2019–20 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by ninth-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 16–16, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in a tie for last place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Kent State.

2019–20 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
Jamaica Classic Rose Hall Division champions
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	16–16 (6–12 MAC)
Head coach	Rob Murphy (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Kevin Mondro Matt Cline Jimmy Wooten
Home arena	Convocation Center

2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Akron	14	–	4		.778			24	–	7		.774
Bowling Green	12	–	6		.667			21	–	10		.677
Buffalo	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Kent State	9	–	9		.500			20	–	12		.625
Ohio	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Miami (OH)	5	–	13		.278			13	–	19		.406
West
Ball State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Northern Illinois	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Toledo	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Central Michigan	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Western Michigan	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12		.333			16	–	16		.500
Note: The 2020 MAC tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 15–17, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Ball State.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Daivon Stephens	1	F	6'6"	206	Freshman	Pittsburgh, PA	Transferred to Tallahassee Community College
James Thompson IV	2	F/C	6'10"	241	Senior	Baton Rouge, LA	Graduated
Paul Jackson	3	G	6'2"	178	RS Senior	Stone Mountain, GA	Graduated
Elijah Minnie	5	F	6'9"	212	RS Senior	Pittsburgh, PA	Graduated
Malik Ellison	10	G	5'8"	170	Sophomore	Flint, MI	Transferred to Saginaw Valley State
Bud Jones	20	F	6'8"	265	Sophomore	Anderson, SC
Kevin McAdoo	21	G	6'2"	167	Sophomore	Pontiac, MI	Transferred to Bradley
Tariq Silver	22	G	6'5"	202	RS Freshman	Clarksville, TN	Transferred to Tallahassee Community College
Andre Rafus Jr.	25	G/F	6'9"	178	Freshman	Baltimore, MD
Isaiah Green	32	F	6'7"	204	Senior	Southfield, MI	Graduated

Incoming

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Yeikson Montero	0	G	6'5"	195	Junior	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	Redemption Christian/Pensacola State
Chris Barnes	1	G	6'4"	205	RS Junior	Compton, CA	Compton/Tulsa
Marcus Gibbs	3	G	6'0"	147	Freshman	Detroit, MI	SPIRE Institute
Noah Morgan	5	G/F	6'5"	182	Junior	Mount Vernon, NY	Mount Vernon/Northwest Florida State
Shamar Dillard	12	G	6'6"	185	Freshman	South Bend, ID	SPIRE Institute
Chris James	13	G	6'2"	170	Freshman	Long Beach, CA	St. John Bosco
Luis Pacheco	22	F	6'8"	245	Freshman	Jamesburg, NJ	Crestwood Prep
Thomas Binelli	23	F	6'10"	225	Junior	Bologna, Italy	Bergen Catholic/Monroe College
Miles Gibson	32	G/F	6'6"	198	Junior	Richmond, VA	Millwood School/Northwest Kansas Tech

Roster

2019–20 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Yeikson Montero 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Redemption Christian/Pensacola State Santo Domingo, DR G 1 Chris Barnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Compton/Tulsa Compton, CA G 3 Marcus Gibbs 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 147 lb (67 kg) Fr SPIRE Institute Detroit, MI G 4 Damari Parris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 157 lb (71 kg) Sr Evelyn Mack Academy/ Trinity Valley CC Bowie, MD G/F 5 Noah Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Mount Vernon/Northwest Florida State Mount Vernon, NY G 10 Darion Spottsville 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Shadow Mountain/South Mountain CC Phoenix, AZ G 12 Shamar Dillard 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr SPIRE Institute South Bend, ID G 13 Chris James 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr St. John Bosco High School Long Beach, CA G 20 Jorden Peterson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So CMA Detroit, MI C 21 Boubacar Toure 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 241 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Phase One Academy/Grand Canyon Dakar, Senegal F 22 Luis Pacheco 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Crestwood Prep Jamesburg, NJ F 23 Thomas Binelli 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Bergen Catholic/Monroe College Bologna, Italy F 31 Ty Groce 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 207 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Lincoln Ypsilanti, MI G/F 32 Miles Gibson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr Millwood School/Northwest Kansas Tech Richmond, VA F 33 Derek Ballard Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) RS So Southfield-Lathrup Southfield, MI F 45 Jalen King 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Kings Academy Pasco, WA	Head coach Rob Murphy (Central State) Assistant coach(es) Kevin Mondro (Detroit Mercy) Matt Kline (South Alabama) Jimmy Wooten (Arkansas State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: Dec. 19, 2019

