Men's Hoops Hosts WMU Tuesday, March 1, on Senior Night

Men's Basketball vs. Western Michigan
Date	Tuesday, March 1 \| 7 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
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Just two games remain in the regular season, as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is still very much in the hunt for a berth in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament, March 10-12. The Eagles are one of three MAC squads with five league wins and just one win behind Miami University and Central Michigan University, which have six.
   Eastern closes out the home portion of the schedule Tuesday, March 1, as it bids farewell to five seniors against rival Western Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
   The Eagles (10-19, 5-13 MAC) could not keep pace with Ball State University late, dropping a 75-64 contest that was tied with 7:45 to play, Feb. 26. On the flipside, the Broncos (7-22, 3-15 MAC) drained 11 three-pointers in a 78-67 victory at Bowling Green State University, Feb. 26.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (pxp), Justin Rose (analyst), Kristy King (sideline) on the call. Fans can also listen on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer.

WHAT'S A STAKE: Eastern has little wiggle room in its hopes for punching a ticket to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for the MAC Tournament, March 10-12. Eastern closes the year with Western Michigan at home, March 1, before a trip to Miami, March 4. Just two spots remain with Toledo (15-3), Ohio (14-4), Kent State (14-4), Buffalo (13-4), Akron (12-6), and Ball State (8-9) already in.
   Simply put, if EMU wins out, its chances of the season continuing are high (pending select tiebreakers). However, a combination of a Miami victory over Central Michigan and an EMU loss to Western Michigan on Tuesday night, would all but seal the squad's postseason fate.

TOP FRESHMAN SCORERS: Guard Noah Farrakhan is ranked third nationally among Division I freshmen at 16.9 points per game. The MAC's top freshman scorer, Farrakhan is one of just two first-year players in the top-10 list shorter than 6-foot-7.

FARRAKHAN CHASING HISTORY: Freshman Noah Farrakhan continued to build his case as one of the bright young stars of the MAC with his performances against NIU, Feb. 22, and Ball State, Feb. 26.
   Farrakhan led EMU to an important, 74-72, victory over the Huskies as he scored 23 first-half points, the second-most by any EMU player since 2016, en route to a 31-point effort. Not only were his 31 points a career-best, but they were also the most by any Eastern player since the 2018-19 campaign. Farrakhan added four assists to help the Eagles record a season-best 17 helpers in the contest. That effort helped him pass Raven Lee and MAC legend Earl Boykins for the second-most points by a freshman in EMU history. He now only trails James Thompson IV (490) in this historical feat. Farrakhan now has 423 points on the season.
   He followed up his career day with another great effort against Ball State. Farrakhan went for 27 points against the Cardinals, and was perfect handling the ball, as he did not relinquish a turnover in the 37 minutes he spent on the court. He has scored in double figures in six straight games, which ties a season-best stretch.
   Farrakhan currently sits at No. 7 on the MAC scoring list, averaging 16.9 points per game.

NO FEARING Y2K HERE: Eastern Michigan has not gone undefeated in a season versus in-state rivals Western Michigan and Central Michigan since the 1999-2000 season.

MICHIGAN MAC CHAMPIONS: With its win over Central Michigan, Feb. 15, Eastern Michigan has officially claimed the Michigan MAC Trophy for the 2022 campaign. The trophy is awarded to the Michigan-based Mid-American Conference institution (EMU, CMU, WMU) that emerges with the best head-to-head record against the others. EMU is now 3-0 this season in that race (2-0 vs. CMU, 1-0 vs. WMU). Originated in 2005, EMU has now claimed ownership four times (2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022).

