Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Akron
Eastern Plays Host to Akron Tuesday Night
2/12/2023 3:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Acuff has averaged 35.5 points in his past two games
| Men's Basketball vs. Akron | |
| Date | Tuesday, Feb. 14 | 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) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to action at home Tuesday, Feb. 14, with a visit from the University of Akron inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center at 7 p.m. The Eagles (6-19, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) and Zips (17-8, 9-3) are meeting for the second time this year after Akron won the first contest, 104-67, in Akron, Jan. 13.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley and Justin Rose on the call and Dannie Rogers reporting from the sideline. 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 is coming off a close home to conference-leader Toledo, 70-63, Feb. 11, a game that saw Tyson Acuff continue to have the hot hand as he hit for a career-high 36 points to lead the way for the Eagles.
» Six games remain in the regular season (three home, three away) with the Eagles (3-9) sitting 10th in the MAC standings, one game out of the final spot in the MAC Tournament that is currently held by both Bowling Green and Central Michigan, who are both 4-8 in league play.
» The game between Eastern and Akron will feature the top two scorers in the MAC as Emoni Bates leads the Eagles with 20.5 points per game, just behind the Zips' Xavier Castaneda, who averages 21.7.
» Acuff's recent scoring efforts rank highly at Eastern as he has tallied 71 points in his last two games (35.5), 82 in his last three (27.3), and 118 in his last four (29.5). Those totals rank tied for first, second, and first, respectively, since the 1998-99 season.
» The Eagles welcomed 5,390 fans to the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Feb. 11, for the game with Toledo. The attendance figure ranks as the third-highest in facility history to see the EMU men's team play and the second-most to see a Mid-American Conference game since the facility opened in 1998.
» The Eagles hit eight three-pointers against Toledo to extend their current streak to 576 consecutive games with at least one made triple. The last time EMU failed to hit a three was Jan. 24, 2004, at Miami (0-of-7).
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips enter Tuesday's contest at Eastern Michigan with a 17-8 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the MAC. Akron has dropped its last two games, including a 90-81 setback at Ohio, Feb. 10, after falling at home to Toledo, 84-74, Feb. 7. Xavier Castaneda continues to not only lead the team in scoring, but also the league as he is currently averaging 21.7 points per game. Meanwhile Enrique Freeman ranks 13th in the MAC at 15.3 points per game while leading the conference in rebounding at 11.1 per contest, making him the lone player in the league averaging a double-double on the year.
IN THE RANKINGS: The game with Akron will mark the third game overall and the second in a row in which the Eagles have faced a member of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 rankings as the Zips enter the game ranked No. 18 while also holding the same ranking in Mid-Major Madness' 'The Other Top 25' listing. The last time Eastern recorded a win over a team in either of the rankings came Feb. 19, 2019, in a 76-96 defeat of Toledo. The Rockets, at the time, were ranked No. 12 by CollegeInsider.com and No. 17 by Mid-Major Madness.
IN THE SERIES WITH AKRON:
» The Zips lead the all-time series, 35-23, and have won four in a row, including a 104-67 victory in Akron, Jan. 13.
» The Eagles hold a slim 13-12 lead when playing host to the game and lost the last meeting in Ypsilanti, 67-48, Feb. 16, 2022.
» The 104 points scored by Akron in the last meeting are the most scored by any team in the series and marks the first time a team broke the century mark. The previous high was 97 points scored by Akron in its 97-89, double-overtime, win, March 10, 2010, at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
QUICK REVIEW • TOLEDO: Tyson Acuff recorded a career-high point total for the second game in a row, this time scoring 36 points, as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell, 70-63, to the University of Toledo inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Feb. 11.
Acuff led the Eagles with 36 points one game after scoring 35 at the University at Buffalo, Feb. 7, while Orlando Lovejoy tacked on eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Emoni Bates chipped in four points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.
The Eagles defense forced 14 Toledo turnovers while committing 13. Those takeaways turned into five points on the offensive end of the floor. Lovejoy's career-high-tying three steals led the way individually for EMU.
After falling behind, 23-17, Eastern went on a 7-0 run with 9:31 left in the first half to take a 24-23 lead. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down, 34-31.
After intermission, the Green and White came back to even it up at 48-48 before going on a 5-0 run to seize a 53-48 lead with 8:46 to go in the contest. Toledo then asserted control, outscoring the Eagles, 22-10, the rest of the way to hand Eastern Michigan the 70-63 loss.
HOW IT STANDS: All 12 teams in the MAC have six games remaining on their respective regular season slates and no one is yet eliminated from MAC Tournament contention. Kent State and Toledo share the top spot at 10-2 with Ball State and Akron tied for third at 9-3. Northern Illinois (7-5), Ohio (6-6), and Buffalo (6-6) round out the top seven. The final spot currently is tied between Bowling Green and Central Michigan, both of which are 4-8 in league play, with the Eagles one game behind at 3-9 and both Miami and Western Michigan two games back at 2-10. The top 8 teams in the final standings will compete in the 2023 MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, March 9-11.
