Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Niagara
Basketball Heads to Niagara Sunday
12/9/2022 12:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern will try to snap two game skid while seeking second road win
| Men's Basketball at Niagara | |
| Date | Sunday, Dec. 11 | 1 p.m. |
| Venue | Niagara University, N.Y. | Gallagher Arena |
| 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 | |
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is set to wrap a two-game road trip Sunday, Dec. 11, when the Eagles venture to Niagara University, N.Y., to face the Purple Eagles of Niagara University inside Gallagher Arena at 1 p.m. The Eagles (2-8, 0-0 MAC) are looking to stop a two-game skid while securing their second road win of the season while the Purple Eagles (4-4, 1-1 MAAC) will be playing just their second home game this year.
The game will air on ESPN+ with Todd Callen and Sun Roarke on the call with Eduardo Villalpando assisting from the sidelines. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, will have the radio call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
OPENING TIPS:
» In the game at Illinois State University, both Noah Farrakhan and Tyson Acuff scored 10-or-more points and recorded four assists, marking the second time they have done so this year (at Oakland University, Nov. 19). Combined, one or both have scored 10-or-more and added four assists in five different games this year.
» Farrakhan (13.0 points/2.8 assists) and Acuff (13.1/2.8) are one of only two duos (Buffalo) to have two players rank in the top 20 in both points and assists in the Mid-American Conference this year.
» As a team, the Eagles rank fourth in the MAC in free throw percentage (.739), are one of just two teams (Ball State) with four individuals in the top 25 of the category and one of two (Miami) with two individuals in the top 10.
» Orlando Lovejoy recorded three steals in the first half at Illinois State to tie a career high and mark the fourth game he has recorded at least two thefts. His 1.3 per game average is 13th in the MAC.
» Yusuf Jihad, playing in his 44th career game, earned his first collegiate start at Illinois State. In the game, he was a perfect 2-of-2 from three, marking his first game with multiple made triples.
» Legend Geeter recorded a career-high 13 points at Illinois State and tied a career-high with five made baskets (5-of-8) on the day.
» Emoni Bates is averaging 20.1 points, ranking him second in the MAC and 21st in the NCAA.
SCOUTING NIAGARA: Greg Paulus' team enters the game with a 4-4 overall record and stands 1-1 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play after splitting road games at Iona University, 78-56, Dec. 2, and at Quinnipiac University, 64-60, Dec. 4. The Purple Eagles are 1-0 at home this year with a 91-53 win over D'Youville University, Nov. 23, with the rest of their schedule seeing them play five road games and a pair of contests in Dublin, Ireland, in the MAAC/ASUN Dublin Challenge where they defeated both Central Arkansas University, 73-64, and Stetson University, 66-62.
Individually, NU is led by Noah Thomasson, who is averaging 16.6 points per game to go along with a team-best 3.7 assists per contest as well. Aaron Gray also is averaging more than 10 points per game with his 10.4 average while leading the team in rebounding with 6.3 boards per contest.
IN THE SERIES WITH NU:
» Eastern holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series and has won two in a row overall against Niagara.
» The game Sunday will mark the first time the teams have met at Niagara.
» Eastern won the last meeting, 60-58, Dec. 8, 2021, in Ypsilanti to make it two in a row against NU after winning, 83-65, in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, March 14, 2018.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER...: The game at Niagara will mark the second time this season the Eagles have faced the Eagles. In the first meeting, 101-87, to the Winthrop University Eagles at the Cancun Challenge. Overall, Eastern is 7-8 against fellow Eagles with all-time wins over American University, Coppin State University, Eastern Washington University, and Niagara, and games played against Winthrop, Tennessee Tech University, and Marquette University.
QUICK REVIEW • ILLINOIS STATE: Four different players scored in double figures with Tyson Acuff leading the way with a team-best 14 points as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fought back from a halftime deficit before eventually falling at Illinois State University, 87-81, in Normal, Ill., Dec. 7. Eastern (2-8) also saw Legend Geeter, Orlando Lovejoy, and Noah Farrakhan score for 10-or-more to build back from a six-point deficit before the Redbirds (4-6) closed the game on an 11-2 run.
The Eagles held several early leads in the game before entering halftime trailing, 41-35. In the second half, the Eagles began to chip away and took the lead, 60-59, at the 10:37 mark, giving the visitors their first lead since it was 18-16 with 9:51 remaining in the opening half.
