The Eastern Michigan Eagles will pay a visit to the Florida International Panthers this Wednesday for a matchup between MAC and Conference USA squads. EMU fell 66-63 to UC San Diego on Sunday, its sixth-straight loss. FIU took down Eastern Washington on Sunday, winning 90-79. It was the Panthers' fourth home win of the 2022-23 season. Florida International is a 7.5-point spread favorite, and the game total is 161.5 points.
Despite owning a 1-6 record, the Eagles have played well at times this season, especially against their in-state foes Michigan and Oakland. Eastern Michigan nearly defeated the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, leading 45-40 at the half and possessing an eight-point lead in the second half. In a game with 17 lead changes and 11 ties, the Eagles were paced by sophomore forward Emoni Bates' 30 points. The former top-ranked recruit shot 12 of 19 from the field and 50 percent from deep, but it wasn't enough to take down their Big Ten rival.
This season, Bates has returned to form, showing some of the massive upside expected from him when he signed with Memphis. Back in his home state, the Ypsilanti, MI native is averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. It will take more than 15-to-20-point performances to put Bates back into the NBA picture, though.
Bates isn't the only Eagle worth keeping an eye on, as EMU features two guards averaging over 12 points per game in junior Tyson Acuff and sophomore Noah Farrakhan. Eastern Michigan also has four other players averaging over seven points per game. The Eagles are ranked 260th in offensive efficiency adjusted for schedule, however. The defense hasn't supported EMU's quest for national relevancy either, surrendering 82.3 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting. That's not good, no matter how you attempt to spin it.
RECAP:
Eagles mount strong comeback behind Bates' first career double-double (17 & 13), but fall to UC San Diego, 66-63. Eastern returns to action Nov. 30 at FIU.?? https://t.co/FwLbtxALxA
??? https://t.co/9WbiFyYJns#EMUEagles | #TimEtoSoar pic.twitter.com/J9SPWcF1Z1— Eastern Michigan Men's Basketball (@EMU_MBB) November 27, 2022