Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ohio
MBB Returns Home to Face Ohio Tuesday Night
1/29/2023 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles coming off 74-69 road victory at Miami over the weekend
| Men's Basketball vs. Ohio | |
| Date | Tuesday, Jan. 31 | 7 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) – Coming off a strong performance in a road victory over the weekend, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to its home court Tuesday, Jan. 31, when the Bobcats of Ohio University come to town for a 7 p.m. contest inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Eagles (5-16, 2-6 MAC) used a 74-69 win at Miami University, Jan. 28, to snap a five-game losing streak and will look for their first back-to-back wins since December 2021 when the Bobcats (11-10, 3-5 MAC) come calling.
The game will be streamed live 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:
» A full team effort helped the Eagles secure a 74-69 road win at Miami, Jan. 28, to snap a five-game losing streak. With a win against Ohio, Jan. 31, the Eagles would win back-to-back contests for the first time since winning three in a row to close out the non-conference slate last year (December 2021).
» The Eagles forced Miami into 19 turnovers, 11 of which were steals by Eastern. The 11 steals are the most in a road game this year and the third-most overall behind the 15 steals from Central Michigan, Jan. 7, and 12 from Detroit Mercy, Dec. 18.
» Emoni Bates has scored 60 points in the last two games, the second-highest total in back-to-back contests since Raven Lee scored 71 during the 2016-17 season. Bates moved past current teammate Noah Farrakhan, who was second on the list with 58 points scored last year.
» Emoni Bates would need 18 points against Ohio, Jan. 31, to move into the top-10 charts for three-game scoring and join Noah Farrakhan, who scored 79 points in three consecutive games last season.
» Noah Farrakhan recorded three assists at Miami, Jan. 28, to run his streak to 21 games this year and 33 overall with at least one helper. Since 1998-99, he ranks tied for fifth with Tim Bond next on the list at 44.
» The Eagles finished the game at Miami with four made three-pointers to extend their streak to 572 consecutive games with at least one made triple.
SCOUTING OHIO: The Bobcats enter Tuesday's game with an 11-10 overall record and stand 3-5 in MAC play following their 83-77 loss at Akron, Jan. 28, that snapped a two-game winning streak that saw them defeat Central Michigan and Western Michigan. Ohio, who is 0-4 in road MAC games and 2-8 in all road contests, share two common non-conference opponents with the Eagles, falling at Detroit Mercy, 88-74, Nov. 16, before losing a 70-66 decision at then-No. 20 Michigan, Nov. 20.
Individually, four Bobcats are averaging double-digit points with Dwight Wilson leading the way with 15.5 points per game and a team-high 9.7 rebounds. Miles Brown (10.8), AJ Brown (10.6), and Jaylin Hunter (10.5) are each averaging in double-figures with Hunter leading the team with 4.3 assists per game.
IN THE SERIES WITH OHIO:
» The Bobcats lead the all-time series, 54-26, and have won five in a row overall.
» Ohio holds a slim lead when the series is played in Ypsilanti, 19-18, and has won the last four meetings.
» The last time the two teams met was also the last time the game was played in Ypsilanti with the Bobcats leaving town with a 74-56 decision, Feb. 12, 2022.
» Ohio also won the first of two games last year, 81-68, in Athens, Feb. 3, 2022.
ALMA MATER MEETINGS: The game with Ohio marks the fourth time this year both teams' head coach is leading his alma mater with Stan Heath and Jeff Boals guiding their respective sides. The Eagles have played in three such games earlier this year as Heath and his Eagles have faced Bryan Smothers and Wayne State, Nov. 7, Juwan Howard and Michigan, Nov. 11, and Michael Huger and Bowling Green, Jan. 3. The Eagles are slated for a rematch with Huger and BGSU, Feb. 28, in the penultimate game of the regular season.
QUICK REVIEW • MIAMI: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team saw a 23-point performance from the bench on the way to a 74-69 victory against the Miami University RedHawks on the road Saturday, Jan. 28, to snap a five-game skid. Noah Farrakhan paced the Eagles with 20 points while Emoni Bates added 17 and Tyson Acuff scored 12 in the victory.
The Eagles forced 19 Miami turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Saturday's game. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 21 points on the offensive end of the floor. Acuff's four steals led the way for Eastern Michigan. The Eagles finished with 11 steals in the game, their third-highest total of the season and the most they have recorded in a road game in 2022-23.
After falling behind 15-4, Eastern Michigan went on an 11-0 run with 14:52 left in the first half to tie the game at 15. The Eagles then proceeded to grab a 40-38 lead heading into halftime. Eastern Michigan did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 22 of its 40 points close to the basket.
Eastern Michigan kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 67-59 with 5:01 to go in the contest. The RedHawks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Eagles still held on for the 74-69 win. Eastern Michigan capitalized on 10 Miami turnovers in the period, collecting 10 points off those turnovers.
