# 2022–23 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second-year head coach Stan Heath, played their home games at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished 8–23 with a 5–13 MAC record. They finished tied for ninth in the MAC and failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2021–22 season 10–21 and 5–15 in MAC play to finish in eleventh place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Bryce McBride | 4 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Junior | Jackson, Tennessee | Transferred to Youngstown State |
| Mo Njie | 13 | C | 6'10" | 245 | Freshman | Centerville, Ohio | Transferred to SMU |
| Malcolm Clements | 14 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Freshman | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Transferred to Henry Ford College |
| Monty Scott | 2 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | Union, New Jersey | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Darion Spottsville | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Phoenix, Arizona | Signed for Grises de Humacao |
| Axel Okongo | 15 | F | 7'0" | 240 | Senior | Saâcy-sur-Marne, France | |
| Thomas Binelli | 23 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Senior | Bologna, Italy | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Nate Scott | 25 | G/F | 6'8" | 210 | Senior | Naperville, Illinois | |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tyson Acuff | 2 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Detroit, Michigan | Duquesne |
| Jalin Billingsley | 4 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Sophomore | Cleveland, Ohio | Georgetown |
| Emoni Bates | 21 | F | 6'9" | 190 | Sophomore | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Memphis |
| Legend Geeter | 23 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Sophomore | River Rouge, Michigan | Providence |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Orlando Lovejoy G | Detroit, Michigan | Summit Academy North | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| JZ Zaher G | Fenton, Michigan | Powers Catholic | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 164 lb (74 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Pre Season Awards

* Emoni Bates (Pre-Season All-MAC 2nd Team)

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | Grand Valley State | W 85–69 | | 27 – Bates | 11 – Geeter | 4 – Geeter | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,487) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPN3 | Wayne State | W 75–66 | 1–0 | 18 – Lovejoy | 8 – Geeter | 4 – Savicevic | George Gervin GameAbove Center (4,677) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 11, 2022* 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | vs. No. 22 Michigan | L 83–88 | 1–1 | 30 – Bates | 6 – Farrakhan | 4 – Acuff | Little Caesars Arena (14,204) Detroit, MI |
| November 15, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Bradley Cancún Challenge | L 61–89 | 1–2 | 20 – Bates | 6 – Bates | 3 – Tied | Carver Arena (4,110) Peoria, IL |
| November 19, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Oakland Cancún Challenge | L 90–92 $^{OT}$ | 1–3 | 19 – Bates | 6 – Geeter | 4 – Tied | Athletics Center O'rena (4,059) Rochester, MI |
| November 22, 2022* 12:30 p.m., FloSports | vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Cancún Challenge | L 67–74 | 1–4 | 16 – Bates | 6 – Farrakhan | 4 – Farrakhan | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (250) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 23, 2022* 12:30 p.m., FloSports | vs. Winthrop Cancún Challenge | L 87–101 | 1–5 | 25 – Acuff | 10 – Geeter | 2 – Tied | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (107) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 27, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | UC San Diego | L 63–66 | 1–6 | 17 – Bates | 13 – Bates | 5 – Acuff | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,340) Ypsilanti, MI |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Florida International | W 80–68 | 2–6 | 26 – Bates | 8 – Tied | 4 – Acuff | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,150) Miami, FL |
| December 4, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Florida Atlantic | L 73–101 | 2–7 | 29 – Bates | 6 – Bates | 2 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (4,192) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 7, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Illinois State | L 81–87 | 2–8 | 14 – Acuff | 5 – Golson | 4 – Tied | Redbird Arena (3,331) Normal, IL |
| December 11, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Niagara | L 60–67 | 2–9 | 21 – Farrakhan | 5 – Jihad | 4 – Farrakhan | Gallagher Center (897) Lewiston, NY |
| December 18, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Detroit Mercy | W 79–77 | 3–9 | 19 – Tied | 7 – Geeter | 6 – Acuff | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,823) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 30, 2022* 7.00 p.m., SEC Network | at South Carolina | L 64–74 | 3–10 | 36 – Bates | 7 – Randle | 2 – Bates | Colonial Life Arena (9,023) Columbia, SC |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Bowling Green | L 65–91 | 3–11 (0–1) | 15 – Bates | 7 – Jihad | 1 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,305) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Central Michigan | W 62–56 | 4–11 (1–1) | 26 – Bates | 10 – Bates | 2 – Acuff | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,531) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Western Michigan | L 79–85 | 4–12 (1–2) | 23 – Bates | 6 – Bates | 3 – Tied | University Arena (3,017) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 13, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | at Akron | L 67–104 | 4–13 (1–3) | 18 – Farrakhan | 4 – Tied | 2 – Tied | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,177) Akron, OH |
| January 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Kent State | L 63–77 | 4–14 (1–4) | 24 – Bates | 6 – Bates | 3 – Acuff | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,212) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 21, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN3 | Northern Illinois | L 67–88 | 4–15 (1–5) | 26 – Farrakhan | 8 – Farrakhan | 3 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (4,719) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 24, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Toledo | L 79–84 | 4–16 (1–6) | 43 – Bates | 9 – Farrakhan | 5 – Farrakhan | Savage Arena (5,162) Toledo, OH |
| January 28, 2023 3:45 p.m., ESPN3 | at Miami (OH) | W 74–69 | 5–16 (2–6) | 20 – Farrakhan | 6 – Tied | 4 – Bates | Millett Hall (3,096) Oxford, OH |
| January 31, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Ohio | W 90–79 | 6–16 (3–6) | 29 – Acuff | 4 – Geeter | 6 – Acuff | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,472) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 3, 2023 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Ball State Red Out | L 90-91 | 6–17 (3–7) | 35 – Bates | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Worthen Arena (6,068) Muncie, IN |
| February 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Buffalo Equality & Inclusion Night | L 97–102 | 6–18 (3–8) | 35 – Acuff | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Alumni Arena (4,507) Buffalo, NY |
| February 11, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN3 | Toledo | L 63–70 | 6–19 (3–9) | 36 – Acuff | 10 – Bates | 3 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (5,390) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 14, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Akron | L 51–78 | 6–20 (3–10) | 13 – Bates | 5 – Farrakhan | 3 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,122) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 17, 2023 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Kent State Black History Celebration/ Greek Night | L 54–81 | 6–21 (3–11) | 15 – Bates | 11 – Bates | 1 – Tied | MAC Center (2,095) Kent, OH |
| February 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | Western Michigan | W 66–59 | 7–21 (4–11) | 17 – Bates | 7 – Bates | 2 – Farrakhan | George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,703) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 25, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN3 | Ball State Senior Day | W 75–68 | 8–21 (5–11) | 24 – Bates | 11 – Bates | 3 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (5,287) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Bowling Green Rocky Night | L 68–88 | 8–22 (5–12) | 15 – Lovejoy | 4 – Acuff | 3 – Tied | Stroh Center (2,123) Bowling Green, OH |
| March 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Northern Illinois Senior Day | L 66–85 | 8–23 (5–13) | 26 – Acuff | 4 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Convocation Center (729) DeKalb, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Post Season Awards

* Emoni Bates (3rd Team All-MAC)
* Yusuf Jihad (Academic All-MAC)