Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Detroit Mercy
Eagles Set to Host Titans in Local Showdown
12/15/2022 3:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern faces its oldest basketball rival Detroit Mercy Sunday in Ypsilanti
| Men's Basketball vs. Detroit Mercy | |
| Date | Sunday, Dec. 18 | 3 p.m. |
| Venue | Ypsilanti, Mich. | George Gervin GameAbove Center |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes (PDF) | Media Guide (PDF) | Digital Game Programs |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats | Media Stats |
| Watch | ESPN+ |
| Listen | WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) | The Varsity Network App | Eastern Insider Podcast |
| @EMU_MBB | @EMUAthletics | |
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is set to meet its oldest rival this week as the Eagles will play host to the University of Detroit Mercy Titans at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Eagles (2-9) and Titans (5-6, 1-1 Horizon) are meeting for the 84th time in a series that began March 4, 1898, in a 2-0 win for the Titans and was last played Dec. 7, 2019, a 55-51 victory for EMU in Detroit.
The game will air on ESPN+ with Brent Balbinot and Reggie Butler on the call. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, will have the radio call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
OPENING TIPS:
» Eastern and Detroit Mercy are meeting for the 84th time in a series that began in 1897 with the two sides splitting a pair of games: a 2-0 Titans win, March 4, 1898, and a 4-0 Eastern win, March 15, 1898, with both coming in Ypsilanti.
» The Eagles will be playing their fourth local team of the year after defeating Wayne State University at home before falling to then-No. 22 University of Michigan in Detroit, and at Oakland University.
» The game will feature two of the top scoring players in the nation with Eastern's Emoni Bates ranking 21st nationally at 19.4 points per game and Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis ranking second at 24.3.
» Eastern will be playing its third Horizon League foe of the year and looking for its first win after falling at Oakland, 92-90 in overtime, Nov. 19, and 74-67 to Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 22, in Cancun.
» In his past two games, Noah Farrakhan has scored at least 10 points and added at least four assists, marking the second time in his career he has back-to-back games with those stats. Over the past two games, Farrakhan has averaged a team-best 15.5 points and 4.0 assists per game.
» The last time the Eagles played fewer than three home games in December came during the 2015-16 season when they went 2-0. The second win came Dec. 28, 2015, an 88-73 win over Detroit Mercy.
» According to College Basketball Reference, the Eagles rank fourth nationally for scoring by in-state players as Eastern's Michigan-born players are averaging 54.4 points per game this year.
SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY: Head Coach Mike Davis' Titans enter the game against Eastern with a 5-6 overall record and stand 1-1 in Horizon League play after winning, 75-66, at Purdue University Fort Wayne, Dec. 1, and falling, 92-77, at Cleveland State University, Dec. 3. Four players average in double figures, including Antoine Davis, who is averaging 24.3 points per game, the second-highest average in the nation. Davis, the Horizon's all-time leading scorer with 3,001 points, recently drained 10 triples in a game at Charlotte, Dec. 10, to move to 11th on the NCAA's all-time scoring ledger. Gerald Liddell is averaging a double-double for the Titans as he is scoring 18.5 points and pulling down 14.8 rebounds per contest in the four games he has played this season.
HELLO OLD FRIEND: The series with Detroit Mercy is the oldest in program history for Eastern as the then-Normalites and Titans played a pair of games in 1898. That year, the Titans won the opener, 2-0, March 4, 1898, before EMU claimed a 4-0 win, March 15, 1898. Since that first game, the two teams have met 83 times in the nearly 125 years the series has been on the books and, when the teams jump it up Sunday, it will be 45,579 days since that very first meeting.
IN THE SERIES WITH DETROIT MERCY:
» Detroit Mercy lead the all-time series, 62-21, with Eastern winning the most recent meeting, 55-51, Dec. 7, 2019, at Detroit Mercy.
» EMU trails, 30-12, when the game is played in Ypsilanti, but won the last meeting, 78-74, Nov. 24, 2018.
» Since rising to the NCAA Division I ranks in time for the 1974-75 season, the series stands at 19-11 in favor of the Titans with Detroit Mercy holding an 8-5 lead when the series is played in Ypsilanti.
» When playing in Ypsilanti (42 previous games), 57.1 percent of those contests have ended in 10-point-or-less margins, including 12 of the last 16 meetings.