THANK YOU, SENIORS!: Prior to Tuesday's game, Eastern Michigan will honor six individuals who have dedicated so much effort and countless hours as members of the men's basketball program.
   Head Manager Isaiah Buyaba – A manager with the program for four years, Zeke is graduating this spring with a degree in business management and plans to head to grad school next.
   Thomas Binelli joined Eastern Michigan following two seasons at Monroe College. A native of The Bologna, Italy, he has totaled 288 points in 45 contests for the Green and White, and scored a career-high 26 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond-the-arc, against Northern Illinois. Binelli has hit multiple threes in 12 contests as an Eagle, and made three-or-more from downtown in 20 games.
   Axel Okongo joined the EMU squad in 2020 after a season at Missouri. The Saacy-sur-Marne, France native has played in 31 total games for the Eagles, and recorded a personal-best eight points and six rebounds against Illinois State. The center also recorded five games with multiple blocks in a Green and White uniform.
   Monty Scott joined Eastern Michigan after previously playing at Portland State last season. This year, the guard scored 273 points as an Eagle, averaging 10.5 points per game, while adding 57 assists, and 32 steals. The Union, N.J. native scored in double-digits in 13 contests this season, including a stretch of 10-straight games.
   Nate Scott came to Ypsilanti after spending two seasons at Northern Illinois. This year, the forward totaled 232 points, 156 rebounds, and 21 blocks. The Naperville, Ill. native tallied nine contests where he scored in double-figures, and earned his first career double-double against Miami, scoring a personal-best 25 points, and grabbing 10 rebounds.
    Darion Spottsville joined the EMU squad after two seasons at South Mountain Community College, and was named a captain for this year's squad. In his 78 career games as an Eagle, Spottsville tallied 416 points and 163 assists. The Phoenix, Arizona native earned the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court award for academic excellence twice and was named to the Academic All-MAC team last season. He has led the Eagles in assists 24 times.

BULKING UP: With 27 points at Ball State, Feb. 26, freshman Noah Farrakhan led all scorers and marked his 19th contest in double-figures and 10th scoring 20-or-more. Additionally, Farrakhan was 10-of-21 from the field for his fifth game of the season making at least nine shots from the field. Furthermore, he has now recorded five consecutive double-digit outings.

MONTY HEATS UP: Senior Monty Scott shot 3-of-7 (42.9%) from downtown in the first half to lead the Eagles from three at Ball State, Feb. 26. The performance is the senior's first in which he hit three triples in a half this season and is the first time making three treys in a game, in conference play. Furthermore, the New Jersey native finished the contest 4-of-11 from beyond-the-arc, making it the first game hitting four this season.

IMPROVEMENT ON THE BOARDS: Senior captain Darion Spottsville has helped the team on the glass, averaging 4.7 rebounds this season through 29 games, after only grabbing 1.9 boards per contest through 17 games last season. Spottsville has had five-or-more rebounds in 13 contests this season, a total he only saw once in the 2019-20 campaign. Furthermore, the senior's 39 offensive rebounds lead the team, while his 137 total is second for the Eagles. Most recently, the senior grabbed seven rebounds at Ball State, Feb. 26.

BACK IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Scoring 15 points at Ball State, Feb. 26, senior Monty Scott is back in double figures for the first time since scoring 10 versus Toledo, Feb. 1. Additionally, it's Scott's 13th game this season hitting double-digits.

BROTHER, BROTHER: Freshman Noah Farrakhan (27) and senior Monty Scott (15) combined for 42 points, accounting for 65.6 percent of Eastern's 64 total points at Ball State, Feb. 26.

NOAH DOWNTOWN: Freshman Noah Farrakhan leads Eastern Michigan from downtown, shooting 41.2 percent (42-of-105). Additionally, Farrakhan is on pace to finish the season 45-of-112 (.401). The freshman would be the first EMU player to finish a season shooting 40 percent-or-better from deep (minimum of 100 attempts) since the 2005-06 season when two Eagles did so. Carlos Medlock was 45-of-107 (.421), and Danny McElhinny went 72-of-171 (.421).

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT: EMU is averaging 26.3 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference and 97th nationally. Eastern grabbed 28 defensive boards most recently against the Cardinals, Feb. 26.

EASTERN'S IRON MAN: Between COVID and injuries, there has been one constant in Eastern Michigan's lineup, senior captain Darion Spottsville. The guard is the only player on the team to have played in all 29 games so far this season and has started in 25 of those contests. Furthermore, Spottsville is first on the team in offensive rebounds (39), second in total boards (137), and is third on the squad in blocks (16).

