Eagles Return Home to Face UC San Diego

GAME #7 - EASTERN MICHIGAN vs. UC SAN DIEGO
Date	Sunday, Nov. 27 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| George Gervin GameAbove Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Media Guide
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Tickets	Purchase Season Tickets
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns home Sunday, Nov. 27, for its first appearance inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center in 20 days as the Eagles will play host to the University of California San Diego at 2 p.m. The Eagles (1-5, 0-0 MAC) will look to not only stay perfect at home (1-0), but also snap a five-game slide while also looking to avenge a loss to the Tritons (2-4, 0-0 Big West) from one year ago.
The game will air on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley and Justin Rose on the call. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, and Greg Steiner will have the radio call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.

OPENING TIPS:
» When the Eagles and Tritons meet, it will mark 20 days since Eastern's previous home game (Nov. 7 vs. Wayne State). The last time Eastern went 20-or-more days between home games was a 22-day stretch in the 2014-15 season.
» Eastern finished fourth in the Mayan Division of the 2022 Cancun Challenge that was played Nov. 22-23 at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico, after falling to both Purdue University Fort Wayne, 74-67, and Winthrop University, 101-87.
» Emoni Bates, who averaged 15.5 points per game on the Yucatan Peninsula, was named to the Cancun Challenge Mayan Division All-Tournament Team following the event.
» Bates received national recognition Nov. 22 as he was one of 50 individuals named to the 2022-23 Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List.
» Tyson Acuff had a strong showing in Cancun as he averaged a team-best 16.5 points over the two games, culminating with a career-high 25 points against Winthrop in the finale. He is now one of three Eagles averaging double-digit points this season.
» Against Winthrop, Nov. 23, Legend Geeter recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds to earn his first career double-double and the first of the year for any Eastern player.
» On Nov. 22, the Mid-American and Sun Belt Conferences announced the MAC-SBC Challenge, a scheduling alliance for men's and women's basketball during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

ARE WE THERE YET?: When the Eagles step on the court inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Sunday, Nov. 27, it will mark 20 days between home games as Eastern last played at home Nov. 7, a 75-66, season-opening victory over visiting Wayne State. Since moving up to NCAA Division I in time for the 1974-75 season, the Eagles have gone 20 or more days between home contests 21 times previously with the most recent instance coming during the 2014-15 season as the Eagles scored an 83-52 win over Marygrove University, Dec. 1, before playing Coppin State University to an 87-64 score, Dec. 23. Between those games, the Eagles posted a 1-2 road record with losses at the University of Dayton and Michigan State University sandwiched around a victory at the University of Michigan. Overall, the longest spell between home games came during the 2011-12 season when Eastern went 45 days between games, playing seven road and one neutral site game away from home in December before opening the MAC season on the road at Northern Illinois, Jan. 7.

SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: The Tritons enter the game with a 2-4 record and are coming off a 75-70 win at George Washington University, Nov. 22, that snapped a two-game losing streak with losses at the U.S. Naval Academy (78-69 in overtime), Nov. 18, and 73-54 to Youngstown State University, Nov. 19, at Navy. Eric Olen's team is led offensively by Bryce Pope, who is averaging 19.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game with Emmaunel Tshimanga coming off the bench with 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Roddie Anderson III, who averages 9.0 points, leads the team with 3.5 assists per game.

IN THE SERIES WITH UC SAN DIEGO:
» UC San Diego leads the all-time series, 1-0, with the teams meeting in Ypsilanti for the first time.
» The Tritons won the last meeting, 83-74, in La Jolla, Calif., Dec. 2, 2021, the first meeting in the series.

QUICK REVIEW • CHALLENGE IN CANCUN: Eastern went 0-2 at the 2022 Cancun Challenge in Cancun, Mexico, earlier in the week with the Eagles falling to Purdue Fort Wayne, 74-67, in the opening game before dropping a 101-87 score to Winthrop in the third-place contest.
» Against the Mastodons, Eastern out-rebounded Purdue Fort Wayne, 34-31, to fall to 0-2 on the year when winning the rebound battle.
» Eastern hit on 28-of-53 shooting from the floor against PFW, its best shooting percentage of the season (52.8) while the 28 made baskets ranked as the fifth-most in an internationally-played game for EMU.
» In the game with Winthrop, the Eagles again won the rebounding battle, 35-29, with Legend Geeter recording 10 boards, making him the first Eagle with 10+ caroms in a game this season.
» Tyson Acuff had a career day as he netted 25 points while hitting on 11-of-19 shooting. His point total ties for the most in an international game (Ricky Cottrill twice at 2001 Paradise Jam) while surpassing Lorenzo Neely for the most shots made (10 at 1989 San Juan Shootout).
» With the results, Eastern fell to 12-10 all-time when playing outside the Unitds States.

INTERNATIONAL LEDGER: Dating back to its first appearance in the 1989 San Juan Shootout and including last week's Cancun Challenge, Eastern has played in six international events and holds a 12-10 all-time record. Following two games in Cancun, Nov. 22-23, here is how of the standout performance rank among games played in San Juan, Puerto Rico (1989 and 1992 San Juan Shootout), St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (2001 and 2004 Paradise Jam), Montego Bay, Jamaica (2019 Jamaica Classic), and Cancun, Mexico:
» Tyson Acuff: 25 points vs. Winthrop (Nov. 23), tied for the most scored internationally with Ricky Cottrill, who scored 25 twice at the 2001 Paradise Jam.
» Acuff's 11 field goals against Winthrop ranks as the most in a single game ahead of Lorenzo Neely, who hit 10 against Alabama at the 1989 San Juan Shootout.
» Noah Farrakhan (vs. Winthrop) and Emoni Bates in both games each hit four treys to tie for the third-most in a single game.
» Legend Geeter recorded three steals against Winthrop to tie for fourth all-time while his 12-point, 10 rebound double-double in the same game is just the eighth recorded internationally.
» As a team against Winthrop, Eastern's 35 rebounds ranked fifth most; 31 field goals made tied for the most in a single game after EMU hit 31 against Illinois-Chicago at the 1992 San Juan Shootout; and the nine made three-point baskets ties the record set against Maryland-Baltimore County at the 2019 Jamaica Classic.

