The Eastern Michigan Men’s Basketball Team will begin conference play tonight against Bowling Green State University at home. Despite gaining national attention with the addition of Emoni Bates, the team has a meager record of 3-10.
Head coach Stan Heath faces a big challenge in his second year at EMU. He brought with him many of the talents that Bates made headlines for. But of his 16 players on the roster, 15 are in his freshman year and his sophomore year.
Bates, from Ypsilanti, has lived up to his billing. Former national high school player of the year who leads the team in points and rebounds.
Tony Paul of The Detroit News says it will take time for the young team to settle in, and EMU will likely challenge for the Mid-American Conference Championship.
“I mean, Emoni Bates will obviously make headlines thanks to her local connections and her résumé that went out of high school and into college, but there’s a lot of talent on that floor. And 1 If you try to key in on a man, you’re going to have problems elsewhere on the court.”
With a slow start, the Eagles will likely need a conference title to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.
Tonight’s game against Bowling Green begins at 7:00 pm at the George Garvin Game Above Center. Pre-match coverage will begin at WEMU at 6:50.
Our non-commercial fact-based reports are made possible by your financial support. Donate to WEMU now to help keep our community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook, follow us twitter
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org