TAKE THE FREEBEES: Eastern shot 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line at Ball State, Feb. 23, its best percentage from the line since Feb. 2, at Ohio. Furthermore, it ties the third-best percentage from the charity stripe in a game this season, as EMU also shot 84.6 percent (22-of-26) against Kent State, Jan. 18.

SWAT TEAM: Eastern Michigan currently ranks third in the Mid-American Conference in blocks per game (3.34) and total blocks (97). EMU is led by freshman Mo Njie who has 30 total blocks this season. Njie's 1.2 blocks per game are tied for fifth in the conference and 147th nationally. Njie and Akron's Aziz Bandaogo are the only freshmen ranked in MAC's top six for blocks.
    Recently the freshman led the team against Ball State, Feb. 26, with three rejections. The defensive performance marks his eighth multiple-block game of the season.

DARION WITH THE DIMES: In Eastern Michigan's most recent contest at Ball State, Feb. 26, senior Darion Spottsville led the team with three assists, marking his fifth game of the season leading the team in the category. The senior guard is third on the team with 54 total helpers this season.

OFFENSIVE GLASS: Eastern Michigan had a good night on the offensive glass, against Ball State, Feb. 26, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game. The performance is the ninth contest of the season that EMU has secured 10-or-more offensive caroms.

ALL-TIME VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Tuesday's game will be the 116th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan. EMU has met WMU the second-most out of any school in the Mid-American Conference, behind Central Michigan (204 times), with the series dating back to 1915. The Broncos hold the all-time series advantage with a 61-54 mark, but EMU has won six of the last seven matchups. All told, Eastern holds a 34-24 record at its home court, but trails 18-34 against the Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich.

LAST TIME AGAINST WESTERN MICHIGAN: Despite playing without Head Coach Stan Heath, Eastern Michigan got a 27-point showing from the bench on the way to an 85-79 win over Western Michigan on the road, Jan. 4. Eastern Michigan forced 18 Western Michigan turnovers in the game, and had four players score in double figures, led by freshman Noah Farrakhan, who had 25 points and three steals. Junior Bryce McBride tacked on 18 points from the bench and senior Thomas Binelli helped out with a season-high 11 points.

AN ODDITY WITH WMU: The last three games in the series against WMU have been played on the Broncos' home court. No team has hosted three-or-more consecutive home games in the series since the 1929-31 seasons, respectively, when EMU hosted WMU for three consecutive affairs. The longest stretch of consecutive home games in the EMU-WMU series came between 1925-28, when Eastern hosted six straight contests between the institutions.

LAST WMU VISIT TO YPSI: Eastern earned a convincing 69-51 victory over Western Michigan, Feb. 15, 2020, inside the then-Convocation Center. Trailing 15-11 early in the opening half, the Eagles recaptured the lead for good with a 17-0 run lasting more than five minutes. In all, EMU scored 23 of the next 26 points to build an insurmountable 34-18 lead and secure its fourth consecutive victory against the Broncos.    Boubacar Toure had a perfect night from the field, pacing the Eagles with 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting while pulling down a team-best six boards, including four on the offensive glass.

TIES TO THE BRONCOS: EMU Head Coach Stan Heath helped coach WMU Assistant Coach Thomas Kelley while he was an undergrad at Michigan State. Heath was an assistant coach at the time for legendary MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo. Kelley played at Michigan State from 1995-99 and was a part of Izzo's first Final Four team as a fifth-year senior in 1998-99. At MSU, Kelley played in 115 games, averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 assists per game.
   Additionally, WMU sophomore B. Artis White is the son of former EMU assistant coach Benny White. White was on the EMU sideline from 2011-16.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan closes out the regular campaign in Oxford, Ohio, Friday, March 4. The contest between Eastern and Miami University is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. inside Millett Hall.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Binelli

Noah Farrakhan

Bryce McBride

Mo Njie

Axel Okongo

Monty Scott

Nate Scott

Darion Spottsville

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