-0 MAC), the division includes the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne (2-2, 0-0 Horizon League); the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss (4-0, 0-0 Sun Belt); and the Eagles of Winthrop (2-3, 0-0 Big South). Whichever team posts a 2-0 record will be crowned the champion of the Riviera Division.
MAYA DIVISION: The other half of the Cancun Challenge features four teams in the Maya Division, which features No. 13/15 Auburn (4-0, 0-0 SEC), Bradley (3-1, Missouri Valley), Liberty (2-2, ASUN), and Northwestern (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten). Just like the Riviera Division, whichever team posts a 2-0 record in Cancun will be crowned the champion of the division.
HIGH REGARD: Of the eight teams set to compete in the Cancun Challenge, six are at least receiving votes in various national polls as of Nov. 15. Auburn is the lone team appearing in the AP and USA Today/Coaches Top 25 rankings as the Tigers hold the No. 13 and No. 15 positions, respectively. In the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, five teams in Cancun have received votes, including two teams in the top 25 in Liberty at No. 9 and Purdue Fort Wayne at No. 24, while three others are receiving votes, including Bradley (18 votes); Eastern Michigan (13); and Winthrop (nine).
BACK-TO-BACK: When the Eagles face Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 22, it will mark the second game in a row for Eastern against the Horizon League after falling at Oakland, 92-90 in overtime, Nov. 19. The last time the Eagles faced back-to-back non-conference foes from the same league was in the 2014-15 season when EMU faced two Big Ten foes, defeating Michigan, 45-42, in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 9, before falling on the road at No. 25/22 Michigan State University, 66-46, Dec. 17.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE: The Mastodons enter the tournament with a 2-2 record after suffering a 60-52 defeat at Northwestern University No. 18. PFW and Eastern share one common opponent this year in the University of Michigan, which the Mastodons fell to in their season opener, 75-56, Nov. 7 in Ann Arbor. Statistically, four players are averaging double-digit points totals with Bobby Planutis leading the way with 13.5 points per game. Jarred Godfrey is right behind him with 13.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while handing out 3.8 assists per game as well.
IN THE SERIES WITH PFW:
» Eastern holds a 3-0 record in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne.
» The Eagles have won three in a row in the series, all of which were played in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern won the last meeting, Nov. 17, 2012, 60-47, as part of the EMU "Ice Man" Classic.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles are off to a perfect 4-0 start ahead of their Cancun Challenge opener with Winthrop Nov. 22 after scoring a 76-72 victory at Liberty in their most recent contest, Nov. 18. Southern Miss, who is a member of the Sun Belt Conference, also has scored a 60-48 road victory over SEC foe Vanderbilt University, Nov. 11. Austin Crowley is pacing the offensive attack with 17.0 points per game while Felipe Haase has chipped in 15.5 points, a team-best 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for Head Coach Jay Lander's squad.
IN THE SERIES WITH SOUTHERN MISS:
» A game between Eastern and Southern Miss would be the first in the all-time series.
ALMA MATER MEETINGS: If Eastern meets Jay Lander's Southern Miss squad in the second game of the Cancun Challenge, it would mark the third game this year in which both head coaches are guiding their alma maters. Already this year, Stan Heath and his Eagles have faced Bryan Smothers and Wayne State, Nov. 7, and Juwan Howard and Michigan, Nov. 11. Later this year, at least three more such games will take place as Eastern is set to place twice against Bowling Green and head coach Michael Huger and once against Jeff Boals and Ohio.
SCOUTING WINTHROP: The Eagles are 2-3 on the season and have dropped two in a row ahead of the Cancun Challenge, including an 89-65 decision at No. 13/15 Auburn and a 77-68 score at Mercer Nov. 19. Head Coach Mark Prosser's team is led offensively by Kelton Talford, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Three other players are averaging double figures as well, including Sin'Cere McMahon with 13.6, Toneari Lane with 13.2, and Cory Hightower with 12.5.
IN THE SERIES WITH WINTHROP:
» A game between Eastern and Winthrop would be the first in the all-time series.
QUICK REVIEW • EMU FALLS AT OAKLAND: The host Golden Grizzlies came out on fire, shooting 8-of-8 overall, including 5-of-5 from three, in the early going to eventually build a 19-point advantage, but the Eagles responded and took the lead with just over three minutes to play before falling in overtime, 92-90, Nov. 19, in Rochester Hills, Mich.
» Tyson Acuff scored 18 points for a career-high point total. His previous best was 16 against University of California-Irvine, Dec. 19, 2021, when he played for Duquesne University. He finished the game with a team-high-tying four assists, which also tied his career high set against the University of Michigan, Nov. 11.
» Eastern sent 10 different players to the floor in the contest with each scoring at least two points. That stat held true at halftime with the lone exception being Farrakhan, who was scoreless in the opening stanza before scoring 15 in the second half.
» Luka Savicevic saw seven minutes of action and tallied two points on two made free throws, added two assists, and two steals. It marked the first time in his career he recorded multiple steals and assists in the same game with the theft total setting a career high.
» Oakland started the game 8-of-8 from the field, including 5-of-5 from three, to eventually build a 19-point lead. Eastern didn't take its first lead of the game until Acuff's trey with 6:12 left made it 73-70.
