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Toledo Rockets – Eastern Michigan Eagles Preview – 02.20.2016

It will be a battle between Mid-American opponents when the Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-13) welcome the Toledo Rockets (16-10) to Convocation Center. The game begins at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 20 and can be seen on ES3.

The Eagles got blown out by Ohio 86-64 on Tuesday. Tim Bond put together a strong game for the Eagles, recording 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. The Rockets are coming off a 77-69 loss to Central Michigan on Tuesday. Toledo lost despite the best efforts of Nathan Boothe, who recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles do a great job at getting to the charity stripe. They rank 23rd in the nation in FTA rate (44.0), but Toledo is among the best in the nation at keeping opponents off the line (ranking 21st by allowing a FTA rate of 27.4).

The Eagles are looking to improve on their records of 13-13 Straight Up (SU) and 8-11 Against The Spread (ATS). The Eagles come into the game with the nation’s 36th-ranked home scoring offense, averaging 82.6 points per game on their own court. Over their past 10 games, the Eastern Michigan defense has been playing lights out, only allowing 67.4 points per game, well under their season average of 74.1. Opponents have consistently had the ball stolen by the Eagles, who rank fifth in the country in steals per game with 9.5.

On the other side, Toledo has a SU record of 16-10 and an ATS record of 13-10. The Rockets rank 47th in the country in scoring, averaging 78.7 points per game. Toledo is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, hitting .743 of their shots from the line. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Rockets, who are known for distributing the ball with 16.8 assists per game. The Rockets average 70.5 points allowed per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 79.2 points per game during that span. The Rockets have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 27.6 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation.

Eastern Michigan and Toledo meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Eastern Michigan won the last game in the matchup, but Toledo still leads the head-to-head record over their most recent games, 7-3 SU. The Rockets also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1. Toledo held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five game, while Eastern Michigan wasn’t able to do so in that span.

Predictions: SU Winner – EastMi, ATS Winner – EastMi

Notes

“Eastern Michigan is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games “.

“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Eastern Michigan’s last 5 games “.

“Eastern Michigan is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home”.

“Eastern Michigan is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games at home”.

“Eastern Michigan is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Toledo”.

“Eastern Michigan is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toledo”.

“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Eastern Michigan’s last 5 games when playing Toledo”.

“Eastern Michigan is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Toledo”.

“Eastern Michigan is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Toledo”.

“The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Eastern Michigan’s last 11 games when playing at home against Toledo”.

The Eastern Michigan Eagles currently sit below 0.500 against the Mid-American Conference at 5-8 SU, while the Toledo Rockets have a 7-6 SU record.

Toledo averages 78.7 points per game (ranked 47th). Eastern Michigan, on the other hand, allows 74.1 points per game (ranked 188th).

Toledo averages 74.0 points per away game (ranked 70th). Eastern Michigan allows 66.2 points per home game (ranked 87th).

Ranked 56th, the Toledo Rockets have an offensive rating of 112.1. The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank 139th with a defensive rating of just 102.1.

Toledo has an average field goal percentage of 46.1%. Eastern Michigan is an underachieving 1-7 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.

The Eastern Michigan Eagles rank higher based on their field goal percentage (172nd) than their effective field goal percentage (238th). The Toledo Rockets rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (52nd) than their field goal percentage (75th).

The Toledo Rockets rank 20th in assists per game, making an average of 16.8. The Eastern Michigan Eagles are among the worst in the country with 11.7 assists per game (ranked 289th).

Eastern Michigan ranks 91st in offensive rebounding. When it comes to defensive rebounds, Toledo ranks 43rd.

Eastern Michigan is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TO% of 22.7% (ranked 13th). Toledo is winless this season (0-3 SU) when its TO% reaches 22.7% or greater.

Written by GMS Previews

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