The Road Trip Continues Saturday in Kent, Ohio for Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball at Kent State
Date	Saturday, Feb. 5 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Kent, Ohio \| Memorial Athletic and Convocation 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

KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team's seven-day, 956-mile road trip continues Saturday, Feb. 5, with a stop in Kent, Ohio, to battle the Golden Flashes of Kent State University. The Mid-American Conference matchup is slated for a 2 p.m. tip from the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
   Eastern (8-13, 3-7 MAC) dropped an 81-68 decision Thursday, Feb. 3, in a make-up game at Ohio University. Meanwhile, Kent State (12-9, 7-4 MAC) has won three in-a-row, most recently posting a 78-65 road victory at Miami University, Feb. 1.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the game on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer.

ROAD TRIPPIN': Eastern Michigan is in the midst of three consecutive road games with contests at Ohio, Feb. 3, Kent State, Feb. 5, and Buffalo, Feb. 8. The team remains on the road for the entirety of the trip before returning home following the game in Amherst, N.Y.
   It is the team's longest in-conference road swing since Feb. 5-11, 1998. That year, the Eagles played at Akron (Feb. 5 - L, 76-69), at Kent State (Feb. 7 - W, 79-74), and at Ball State (Feb. 11 - W, 89-77).

CELEBRATION FOR THE AGES: Prior to Saturday's game, Kent State will honor the 20-year anniversary of the Golden Flashes' 2002 run to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. Current EMU Head Coach Stan Heath was the bench boss in Kent that season, helping turn in a program-best 30-6 record. The team downed No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Alabama, and No. 3 Pittsburgh, before falling to eventual national runner-up Indiana. The squad set MAC records for overall wins (30), conference wins (17), and longest winning streak (21 games).

WE WANT IT MORE!: After leading NCAA Division I basketball for more than three weeks, Eastern Michigan now ranks sixth nationally with an average of 76.4 possessions per game. The Eagles have not had the same success on the road, where they average 72.4 this season.
    Last season, EMU averaged 71.3 possessions per game, ranking 164th in Division I.

FRESHMAN TOP-10: Freshman Noah Farrakhan cracked the top-10 on the all-time freshman scoring list at Eastern Michigan with 17 points against Toledo, Feb. 1. The Newark, N.J. native became the ninth freshman to score 272 points-or-more in a season and the first since James Thompson IV (490) in 2015-16.
   Moreover, Farrakhan is just the fifth freshman in the 21st century to make the list. The guard is on pace to score 425 points by the end of the regular season. The point total would place him second all-time behind Thompson. The freshman needs 16 points to move into eighth and pass Derrick Dial (294).

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 21 games so far this season, and has started in 20 of those contests. Furthermore, Spottsville leads the team in steals (24), is tied for the lead in assists (42), and is third on the squad in blocks (14) and total rebounds (90).

SCOTT STILL HOT: Senior Nate Scott has reached double-digits in three consecutive games for the first time in his career (vs. Miami - 25, vs. Toledo -17, at Ohio -16). Additionally, in that three-game span, the senior has shot above 50-40-90, hitting 58 percent (21-of-36) from the field, 47.8 percent from deep (11-of-23), and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

MORE FROM MO: Freshman Mo Njie scored 10 points against the Bobcats, Feb. 3, marking the second game in-a-row producing a double-digit performance. This is the first time in Njie's career he has scored in double figures in back-to-back games. Moreover, he was perfect from the field against OU, sinking 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

BENCH BOSS(ES): Eastern has received 20-or-more points from its bench in 14 of its 21 games this season. Overall, EMU is averaging 22.4 points per game from its bench this season, an advantage over its opponents, which average 19.6 points per game from their non-starters this season. Most recently, EMU saw its bench score 23 points to Ohio's four, Feb. 3.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: EMU is one of six MAC teams to have three players ranked inside the league's top-23 for scoring. The Eagles join Buffalo, Miami, Ohio, Toledo, and Akron in accomplishing the feat. Freshman Noah Farrakhan is eighth with 16.4 points per game, senior Monty Scott and junior Bryce McBride are tied for 23rd with 12.2 points a contest.

CREATING SECOND CHANCES: Collecting 10 offensive rebounds at Ohio, Jan. 3, Eastern Michigan has hit double-digits in offensive boards in six games this season. Freshman Mo Njie leads the team with 23 offensive caroms, while senior Darion Spottsville has 22 on the year.

LIKE THIEVES IN THE NIGHT: Eastern Michigan has grabbed 10-or-more steals in a game four times this season, and totals 141 this year. EMU's total steals rank fourth in the Mid-American conference while its 6.71 spg is sixth. The Eagles most recently tallied seven swipes at Ohio, Feb. 3.