ACUFF TURNING IT UP: In the past three games, Tyson Acuff has turned in several strong performances for the Eagles. At Oakland, Nov. 19, the sophomore transfer scored a then-career-high 18 points and added a career-high-tying four assists. In the final game in Cancun against Winthrop, Nov. 23, Acuff upped several career categories, including scoring 25 points for his first 20-plus-point game of his collegiate career. In the game, he also set career bests in field goals made with 11; field goal attempts with 19; and three-point field goal attempts at seven.

LEGEND DOUBLES UP: Legend Geeter scored 12 points and added 10 rebounds against Winthrop, Nov. 23, in the Cancun Challenge finale to not only set career bests in both points and rebounds, but also record his first collegiate double-double. The redshirt freshman is the only Eastern player to hit double-digit rebounds this year and is the first player to post a double-double since Mo Njie did so last year at Miami University, March 3, 2022. Just the eighth Eastern player to record a double-double in an international game, Geeter currently ranks 16th in the MAC with 5.8 caroms per game while sitting seventh overall with 3.5 offensive rebounds.

JALIN HITTING SHOTS: In the Cancun opener, Nov. 22, against Purdue Fort Wayne, Jalin Billingsley had an outstanding shooting performance as the Georgetown transfer was 5-of-5 from the field, finishing his day with 10 points and adding five rebounds. Including his previous game at Oakland, Nov. 19, Billingsley is 10-of-11 from the floor in his last two games (did not play against Winthrop) after going 10-of-19 in his first three games of the year. All told, Billingsley is 20-of-30 from the floor this year with his 60.0 percent shooting ranking first in the MAC.

BATES FROM DEEP: The top scorer on the team at 20.0 points per game, Emoni Bates has been stout from behind the arc as the sophomore has tallied 19 made three-pointers in five games this year and has connected on at least three treys in each of those games, including five at Oakland, Nov. 19, and four each in the games against Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 22, and Winthrop Nov. 23, in Cancun. Through five games, Bates is just six treys from tying his season total of 25 in 18 games recorded last year with Memphis.

RANKING BATES' SHOOTING: Through games played Nov. 25, Emoni Bates has placed his name among some of the best in the Mid-American Conference and the NCAA. The third-best scorer in the MAC with 20.0 per game (36th nationally), Bates is sixth in the MAC in three-point shooting percentage as he has hit at a 45.2 percent clip. His 19 made three-pointers ranking fourth in the league and 31st nationally while his 3.8 made threes per contest ranking him second in the MAC and seventh in the NCAA.

CANCUN HONOR: Following the two games played at the Cancun Challenge, Emoni Bates was selected to the Mayan Division All-Tournament team. In his two games, Bates averaged 15.5 points, connected on eight three-point shots, and added 10 rebounds. The focal point of both teams' defenses, Bates added two assists while blocking one shot and recording one steal.

ON THE (WATCH) LIST: The 2022-23 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Watch List was announced by CollegeInsider.com Nov. 22 with Emoni Bates tabbed as one of 50 members on the initial list that will honor the top mid-major player in the nation at the end of the season. Bates, a preseason All-MAC Second Team selection, is averaging 20.0 points per game and is shooting 45.2 percent from three with 19 makes, the fourth-most in the MAC and 31st-ranked total in the NCAA.

MORE THAN AVERAGE: Emoni Bates is currently averaging 20.0 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.

FREE TO THROW: "True" freshman Orlando Lovejoy has been shooting well at the free throw line as the rookie is hitting on 90.0 percent of his attempts so far this year. The team's leader in both makes and attempts from the charity stripe with 18 and 20, respectively, Lovejoy ranks tied for seventh in the MAC based on free throw percentage and also ranks tied for 54th nationally.

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.

MAC-SBC CHALLENGE: The MAC-SBC Challenge was announced, Nov. 22, as the Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences have created a scheduling alliance for men's and women's basketball to take place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The 12 teams in the MAC and the 12 teams in the SBC will face off twice during each season with all games being carried on an ESPN platform. The first game will take place between Nov. 8-11, 2023, with the second scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 10. The match-ups, which will be announced ahead of the season, will be based upon projected NET rankings ahead of each campaign. The teams making up the SBC include: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana Monroe, former MAC member Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State, and Troy.

UP NEXT: EMU will make another flight south for its next game as it will face Florida International University Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. The game, which will be played inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Fla., and aired live on ESPN+ and WEMU (89.1 FM), will feature a rematch of Eastern's longest game played after the Eagles defeated the Panthers inside the newly minted George Gervin GameAbove Center, 92-88, in four overtimes, Dec. 11, 2021.

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Players Mentioned

Tyson Acuff

Emoni Bates

Jalin Billingsley

Noah Farrakhan

Legend Geeter

Orlando Lovejoy

Eastern Michigan Athletics