QUICK NOTES • MIAMI GAME:
» Noah Farrakhan finished the game with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-5 from the line, to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. The 20 points marked his fourth 20+ game this season and the 14th of his career. He also has 709 points for his EMU career, which ranks 66th on the program's all-time scoring ledger. He moved past five former Eagles on the day with Howard Chambers (1987-89) sitting 65th with 710 points.
» With three assists, Jan. 28, Farrakhan extended his streak to recording at least one helper in 21 contests and has dropped at least one dime in 33 consecutive games dating back to last season. In fact, in his two seasons with the Eagles, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 43-of-46 games played (93.5 percent) for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 50-of-58 career games (86.2 percent)
» Emoni Bates, who celebrated his birthday with a victory, scored 17 points on the game and tied both Farrakhan and Kevin-David Rice with a team-high six rebounds. With those 17 points and his 43 at Toledo, Jan. 24, Bates is the first Eagle to score 60+ points in back-to-back games since Raven Lee did so in the 2016-17 season. Lee opened his two-game stretch with 21 points in a home game against Northern Illinois, Feb. 25, 2017, before scoring his program-record 50 points at Central Michigan, Feb. 28, 2017.
» With his 17 points, Bates has now scored 407 points on the year and has reached double figures for the 17th time in 20 games played. He also scored 15-or-more for the 16th time this year.
» Bates' four assists led the team at Miami and stand a season-high, surpassing the three he tallied twice this year, most recently at Western Michigan, Jan. 10. His career high is six that he recorded with Memphis against Cincinnati, Jan. 9, 2022.
» Rice pulled down a career-high six rebounds to share the game lead with both Bates and Farrakhan. His previous career-best was five boards at Illinois State, Dec. 7, 2022. Rice finished with six points, including 4-of-4 from the line in the waning minutes of the game, and added one block.
» Farrakhan connected on a three-point shot with 14:40 remaining in the opening half to help the Eagles extend their consecutive games streak to 572 in a row with at least one made triple. Eastern finished the day shooting 4-of-24 from three. The last time Eastern failed to hit a three-point basket in a game came Jan. 24, 2004, when the Eagles were 0-of-7 at Miami.
TEN OR MORE: In all but three games so far this season, Emoni Bates has scored in double figures as the sophomore is making his case for one of the top scorers in the MAC and the NCAA. With his 17 points at Miami, Jan. 28, Bates reached double-figure points for the 17th time in the 20 games he has played while scoring at least 15 points for the 16th time.
BACK-TO-BACK: In the past two games, Emoni Bates has combined to score 60 points after he posted a career-high 43 at Toledo, Jan. 24, and 17 at Miami, Jan. 28. Since the 1998-99 season, Bates' 60 points rank as the second-most in consecutive games for the Eagles with only Raven Lee's 71 points ranking higher. Lee scored 21 at home against Northern Illinois, Feb. 25, 2017, before recording his school-record 50 points at Central Michigan, Feb. 28, 2017. Before Bates' scoring burst, Noah Farrakhan formerly held the second position with 58 points after scoring 31 at home against NIU, Feb. 22, 2022, and 27 at Ball State, Feb. 26, 2022.
THREE IN A ROW: Heading into the game with Ohio, Jan. 31, Emoni Bates has scored 60 points total in his past two games. Since games played in the 1998-99 season, 11 players have scored 70 or more total points in three consecutive games, with Bates having already done so three times this year, tying Ricky Cottrill for the most three-game sets by an Eagle. Bates has already scored 77 points (36 at South Carolina, Dec. 30; 15 vs. Bowling Green, Jan. 3; and 26 vs. Central Michigan) to rank 12th on the ledger and would need 18 points against Ohio to reach the top 10. Noah Farrakhan, who scored 79 points total over three games last February, currently ranks tied for eighth on the list.
20 AND OVER: With nine games of 20-or-more points this season, Emoni Bates ranks 11th for such games in a season for Eastern, dating back to the 1998-99 season. Should he reach 10 games with 20+ points scored, he would not only move into a tie for the seventh-most such games in a season with current teammate Noah Farrakhan (10 in 2021-22), but would give the Eagles back-to-back seasons with a pair of teammates reaching 10, 20-point games. The last time this happened came with Raven Lee and Elijah Minnie each tallied 13, 20-point games in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.
MORE THAN AVERAGE: Emoni Bates is currently averaging 20.4 points per game, which ranks him second in the MAC and 18th nationally. He also is the highest scoring sophomore in the nation. If Bates 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. If he is able to finish at 21.0 points per game or better this year, he would be the first Eagle to do so since Earl Boykins averaged 25.7 in 1997-98.
DOUBLE LEADER: Through the Toledo game, Jan. 28, Emoni Bates is leading the team in both scoring and rebounding as the sophomore is averaging 20.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. If he finishes the season leading both, it would mark the first time an Eagle has finished atop both categories in the same year since 2021-22 when Ty Groce averaged 15.2 and 6.9. Should Bates lead both categories and average over 20.0 points per game, he would be the first to do so since John Bowler averaged 20.1 points and 10.8 rebounds during the 2005-06 season.