COME ON IN: Since the George Gervin GameAbove Center opened in 1998 (then as the Convocation Center), the building has seen many large crowds, including the Eagles' game with Toledo, Feb. 11, when 5,390 fans were on hand to watch. That total ranks as the third-largest EMU men's basketball crowd in the Center's history behind the 7,647 fans on hand, Dec. 9, 1998, when Michigan came to town, and the 5,423 fans in attendance for the EMU-Central Michigan game, Feb. 12, 2005. The game with CMU stands as the record crowd for a MAC game, 33 more than the game with Toledo.
WAY DOWNTOWN: The Eagles connected on eight three-point shots at home against Toledo, Feb. 11, to extend the program's streak to 576 games in a row with at least one triple drained. Tyson Acuff connected on a deep shot with 10:37 remaining in the opening half against the Rockets 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.
FROM THE STRIPE: Eastern has found great success from the free throw line this year with the Eagles converting 76.2 percent, which ranks second in the MAC and 25th nationally. Through 25 games played (Feb. 11), the Eagles have made their way to the stripe 20+ times in 12 games, including in seven of the last 11 games, in which Eastern is converting at 77.2 percent in those games. In four of the 12 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 76.2 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.
HE'S HEATING UP: In his first two seasons of collegiate play at Duquesne, Tyson Acuff recorded seven games with double-digit points in the 48 he played with a then-career-high 16 points. In 24 games this year with the Eagles, Acuff has found his scoring touch as he eight games that would have tied or bettered his previous career best and scored in double figures 16 times, more than doubling his total from DU. Against Ohio, Jan. 31, Acuff not only broke his previous career-high of 25 points (vs. Winthrop, Nov. 23, at Cancun) by scoring 29 points, falling one point shy of his first 30-point performance. After scoring 18 at Ball State, Feb. 3, Acuff not only reached the 30-point barrier, he has done so in back-to-back games with 35 at Buffalo, Feb. 7, and 36 at home against Toledo, Feb. 11.
HE'S ON FIRE: With all the points Tyson Acuff has been scoring, he has been able to add his name to several scoring lists. Since the 1998-99 season, numerous Eagles have one on strong scoring runs with Acuff ranking among the best. In a two-game stretch, Acuff has scored 71 points in his last two contests, tying Raven Lee for the most in back-to-back games after he scored 71 in 2017.
For a three-game stretch, Acuff has tallied 82 points, which is second only to Lee, who tallied 93. When it comes to a four-game run, Acuff holds the top spot with 118 points over his last four games, bettering the previous mark of 113 scored by John Bowler in the final four games of 2006.
ON THE LIST: Tyson Acuff's performance against Toledo, Feb. 11, not only ranks as his best scoring game as a collegiate player, it also ranks among one of the best in the history of Eastern's home gym. On a single-game ledger for games played inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center since its opening in 1998, Acuff's 36 points ties for the sixth most, his 14 field goals are second, his 22 field goal attempts rank tied for 10th, and his seven made three-pointers rank tied for seventh.
Acuff used a strong second half to reach those rankings. In the second half alone, he scored the fourth-most points the Center's history (24), tied for second in field goals made (9) and field goals attempts (15), tied for fifth in three-pointers made (5), and tied for eighth in three-point attempts (8).
THIRTY SOMETHINGS: Entering the season, Noah Farrakhan was the last Eagle to score 30+ points in a game when he tallied 31 at home against Northern Illinois, Feb. 22, 2022. Since then, the Eagles have had six games with one 30-point scorer with Tyson Acuff scoring 35 at Buffalo, Feb. 7, before adding 36 against Toledo at home, Feb. 11, and Emoni Bates adding four games, including 35 at Ball State (Feb. 3), 43 at Toledo (Jan. 24), 36 at South Carolina (Dec. 30) and 30 against Michigan (Nov. 11) in Detroit. Combined, the six games of 30+ scoring is the most in a single season, surpassing the four recorded in the 2001-02 season when Ricky Cottrill posted three games and Steve Pettyjohn had one. Additionally, the duo has combined to score 30+ in three consecutive games after Bates scored 35 at Ball State and Acuff tallied his back-to-back career-high games.
FAST START: Tyson Acuff has gotten off to hot starts in each of the last four games as he has scored at least 10 points in the first half. Acuff scored 10 against Ohio, Jan. 31, before scoring 29 total, 11 at Ball State before finishing with 18, Feb. 3, 16 at Buffalo to set up his then-career-high 35 points, Feb. 7, before scoring 12 in the first half against Toledo, Feb. 11, on his way to 36 points.
GETTING HIS: Emoni Bates, who ranks 19th nationally at 20.5 points per game and ranks second in the MAC, hasn't scored all his points in huge outbursts. In the 24 games he has played for the Eagles, Bates has scored at least 10 points 20 times, gone for at least 15 points 19 times and hit for 20 or more 11 times. By reaching the 20-point plateau 11 times, Bates is now tied for the sixth-most such games in Eastern history and is three shy of tying the single-season record (since 1998-99) held by Brandon Bowdry (2010-11) and Ricky Cottrill (2001-02) of 14.
