The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team is setting its sights on the University of Buffalo Bulls. Coming off a 77-62 loss to Kent State Saturday, the Eagles will be facing a Bulls squad that also lost on Saturday, 71-60, to the Western Michigan University Broncos.
Senior guard Derek Thompson currently leads the Eagles in scoring with 11.5 points per game, and is shooting 35 percent from the three-point line. All of this in 23.6 minutes per game. Thompson is doing most of his work coming off the bench; he has only started seven of the team’s 21 games.
Thompson scored 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench Saturday against Kent State.
Another major factor in the Eagles’s offense is freshman point guard Jalen Ross. Ross averages 5.2 PPG and 3.1 assists per game, but he is shooting 36.6 percent from three-point range and averages 24.3 MPG on the floor. He has started 19 of the team’s 21 games.
Ross had a rough day against Kent State; he failed to score any points in 14 minutes on the floor. He will need to turn it around against Buffalo.
The third and arguably biggest presence for the Eagles is redshirt junior guard and forward Daylen Harrison. While he only averages 9.4 PPG and five rebounds per game, he leads the team in time on the floor, averaging 28.5 MPG. Harrison has also started each of the team’s 21 games.
Harrison scored four points in 24 minutes against Kent State.
Buffalo has a mainstay in the team’s offense with Javon McCrea, who averages 17.3 PPG and is shooting 54.9 percent from the floor this season. He also leads his team in rebounds, with 165 on the season, and averages 7.5 RPG. McCrea spends an average of 28.1 MPG on the floor and has started each of his team’s 22 games so far.
McCrea scored 22 points in 34 minutes against WMU Saturday.
Will Regan is also a force for the Bulls on offense. He averages 10.2 PPG and is shooting 46.8 percent from the floor, while shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range. He averages 26.1 MPG and has missed only one start in the team’s 22 games.
Regan scored eight points in 28 minutes against WMU.
The third key factor for Buffalo is Tony Watson. He has only appeared in 19 games for the Bulls, starting eight, and in that time has averaged 8.6 PPG while spending an average of 31.4 MPG on the floor. He has developed into one of the team’s workhorses and may prove to be a thorn in the Eagles’ side.
Watson scored 11 points in 38 minutes in his start against WMU.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The game will be carried live on WEMU 89.1 FM and the results can be found on www.EasternEcho.com Wednesday night.