CLOSING IN: Following the game at Miami, Jan. 28, Emoni Bates brought his season total to 407 points. Bates is now 47 points away from 454 points that would tie him with Kennedy McIntosh (1968-69) for the 10th-most points scored by a sophomore in program history. To reach the top five, he would need 102 points to tie Brian Tolbert (1993-95) for fifth place with 509 points and is 477 points away from equaling George Gervin's sophomore after he scored 886 points in 1971-72.
CLIMBING HIGHER: Noah Farrakhan continued his climb up the program's all-time scoring ledger as his team-high 20 points at Miami, Jan. 28, brought his career total to 709 points scored playing for Eastern Michigan (his overall career total is 745 points when including the 36 points he scored at East Carolina). With his 709 points, Farrakhan currently ranks 66th on the program's all-time scoring list and is one point away from tying Charles Thomas (1987-91) for 6th with 710 points. Averaging 13.2 points per game this year, if Farrakhan were to maintain his current scoring average the rest of the regular season, he would reach the top-50 while surpassing 800 points.
NOT ALL SCORING: While Noah Farrakhan continues his climb up the program's all-time scoring ledger, he also continues to assist teammates on their scoring. Through 21 games played this year, Farrakhan has tallied at least one helper in all 21 contests and has dropped at least one dime in 33 consecutive games dating back to last season. In fact, in his two seasons with the Eagles, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 43-of-46 games played for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 50-of-58 career games.
LOTS OF HELPING: Since the 1998-99 season, several Eagles have strung together streaks of consecutive games with at least one assist with Noah Farrakhan's current streak of 33 games ranking tied for fifth with Michael Ross, who accomplished the feat over the final 28 games of the 2002-03 season and the first five contests of the 2003-04 campaign. Next on the list is Tim Bond with 44 games in a row that were built with assists in his final eight games of the 2015-16 season, all 33 games played in 2016-17, and the first three games of the 2017-18 season. Mike Talley holds the record as he assisted in all 72 games he played for EMU, including 37 games in 2013-14 and 35 games in 2014-15.
FROM THE STRIPE: Eastern Michigan has found great success from the free throw line this year with the Eagles converting 74.9 percent, which ranks third in the MAC and 44th nationally. Through 21 games played (Jan. 28), the Eagles have made their way to the stripe 20+ times in 11 games, including in six of the last eight games, in which Eastern is converting at 77.1 percent in those games. In four of the 11 games EMU has shot more than 20 free throws, it has converted over 85.0 percent of their chances after shooting 18-of-21(85.7 percent) at Miami, Jan. 28.
MOVING UP: The Eagles are currently hitting at a 74.9 percent clip from the free throw line this season. As it stands, the current Eagles have the best shooting percentage from the line in program history with the 2020-21 team's 74.5 percent shooting following its 18 game, COVID-shortened season just behind this year's squad. When looking at teams that played full seasons, the 2007-08 squad leads the way at 72.9 percent following its 31-game slate.
CHARITY CHARTS: On an individual basis, Eastern players rank highly in league standings in regards to free-throw shooting with Legend Geeter (78.3 percent), Tyson Acuff (77.8), Emoni Bates (77.3), and Noah Farrakhan (74.6) all ranking in the top 20. Their percentages in conference-only statistics all have them in the top 25 of the MAC as well with Farrakhan sitting 10th (84.8), Bates 12th (82.4), and Acuff 23rd (70.4). Geeter is not on the list as he doesn't have enough attempts to qualify in MAC play.
Overall, Eastern is the one of two schools to have four players ranked in the top 25 for free throw shooting in conference games, joining Toledo as the only two schools with four.
DOING IT ALL: Tyson Acuff finds himself ranked in the top 25 in several categories on the MAC statistics charts, including points, assists, free throw percentage, and steals. The sophomore floor general currently ranks 25th in the league with 12.4 points per game while converting 78.7 percent of his free throw attempts, which ranks 15th. With the ball in his hands, Acuff ranks 14th with 2.8 assists and standing 12th with 1.4 steals per game.
WAY DOWNTOWN: The Eagles connected on four three-point baskets at Miami, Jan. 28, to extend the program's streak to 572 games in a row with at least one triple drained. Noah Farrakhan connected on a deep shot with 14:40 remaining in the opening half against the RedHawks to extend the streak. The last time the EMU failed to hit a three was Jan. 24, 2004, when Miami held Eastern to 0-of-7.
HOME COOKING: According to the latest update from College Basketball Reference, Jan. 25, the Eagles currently rank fourth nationally in regards to points scored per game by in-state players with Eastern averaging 53.3 points per game from its Michigan-born players. Northern Iowa (68.5), Youngstown State (59.0), and Northern Colorado (54.3) rank just ahead of EMU. Additional research through 21 games played shows that those same in-state players have accounted for 73.7 percent of the team's scoring with Michigan-born Eagles having collected 1,120 of the team's 1,519 points.
UP NEXT: Eastern returns to the road Friday, Feb. 3, as the Eagles will take on Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. The game is slated for a 6:30 p.m. tip and will be broadcast live to a national television audience on CBS Sports Network. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, will have the call on the WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
