Michigan basketball vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles: Time, TV channel, stream info
The old sports cliché “we’re just focused on ourselves” took on new meaning Friday afternoon during Michigan men's basketball acting head coach Phil Martelli’s video conference call with reporters, there were so few questions about Saturday’s opponent — Washtenaw County neighbor Eastern Michigan — and so many about the status of head-coach-turned-assistant Juwan Howard that a program spokesman attempted to prompt any interest in the upcoming Eagles 12 minutes in.
And then, barely a few hours after the call, the Wolverines went and announced that Howard would make his return as head coach against EMU on Saturday. Good talk.
Still, somebody has to discuss the Eagles, we guess, so here goes: Eastern Michigan, despite its 5-4 record, checks in as one of the worst teams in the nation this season — the Eagles entered Friday ranked No. 305 of 362 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, and No. 306 in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Hey, at least KenPom has Eastern as the No. 5 school with “eastern” in its name, behind, well, Eastern Washington (183), Northeastern (209), Eastern Kentucky (230) and Southeastern Louisiana (290) — but ahead of Eastern Illinois (324) and Maryland Eastern Shore (349). So they’ve got that going for ’em.
MORE: Watch Michigan-EMU on Fubo (free trial)
The Eagles’ major issue has been a lack of scoring. With Emoni Bates departed for the NBA, the scoring load has fallen on Detroit Cass Tech alumnus Tyson Acuff. The senior is averaging 22.2 points a game — so far, so good, even as he comes off one of his worst performances of the season, a 3-for-10 day against Oakland last week. But after Acuff? Yusuf Jihad (North Farmington) and Arne Osojnik are averaging 9.2 points a game while shooting 51.8% and 40%, respectively. Jihad is hitting 57.1% of his 3-pointers … but only taking 2.3 a game. That’s consistent with his teammates: The Eagles’ 18.6 3-point attempts per game ranks 312th in the nation.
Michigan might be the antidote for that. U-M is allowing 20.9 3-point tries a game, good for 130th in the nation, but opponents are hitting a stellar 37.8% from beyond the arc — just 19 teams are allowing more success on 3s. That’s a big reason, we suspect, why the Wolverines’ 76.9 points allowed per game ranks 303rd in the nation. U-M has given up at least 70 points to nine of its 10 opponents, and at least 78 points to five. The Wolverines give as good as they get, at least, as their 82.1 points per game ranks 51st in the nation.
That’s in large part due to the 1-2 punch — which, no, is not the title of Juwan Howard’s résumé — provided by Dug McDaniel and Olivier Nkamhoua. McDaniel, in his second season, is averaging 18.6 points and 5.1 assists per game, including a 33-point effort (thanks to five 3s) earlier this month against Oregon. Nkamhoua is living up to his rep as a do-it-all player in his first season after transferring from Tennessee; the Helsinki, Finland, native is averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists — second, first and second on the U-M roster, respectively — while shooting 55.5% from the field and 37.5% beyond the arc.
Here's what you need to know about the game:
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Michigan basketball vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles start time
Matchup: Michigan (5-5) vs. Eastern Michigan (5-4).
When: 2:30 p.m.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16.
Where: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
Line: TBA.
What channel is Michigan basketball vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles today?
TV: Big Ten Network.
Streaming: Fubo (free trial).
Radio: WWJ-AM (950). (Wolverines radio affiliates).
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Michigan basketball's 2023-24 schedule
The Wolverines will get a slightly tougher test in their next outing, as they visit Charlotte, North Carolina, (along with the women’s squad) to take on Florida in the Jumpman Invitational at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles, meanwhile, wrap up their nonconference schedule with a visit from Hampton at 1 p.m. Thursday and a visit from Division II Northwood on Dec. 30 before beginning MAC play on Jan. 2 at Bowling Green.
Date | Opponent |
Tuesday, Nov. 7 | U-M 99, UNC Asheville 74 |
Friday, Nov. 10 | U-M 92, Youngstown State 62 |
Monday, Nov. 13 | U-M 89, St. John's 73 |
Friday, Nov. 17 | Long Beach State 94, U-M 86 |
Wednesday, Nov. 22 | Memphis 71, U-M 67 |
Thursday, Nov. 23 | U-M 83, Stanford 78 |
Friday, Nov. 24 | Texas Tech 73, U-M 57 |
Saturday, Dec. 2 | Oregon 86, U-M 83 (OT) |
Tuesday, Dec. 5 | Indiana 78, U-M 75 |
Sunday, Dec. 10 | U-M 90, Iowa 80 |
Saturday, Dec. 16 | Eastern Michigan, 2:15 p.m. |
Tuesday, Dec. 19 | Florida, 7 p.m. |
Find Michigan's entire 2023-24 schedule.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.
Free Press sports writer Jared Ramsey contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles: Time, TV channel