» With the loss, the Eagles slipped to 11-8 in the all-time series with the Golden Grizzlies and have dropped two in a row. Oakland has now won three in a row when hosting the game.
» Eastern is now 41-45 all-time in overtime games and 2-1 under Stan Heath. EMU won games in double and quadruple overtime last year under Heath.
LOCAL TOUR: The game Nov. 19 at Oakland was the third of four games on the slate this year in which Eastern has or will face a local Michigan foe. The Eagles had already played Wayne State University (36.9 miles between campuses), a 75-66 win Nov. 7 in Ypsilanti, and then-No. 22 University of Michigan (6.6 miles), an 88-83 loss at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, Nov. 11. The Eagles and the Titans of the University of Detroit Mercy will meet Sunday, Dec. 18, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center to finish out the four games.
PUTTING UP POINTS: Last year, the Eagles ranked ninth in the MAC in scoring, averaging just 69.1 points per game. Through four games this year, Eastern is averaging 77.3 points per game, an improvement of 8.1 points per game. Additionally, the Eagles have scored 80 or more points in a game twice in four contests in 2022-23 after doing so just seven times in 2021-22.
BATES FROM DEEP: Through three games played, Emoni Bates is already heating up from deep as the sophomore has connected on 11-of-24 shooting from three, including five makes at Oakland, Nov. 19. Bates, who is averaging just under four made treys per game at 3.7, tallied three each in his first two games with the Eagles. Last year with Memphis, Bates connected on 25 treys in 18 games for an average of 1.4 made threes per game.
MORE THAN AVERAGE: Emoni Bates is currently averaging a blistering 23.0 points per game. Although the season is just getting underway, if he is able to maintain this pace, he would be the first Eastern player to average more than 20 points per contest for the season since the 2005-06 campaign when both John Bowler and Carlos Medlock accomplished the feat. In the conference rankings, Bates' 23.0 average ranks second in the MAC (through games played Nov. 19) and is just 0.2 behind the current leader, Lamar Norman, Jr., of Western Michigan, who is averaging 23.2 points through his first five games. Bates also ranks 14th nationally.
ACUFF'S BIG DAY: Tyson Acuff had a breakout day at Oakland, Nov. 19, as the sophomore transfer scored a career-high 18 points and added a career-high-tying four assists. With a previous high of 16 points for Duquesne last year against UC Irvine, Dec. 19, 2021, Acuff was 6-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from deep. His four assists tied his career high which he set earlier this year when he dropped four dimes in the Nov. 11 game with No. 22 Michigan. So far this year, Acuff tallied at least three assists in three of his four games played.
HAPPY TO HELP: Tyson Acuff ranks among the top ball handlers in the league as he is currently tied for seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.70. He also is tied for 11th in the MAC with teammate Noah Farrakhan in assists per game at 3.0.
IT'S GOOD: According to the latest MAC statistics, three Eagles are ranked in the top 16 as Jalin Billingsley, Colin Golson Jr., and Emoni Bates are each connecting at over a .500 clip from the floor. Billingsley is leading the way as his .600 shooting stands fourth in the league while Golson and Bates rank 15th (.519) and 16th (.510), respectively. From behind the arc, Noah Farrakhan ranks fifth in the conference as he is connecting at a .500 clip while Bates stands 11th as he is hitting at a .458 average.
FREE TO THROW: Through four games, the Eagles are faring well from the charity stripe as the team is hitting at an .800 clip, which ranks third in the MAC and is 14th in the NCAA. Individually, Orlando Lovejoy is leading the way as he is ninth at .875 while Tyson Acuff is 14th (.818) and Emoni Bates is 22nd (.727).
TAKE WHAT THEY GIVE: Two Eagles have been stealing the ball with regularity this year as both Orlando Lovejoy and Legend Geeter and among the top 25 in the MAC for steals per game. Lovejoy is currently seventh with an average of 2.0 thefts per game while Geeter is 21st at 1.5.
RANKINGS WATCH: The first regular season CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 rankings were released Monday, Nov. 14, with the Eagles receiving votes for the first time this year with 13 after not receiving any votes from the coaches in the preseason ranking. Following the Nov. 19 game with Oakland, the Eagles will play their first of four teams currently ranked in the top 25 as they will face No. 24 Purdue Fort Wayne at the Cancun Challenge. The other teams in the top 25 currently that appear on Eastern's schedule are all MAC opponents, including No. 5 Toledo, No. 6 Kent State University, and No. 19 Akron.
MILESTONE WATCH: Heading into the season, several wins can help the Eagles reach several milestone victories. With the win over Wayne State, Nov. 7, Eastern now needs 15 more wins to bring its all-time victory total to 1,350 while three more wins would mark 675 all-time wins as an NCAA Division I member. On the home front, the Eagles are now six wins from 225 victories inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
UP NEXT: After five games away from their friendly confines, the Eagles return home to the George Gervin GameAbove Center Sunday, Nov. 27, as they welcome the Tritons of the University of California-San Diego to town. The game, which will be the first home contest for Eastern since the Season Premiere, Nov. 7, is slated for a 2 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