» Overall when Eastern plays host to the game, the average score is 51.2-46.5 in favor of Detroit Mercy, a margin of 4.7 points on average. That trend has held true since Eastern joined NCAA Division I in 1974-75 with three games finishing with a double-digit winning margin, the last coming Dec. 28, 2015, a 15-point win for the Eagles, Dec. 28, 2015.
TOP BATTLE: Two of the top scorers in the nation will share the court Sunday as Emoni Bates and the Eagles will play host to Antoine Davis and the Titans. Bates is currently averaging 19.4 points per game and ranks 21st in the NCAA in scoring average while Detroit Mercy's Davis ranks second at 24.3 points per contest.
LOCAL TOUR: The game with Detroit Mercy will mark the fourth game this year in which Eastern Michigan has faced a local foe. The Eagles have already played Wayne State University (36.9 miles between campuses), a 75-66 win Nov. 7 in Ypsilanti, then-No. 22 University of Michigan (6.6 miles), an 88-83 loss at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, Nov. 11, and at Oakland University (52.9 miles), a 92-90 overtime loss, Nov. 19.
QUICK REVIEW • NIAGARA: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team battled to the end, but came up short in its comeback bid as the Eagles dropped a 67-60 decision at Niagara University, Sunday, Dec. 11. Noah Farrakhan led the way with 21 points, four assists, and four rebounds as the Eagles (2-9, 0-0 MAC) came back from several deficits before a 7-0 run by the Purple Eagles (5-4, 1-1 MAAC) closed out the contest inside Gallagher Arena.
After falling behind, 35-33, Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run with under one minute remaining in the first half, culminating in a three from Kevin-David Rice, to take a 38-35 lead into halftime. The three-point advantage marked just the third time this year the Eagles were ahead at the break.
Niagara proceeded to take a 48-41 lead before Eastern responded with a 9-0 run, finished off by a Yusuf Jihad layup, to seize a 50-48 lead with 8:59 remaining in the game. Niagara regained control, outscoring the Eagles, 19-10, the rest of the way to secure the win. Eastern shot well from three-point range in the second half, hitting three shots from deep for nine of the team's 22 points.
QUICK NOTES • NIAGARA GAME:
» Noah Farrakhan finished the game with 21 points and four assists, marking back-to-back games in which he has scored at least 10 points and dropped four or more dimes. It is the third time he has accomplished the feat this year and the ninth time in his career. He also has done it for the second game in a row, marking the second time he has done so in back-to-back games in his career with the first coming last year in home games against Miami University (28 points and seven assists), Jan. 29, 2022, and the University of Toledo (17 points and four assists), Feb. 1, 2022. Farrakhan scored 10 points and had four assists at Illinois State University, Dec. 7, in the first half of his back-to-back games.
» Farrakhan finished with 21 points, marking the second time this year he has scored at least 20 points in a game and the first since he scored 25 at FIU, Nov. 30. Farrakhan, who was 8-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three, now has 12 career games with 20-or-more points after recording 10 last year.
» Emoni Bates was the only other Eagle to reach double figures as he finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and a season-high three assists. His previous high of two assists came twice, most recently against Purdue University Fort Wayne, Nov. 22, at the Cancun Challenge.
» Yusuf Jihad finished the game with seven points, which is a season high and the most he has scored as a member of the Eastern program. His previous best was six points scored at Illinois State, Dec. 7, where he was 2-of-3 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three. Jihad made it back-to-back games with at least one made triple for the first time at Eastern and the second time in his career after he hit one in each game of the Xavier Tournament while playing for Oakland University in the 2020-21 season as he scored one each in games with Toledo, Nov. 26, and Bradley University, Nov. 27.
» With the loss, the all-time series is tied at 2-2 with the Purple Eagles snapping Eastern's two-game winning streak. Eastern is now 0-1 when playing at Niagara.
10-4, GOOD BUDDY: In the game at Niagara, Dec. 11, Noah Farrakhan led the way with a team-high 21 points and four assists, marking the second game in a row in which he has scored at least 10 points while adding four or more helpers. Accomplishing the feat for the third time this year - second only to Tyson Acuff, who has done so five times - Farrakhan did so for the ninth time in his career. Additionally, he recorded the 10-and-4 in back-to-back games for the second time in his career, the first of which game in games played last year at home against Miami University (20 points, seven assists) and the University of Toledo (17 points, four assists)
IN RHYTHM: Noah Farrakhan scored 21 points at Niagara, Dec. 11, to notch at least 20 points for the second time this season and the 12th time in his career. Farrakhan, who was 8-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three, recorded a season-high 25 points on the road at Florida International University, Nov. 30, giving him one, 20-point game each month this season.