TAKE THE FREEBEES: Eastern currently ranks fourth in free throw attempts (394), and fifth in both makes (286) and percentage (72.6%) in the Mid-American Conference. Freshman Noah Farrakhan leads the team, shooting 80 percent (52-of-65), which ranks 10th in the conference. The freshman most recently hit 2-of-2 at Ohio, Feb. 3. Furthermore, four players were perfect from the stripe against the Bobcats, the second such outing for the Eagles this season. The first was on the road at DePaul, Nov. 28.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU: The Eagles' opponents average 13.8 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference. Most recently, Eastern pressured the Bobcats into 14 turnovers, Feb. 3. Furthermore, EMU has forced teams into 20-or-more turnovers twice this season: Illinois State, Nov. 12 – 22, and FIU, Dec. 11 – 25.

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT: EMU is averaging 26.9 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference and 71st nationally. Eastern grabbed 22 defensive boards most recently in its loss at Ohio, Feb. 3.

SWAT TEAM: Eastern Michigan currently ranks fifth in the Mid-American Conference in blocks per game (3.43), and total blocks (72). EMU is led by freshman Mo Njie who has 17 total blocks this season. Njie's 0.9 block per game is ninth in the conference.

FINALLY GETTING THE ROTATION BACK: With the national uptick in COVID, combined with usual bumps and bruises from gameplay, EMU did not play with its full rotation of student-athletes dressed for a game for 60 days - Dec. 5 (vs. Northwood) until Feb. 3 (at Ohio).

BENCH HERO BRYCE: Junior Bryce McBride has been stellar off the bench this season, totaling 194 of his 244 points as a reserve. Eastern Michigan has seen 470 points from its non-starters this season, with McBride being the responsible party for 41.3 percent of those. Furthermore, the junior has led the team in points coming off the pine in five contests.

BUCKEYE STATE BONANZA: Eastern Michigan concludes a stretch of seven consecutive games Saturday, Feb. 5, against teams from the Buckeye State.

RETURN TO THE M.A.C CENTER: Saturday's game will mark the 14th time Head Coach Stan Heath has coached at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio. Heath notched a 12-0 mark at the M.A.C. Center in 2001-02 when leading the Kent State program, while he's 0-1 as a visiting coach. Heath's South Florida squad dropped a 56-51 decision in the venerable arena during the 2010-11 season, Dec. 12, 2010.
   Against USF, the Golden Flashes trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and 24-21 at halftime. After the Bulls took a 31-25 lead with 15:59 left to play, Kent State scored eight straight to take its first lead on Carlton Guyton's layup with 12:31 to go.
   The Bulls would regain the lead, 35-34, a little over four minutes later but Guyton again put the Golden Flashes on top. His three-pointer with 7:39 left gave Kent State a 37-35 advantage, and it would not trail the rest of the way.

ALL-TIME VS. KENT STATE: Saturday's contest marks the 82nd meeting between Eastern Michigan and Kent State. The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series 46-35, which dates back to the 1973-74 season. This is the second meeting between the two squads this season as Kent State left Ypsilanti with a 56-47 win, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Jan. 18.

LAST TIME AGAINST KSU: Junior Bryce McBride led all scorers with 20 points off the bench. Senior Nate Scott added nine points while freshman Colin Golson Jr. helped out with six points. Eastern Michigan grabbed 32 rebounds, compared to Kent State's 31, led by freshman Mo Njie's game-high six boards. Kent State held a 26-17 lead at halftime and kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 40-26 advantage before Eastern went on a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to 40-31. The Eagles were unable to cut further into the deficit by the end of the game as the Golden Flashes won, 56-47. KSU had three players score in double figures with Malique Jacobs (17), Sincere Carry (11), and Tervell Beck (11).

EMU'S LAST WIN IN KENT: Paul Jackson led the way with 17 points and eight assists, while also knocking down five-of-five from the charity stripe in the 71-67 win, Feb. 6, 2018. Elijah Minnie came up big with 15 points and six rebounds, while James Thompson IV added 12 points and eight boards. Jaylin Walker had 24 points for the Golden Flashes, with a team-high eight assists. Danny Pippen added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while BJ Duling added 11 points.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will close out its road trip against the University at Buffalo, in Amherst, N.Y. Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m.

The Road Trip Continues Saturday in Kent, Ohio for Men's Basketball

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Players Mentioned

Noah Farrakhan

Colin Golson Jr.

Bryce McBride

Mo Njie

Monty Scott

Nate Scott

Darion Spottsville

Eastern Michigan Athletics