The Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team will play the University of Illinois-Chicago in its season opener at 7 p.m. Friday at the Convocation Center.
UIC is from the Horizon League and finished 7-24 last season and 2-16 in its conference.
Last time EMU faced off against the UIC was Dec. 20, 1992, when the Eagles took an 89-81 victory.
The teams have met three times in the history of their programs and Eastern has won all three. They first met on Dec. 12, 1981 in Bowen Field House with Eastern winning 73-55.
UIC’s assist to turnover ratio was not efficient as last season it averaged 11.6 assists, which was tied for 273rd in the nation. The Flames turned the ball over 16 times per game, calculating an assist-turnover ratio of 0.73, which was tied for 309th overall in the nation last season.
EMU, on the other hand, ranked 159th overall in the nation with 13 assists per game, calculating an assist to turnover ratio of 0.90, which was tied for 207th in the nation.
UIC scored 62.7 points per game, which was good for 303rd while its opponents averaged 69.4. However, Eastern was ranked just below UIC at 314th, averaging 61.5 points. But the Flames were tied for 94th in rebounds last season with 36.4 per game, and the Eagles were tied for 172nd with 35 rebounds per game.
Under first-year coach Rob Murphy, team defense will be key to opening their season successfully against the Flames.
“We plan on playing aggressive and come out there with a lot of energy especially when we come out defensively,” junior guard Derek Thompson said.
Brandon Bowdry led the team in scoring and rebounding last season, but he is no longer a member of the Eagles so they will rely on their second-leading scorer from last season, Thompson. He is ready to take on the role of being the team’s leader, beginning with the open against UIC.
“We will prepare during this week in practice,” Thompson said. “I plan on developing more of leadership role and becoming more of a trusted defender.”
Thompson was not only second on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game, but he also led the team and the MAC in three pointers made last season with 69, shooting 36 percent from downtown.
Additional leaders returning for EMU include senior guard Darrell Lampley, who led the team in assists with 3.6 per game and junior forward Jamell Harris, who led the team in blocks with 2.3 per game.