MORE THAN SCORING: At Niagara, Dec. 11, Emoni Bates netted 13 points to get back into double-figure scoring. Additionally, Bates handed out a season-high three assists, bettering the two he recorded in Cancun against Purdue Fort Wayne, Nov. 22. Bates also pulled down four rebounds to tie with Noah Farrakhan for the second-highest rebounding total on the day behind the five recorded by Legend Geeter.
BIG NUMBERS: Through 10 games, Emoni Bates has tallied 20-or-more points in four games. With his 29-point performance against Florida Atlantic, Dec. 4, Bates extended a streak for the team to having one player recorded at least four, 20-point games in a season to three in a row. Last year, Noah Farrakhan scored at least 20 points in 10 games while Ty Groce recorded at least 20 in four games during the 2020-21 season.
MORE THAN AVERAGE: Emoni Bates is currently averaging 19.4 points per game, which ranks him second in the MAC and 21st nationally. If he is able to finish the year at or above 20.0, 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.
MAN IN THE MIRROR: In his 18 games with Memphis last year, Emoni Bates scored 25 three-point baskets, hitting at least one in 14 of those contests. Through nine games played this year, Bates has already drained 26 deep shots. Additionally, during his time with the Tigers, Bates tallied three or more made triples in a game three times, something he has done six times this year. Bates also has or is close to equaling several other season totals from last year as he has already surpassed his 59 made field goals (currently has scored 66) and is two rebounds away from the 59 he pulled down for the Tigers.
WE SEE YU-SUF: In his last two games, Yusuf Jihad has been called upon to contribute in a variety of ways. At Illinois State University, Dec. 7, Jihad earned his first career start and finished the game with six points, tying his highest output in two seasons with the Eagles. Jihad was a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc, marking the first time in his career he has hit multiple triples in a game. Then, at Niagara, Dec. 11, Jihad added to his high marks as he finished with seven points, just one of his career-high eight he scored for Oakland at Detroit Mercy, Dec. 26, 2020, and was 1-of-2 from three. With his long distance make, Jihad made it two games in a row with at least one made three for the first time in his career. Jihad is 5-of-9 from three this year after going 1-of-10 all of last year.
FREE TO THROW: "True" freshman Orlando Lovejoy has been shooting well from the free throw line as the rookie is hitting on 91.7 percent of his attempts so far this year. Lovejoy ranks second in the MAC based on free throw percentage. If Lovejoy maintains this pace, he would become the first Eastern player to hit over 90 percent of his visits to the charity stripe in a season.
FROM THE STRIPE: As a team, the Eagles rank fourth in the MAC for free throw shooting as they have connected on 74.2 percent from the line. As it stands, that average ranks second in program history with the 2020-21 team (18 games played because of COVID-19) leading the way at 74.5.
ROBIN HOOD: While Orlando Lovejoy has fared well at the charity stripe, he also has done well stealing the ball as the freshman leads the team with 15 thefts on the year after grabbing a pair from Niagara, Dec. 11. Lovejoy, who ranks tied for 12th in the MAC at 1.4 steals per contest, had three steals at Illinois State, Dec. 7, to tie his career high set previously at Oakland, Nov. 19. The thefts at NU marked the fifth time this year has stolen the ball at least two times in the same game.
HOME COOKING: According to the latest update from College Basketball Reference, Dec. 14, the Eagles currently rank fourth nationally in regards to points scored per game by in-state players with Eastern averaging 54.4 points per game from its Michigan-born players. Northern Iowa (66.8), Youngstown State (56.7), and Georgia State (55.4) rank just ahead of the Eagles. Additional research through 11 games played this year shows that those same in-state players have accounted for 72.9 percent of the team's scoring with Michigan-born Eagles having collected 598 of the team's 820 points so far in 2022-23.
MILESTONE WATCH: Heading into the season, several wins can help the Eagles reach several milestone victories. With the win at Florida International, Nov. 30, Eastern now needs 14 more wins to bring its all-time victory total to 1,350 while two 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: The final game of 2022 is up next for the Eagles as they will travel to Columbia, S.C., to face the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Dec. 30. The game is slated to tip at 7 p.m. inside Colonial Life Arena and will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Tom Helmer calling the action on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