Eastern Michigan narrowed its deficit to 71-66 before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Emoni Bates' three, to even the score at 71 all with 5:39 to go in the contest. The Eagles could not turn their rally into a victory, as the Redbirds outscored them 16-10 the rest of the way to hand Eastern Michigan the 87-81 loss. Eastern got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 14 of its 46 total points.
QUICK NOTES • ILLINOIS STATE GAME:
» Legend Geeter turned in a career-high 13 points on the night, bettering his previous best of 12 points he scored against Winthrop University, Nov. 23, in the Cancun Challenge. He finished the game with five made baskets to tie a career high from the same game.
» Lovejoy recorded a team-high three steals, which also tied his career high he set at Oakland University, Nov. 19. Lovejoy finished the game with 11 points, marking the third time he has reached double figures this season and his first time since the Oakland game.
» Yusuf Jihad made his first career start, Dec. 7, finishing with six points on 2-of-3 shooting that included a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc. His point total is a season high and was two off his career best. The game at Illinois State is the 44th game he has played in his career, which includes 17 with Oakland University (2020-21 season) and 27 with the Eagles.
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 10-23 in the all-time series and saw their two-game winning streak against the Redbirds snapped.
» EMU is now 2-14 when the game is played at ISU and has dropped three in a row.
DYNAMIC DUO: At Illinois State, Tyson Acuff finished the game with 14 points and four assists while Noah Farrakhan added 10 points and four assists to mark the second time this year both players have scored at least 10 points while assisting on four baskets each. The first instance game at Oakland, Nov. 19, and marks the fifth game this year one or both players have accomplished the feat. Acuff has done so five times in 2022-23 after accomplishing the feat just once in two seasons at Duquesne while Farrakhan has done so eight times total in his career after recording six such games last year.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Tyson Acuff and Noah Farrakhan are among rare company so far this year in the Mid-American Conference as both players rank among the top 20 in the league in both points and assists per game, joining Buffalo as the only school to accomplish the feat so far. Farrakhan ranks 18th in points (13.1) and tied for 12th in assists (2.8) while Acuff is 19th in points (13.0) and tied for 12th in assists (2.8).
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 third 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.
MORE CHARITY: The Eagles as a team are shooting 73.9 percent from the line, which ranks fourth in the MAC. Overall, four individual Eagles are ranked in the league's top 25 for free throw percentage with Orlando Lovejoy (third, 91.7), Tyson Acuff (10th, 83.3), Legend Geeter (16th, 76.9), and Emoni Bates (23rd, 68.8), making the cut. Overall, the Eagles are one of just two teams with four players ranking in the MAC's top 25 (Ball State) while also being one of two teams (Miami) with two players ranking in the top 10.
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 13 thefts on the year. Lovejoy, who ranks tied for 13th in the MAC at 1.3 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 ISU marked the fourth time this year has stolen the ball at least two times in the same game.
THAT'S A FIRST: Yusuf Jihad, playing in his 44th career game, earned his first collegiate start at Illinois State, Dec. 7, and finished the game with six points in 13 minutes played. 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. His six points is a season high and ties his highest point total in a game for the Eagles, equaling the six points he scored last year at DePaul, Nov. 28, 2021, and then again at Buffalo, Feb. 7, 2022. He was two points shy of tying his career high of eight points, which he tallied for Oakland at Detroit Mercy, Dec. 26, 2020.
CAREER DAY FOR LEGEND: Legend Geeter finished the game at Illinois State, Dec. 7, with a career-high 13 points while adding three rebounds in 26 minutes played. His point total surpassed the 12 he scored against Winthrop, Nov. 23, at the Cancun Challenge, while his 5-of-8 shooting tied his made fields best also set against Winthrop.
MORE THAN AVERAGE: Emoni Bates is currently averaging 20.1 points per game, which ranks him second in the MAC and 21st nationally. If he is able to remain near this pace, he could 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 61) and is six rebounds away from the 59 he pulled down for the Tigers.
BIG NUMBERS: Through nine 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.
HOME COOKING: Ahead of the Nov. 30 game at Florida International, College Basketball Reference made note that the Eagles are among the top five nationally in regards to points scored per game by in-state players with Eastern, at the time, ranking third at 55.0 points per game. Additional research through 10 games played this year shows that those same in-state players have accounted for 74.7 percent of the team's scoring with Michigan-born Eagles having collected 568 of the team's 760 points so far in 2022-23, an average of 56.8 points per game.
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: Eastern will play its final game before the holiday break as the Eagles will play host to the Titans of the University of Detroit Mercy, Sunday, Dec. 18. The game, which will be played inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, is scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. and will be aired live on ESPN+ and WEMU (89.1 FM).