PUMPING IN POINTS: Through the Toledo game, Feb. 1, Emoni Bates has scored 492 points, which ranks second in the MAC and is the sixth-most in a sophomore campaign in program history. Bates, who is eight points shy of 500 points on the year, needs 17 points to tie for a place in the top five for sophomore season scoring at Eastern. Brian Tolbert currently holds the fifth position after scoring 509 points during the 1993-94 season.
RECORD CHASES: With six games to play in the regular season, Emoni Bates has positioned himself among the top players in program history as he has entered or is nearing the top 10 of several statistical categories. Here is a look at several of those categories:
» Bates' 43 points scored at Toledo, Jan. 24, ranks as the ninth-most in a game at Eastern and the most since Raven Lee scored his school-record 50 points at Central Michigan, Feb. 28, 2017.
» Bates has scored 492 points this year, which ranks as the sixth-highest total in a sophomore campaign in program history. He is eight points from becoming the sixth sophomore to score 500+ in a season and needs 106 to become just the second player with 600+. If he does, he would join George Gervin, who scored 886 points in the 1971-72 season.
» Bates also is 104 points shy of reaching the single-season top 10 list for scoring as Brandon Bowdry sits 10th with 598 points scored in the 2010-11.
» Bates is connecting on 35.7 percent of his three-point shots as he has drained 65 triples on the year. So far, his total leaves him nine shy of reaching the top 10 on the single-season three-point field goals made, with Brian Tolbert sitting 10th with 74 made triples in 1995-96. If Bates, who is averaging 2.8 triples made per game, maintains his current pace, he would add around 20 more threes to his total by the end of the regular season, which would bring his total to 84, the fourth-most in a year.
» Speaking of threes, Bates has twice this year etched his name on the single-game three-point basket list. He drained a career-high nine shots from downtown at Toledo, Jan. 24, to record the second-highest total in a game after recording the fifth-most makes with eight at South Carolina, Dec. 30.
» Bates currently is averaging 20.5 points per game, which currently ranks as the sixth-highest average in a single season in program history. If he maintains his current pace, he would become the first Eagle to end a campaign averaging 20.0+ points since the 2005-06 season when both John Bowler and Carols Medlock accomplished the feat. If he can stay at or above 21.0 points per game, he would be the first Eagle to do so since Earl Boykins averaged 25.7 points in 1997-98.
STREAKER: According to research compiled by Andrew Weatherman (@andreweatherman), Emoni Bates has two of the longest in what he refers to as "Hero Runs", which is a scoring run of 10-or-more points in a single game. Bates' 29-point run at Toledo, Jan. 24, is the biggest run of the season with Frankie Policelli of Stony Brook ranking second with a 22-point streak. Bates is also on the list a second time, tying for the ninth-longest scoring run with 17 points in a row at South Carolina, Dec. 30. The two games are Bates' highest offensive outputs this year with the 36 scored at USC formerly standing as his career high before his 43-point explosion at UT topped his personal ledger.
DOUBLE LEADER: Through the Buffalo game, Feb. 7, Emoni Bates is leading the team in both scoring and rebounding as the sophomore is averaging 20.5 points and 5.7 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.
CLIMBING HIGHER: Noah Farrakhan continued his climb up the program's all-time scoring ledger as his six points against Toledo, Feb. 11, brought his career total to 752 points scored playing for Eastern Michigan (his overall career total is 790 points when including the 36 points he scored at East Carolina). With his 752 points, Farrakhan currently ranks 58th on the program's all-time scoring list. 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 25 games played this year, Farrakhan has tallied at least one helper in all 25 contests and has dropped at least one dime in 37 consecutive games dating back to last season. In fact, in his two seasons with the Eagles, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 47-of-50 (94.0) games played for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 54-of-62 (87.1) 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 37 games ranks fifth. 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.
MANAGING WINS: Throughout the nation each year, the managers for the two teams playing will get together and play a game of their own. So far this year, the EMU managers have only been able to play five games, but are currently undefeated at 5-0 following their win over the Ohio managers, Jan. 30. According to Manager Games on Twitter (@ManagerGames_), EMU is currently ranked No. 17 nationally.
HOME COOKING: According to the latest update from College Basketball Reference, Feb. 8, the Eagles currently rank third nationally in regards to points scored per game by in-state players with Eastern averaging 56.0 points per game from its Michigan-born players. Northern Iowa (69.5) and Youngstown State (59.8) rank just ahead of EMU. Additional research through 24 games played shows that those same in-state players have accounted for 75.4 percent of the team's scoring with Michigan-born Eagles having collected 1,401 of the team's 1,859 points.
UP NEXT: The Eagles are off to Kent, Ohio, Feb. 17, to take on the Golden Flashes of Kent State University in a 6 p.m. game that will be broadcast live 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.
