# 2018–19 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by eighth-year head coach Rob Murphy, played their home games at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Ball State.

## Previous season

They finished the season 22–13, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in second place in the West Division. They defeated Akron in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Toledo. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Niagara in the first round before losing in the second round to Sam Houston State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Tim Bond | 1 | G | 6'7" | 160 | RS Senior | Baltimore, MD | Graduated |
| Terry Harris | 4 | G/F | 6'6" | 215 | Junior | Dix Hills, NY | Transferred |
| Jalen Brown | 12 | G | 5'9" | 160 | Sophomore | Harper Woods, MI | |
| Jordan Nobles | 15 | F | 6'9" | 195 | Junior | Canton, MI | Transferred to Oakland |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Daivon Stephens | 1 | F | 6'6" | 206 | Freshman | Pittsburgh, PA | Penn Hills Senior |
| Boubacar Toure | 12 | C | 6'11" | 241 | RS Junior | Sakar, Senegal | Phase One Academy/Grand Canyon |
| Damari Parris | 23 | G | 6'1" | 157 | Junior | Bowie, MD | Evelyn Mack Academy/Trinity Valley CC |
| Andre Rafus Jr. | 25 | G/F | 6'9" | 178 | Freshman | Baltimore, MD | Reach Partnership at Lake Clifton |

## Preseason

The Eagles were predicted to finish first in the MAC West by several college basketball preseason magazines. Those included Lindy's Sports College BasketballLindy's Sports, Athlon Sports College Basketball and Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook.

### Preseason Awards

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Preseason Watch List
* James Thompson IV
Julius Erving Award Watch List
* Elijah Minnie

#### Street & Smith's Basketball

All Conference
* James Thompson IV
All Newcomer
* Andre Rafus Jr.
All Defense
* James Thompson IV
All Sharpshooter
* Elijah Minnie

#### Athlon Sports

All MAC First Team
* James Thompson IV

#### Lindy's Sports

All Conference First Team
* James Thompson IV
All Conference Second Team
* Elijah Minnie
Player of the Year
* James Thompson IV
Best Rebounder
* James Thompson IV
Best Defender
* James Thompson IV
Most Versatile
* Elijah Minnie
Best NBA Prospect
* James Thompson IV

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Rochester | W 77–67 | 1–0 | 27 – Jackson | 14 – Toure | 7 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,193) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 9, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | Drexel Hub City Classic | W 66–62 | 2–0 | 20 – Jackson | 11 – Thompson IV | 6 – Jackson | Convocation Center (3,895) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 11, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Goshen Hub City Classic | W 97–74 | 3–0 | 17 – Minnie | 9 – Thompson IV | 5 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,056) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, RSN \ ESPN+ | | at No. 1 Duke | L 46–84 | 3–1 | 9 – McAdoo | 7 – Thompson IV | 3 – Ellison | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| November 17, 2018* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Boston University Hub City Classic | W 80–62 | 4–1 | 28 – Minnie | 14 – Thompson IV | 4 – Jackson | Convocation Center (2,059) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at Rutgers Hub City Classic | L 36–63 | 4–2 | 7 – Toure | 8 – Thompson IV | 3 – Jackson | Louis Brown Athletic Center (4,473) Piscataway, NJ |
| November 24, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Detroit | L 74–78 | 4–3 | 24 – Thompson IV | 15 – Toure | 4 – 3 Tied | Convocation Center (1,226) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 26, 2018* 8:30 pm, FSSW | | at TCU | L 69–87 | 4–4 | 20 – Toure | 12 – Toure | 7 – Parris | Schollmaier Arena (6,219) Fort Worth, TX |
| December 1, 2018* 3:00 pm | | at Northeastern | L 67–81 | 4–5 | 24 – Minnie | 9 – Thompson IV | 8 – Parris | Matthews Arena (1,147) Boston, MA |
| December 8, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central State | W 105–53 | 5–5 | 16 – Tied | 9 – Groce | 7 – Parris | Convocation Center (1,153) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Irvine | L 48–52 | 5–6 | 15 – Minnie | 7 – Tied | 2 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,187) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 22, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Siena Heights | W 90–72 | 6–6 | 18 – McAdoo | 16 – Thompson IV | 4 – Groce | Convocation Center (1,259) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, JTV/ESPN+ | | at No. 5 Kansas | L 63–87 | 6–7 | 15 – Thompson IV | 14 – Thompson IV | 3 – Ellison | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2019 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 20 Buffalo | L 58–74 | 6–8 (0–1) | 21 – Minnie | 12 – Thompson IV | 4 – Jackson | Convocation Center (2,378) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 8, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 84–82 $^{2OT}$ | 7–8 (1–1) | 25 – Minnie | 19 – Thompson IV | 5 – Jackson | Worthen Arena (4,248) Muncie, IN |
| January 12, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kent State | W 95–61 | 8–8 (2–1) | 22 – Minnie | 8 – Tied | 7 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,827) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Akron | L 49–51 | 8–9 (2–2) | 15 – Tied | 11 – Thompson IV | 5 – Jackson | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,334) Akron, OH |
| January 18, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 16 Buffalo | L 65–77 | 8–10 (2–3) | 12 – Jackson | 12 – Thompson IV | 6 – Jackson | Alumni Arena (6,193) Amherst, NY |
| January 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | L 67–80 | 8–11 (2–4) | 16 – Thompson IV | 12 – Thompson IV | 3 – McAdoo | Convocation Center (1,509) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 26, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 93–67 | 9–11 (3–4) | 29 – Minnie | 14 – Thompson IV | 10 – Jackson | University Arena (2,514) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 29, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 82–86 | 9–12 (3–5) | 21 – Jackson | 10 – Toure | 4 – Jackson | McGuirk Arena (1,719) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 2, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | L 48–59 | 9–13 (3–6) | 16 – Jackson | 14 – Toure | 5 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,658) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 9, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 57–49 | 10–13 (4–6) | 23 – Jackson | 10 – Toure | 6 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,634) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | W 66–57 | 11–13 (5–6) | 19 – Minnie | 15 – Thompson IV | 7 – Jackson | Convocation Center (5,522) Athens, OH |
| February 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kent State | L 58–71 | 11–14 (5–7) | 13 – McAdoo | 9 – Thompson IV | 3 – Jackson | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,491) Kent, OH |
| February 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 76–69 | 12–14 (6–7) | 23 – Minnie | 9 – Minnie | 5 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,849) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 77–76 $^{OT}$ | 13–14 (7–7) | 18 – Jackson | 11 – Thompson IV | 7 – Jackson | Convocation Center (2,068) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 66–67 | 13–15 (7–8) | 19 – Jackson | 12 – Thompson IV | 5 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,455) Ypsilanti, MI |
| March 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 75–69 | 14–15 (8–8) | 19 – Jackson | 17 – Thompson IV | 6 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,439) DeKalb, IL |
| March 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ball State | W 68–61 | 15–15 (9–8) | 20 – Thompson IV | 23 – Thompson IV | 4 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,780) Ypsilanti, MI |
| March 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 58–64 | 15–16 (9–9) | 17 – Jackson | 11 – Thompson IV | 3 – Jackson | Savage Arena (6,061) Toledo,OH |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (6) | (11) Ball State First round | L 43–61 | 15–17 | 12 – Jackson | 9 – Thompson IV | 4 – Jackson | Convocation Center (1,265) Ypsilanti, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. |||||||||

## Game notes
### Drexel

* Education Day