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 8, 2019* 9:45 am, ESPN3		Siena Heights	W 93–51	1–0	15 – Groce	10 – Toure	5 – Morgan	Convocation Center (3,088) Ypsilanti, MI
November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Goshen	W 101–49	2–0	19 – Groce	8 – Toure	5 – Morgan	Convocation Center (499) Ypsilanti, MI
November 14, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Michigan–Dearborn Jamaica Classic	W 72–59	3–0	15 – Tied	14 – Toure	4 – Montero	Convocation Center (997) Ypsilanti, MI
November 16, 2019* 4:00 pm		at North Texas Jamaica Classic	W 56–51	4–0	15 – Groce	8 – Toure	4 – Montero	UNT Coliseum (2,380) Denton, TX
November 22, 2019* 2:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. UMBC Jamaica Classic Rose Hall Division semifinals	W 62–45	5–0	11 – Morgan	11 – Groce	3 – Morgan	Montego Bay Convention Center  Montego Bay, Jamaica
November 24, 2019* 12:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. North Carolina A&T Jamaica Classic Rose Hall Division finals	W 58–54	6–0	12 – Tied	5 – Morgan	3 – Morgan	Montego Bay Convention Center  Montego Bay, Jamaica
November 30, 2019* 10:00 pm		at UC Irvine	L 56–77	6–1	14 – Toure	12 – Toure	1 – Tied	Bren Events Center (2,813) Irvine, CA
December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 85–79	7–1	21 – Morgan	7 – Toure	3 – Barnes	Convocation Center (1,237) Ypsilanti, MI
December 7, 2019* 1:00 pm		at Detroit	W 55–51	8–1	16 – Tied	10 – Toure	7 – Spottsville	Calihan Hall (1,925) Detroit, MI
December 17, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northeastern	W 60–55	9–1	19 – Morgan	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	Convocation Center (1,077) Ypsilanti, MI
December 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, BTN		at No. 15 Michigan State	L 48–101	9–2	9 – Groce	10 – King	2 – Tied	Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI
December 28, 2019* 3:00 pm		at UNLV	L 49–64	9–3	12 – Groce	11 – Toure	4 – Groce	Thomas & Mack Center (7,463) Las Vegas, NV
December 30, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Concordia (MI)	W 88–53	10–3	14 – Toure	9 – Groce	5 – Groce	Convocation Center (1,171) Ypsilanti, MI
MAC regular season
January 4, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+		Akron	L 45–69	10–4 (0–1)	13 – Groce	17 – Toure	3 – Montero	Convocation Center (1,411) Ypsilanti, MI
January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Ohio	L 68–74	10–5 (0–2)	18 – Montero	10 – Toure	4 – Groce	Convocation Center (OH) (3,109) Athens, OH
January 11, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Illinois	L 68–71	10–6 (0–3)	16 – Morgan	11 – Toure	3 – 3 tied	NIU Convocation Center (1,074) Dekalb, IL
January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Ball State	L 52–69	10–7 (0–4)	14 – Morgan	9 – Toure	3 – Binelli	Convocation Center (1,313) Ypsilanti, MI
January 18, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Ohio	L 58–60	10–8 (0–5)	23 – Morgan	10 – King	2 – Morgan	Convocation Center (1,322) Ypsilanti, MI
January 21, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bowling Green	L 59–62	10–9 (0–6)	17 – Toure	13 – Toure	2 – Barnes	Stroh Center (2,022) Bowling Green, OH
January 25, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	L 68–73	10–10 (0–7)	17 – Binelli	12 – Toure	4 – Spottsville	Millett Hall (1,144) Oxford, OH
February 1, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Toledo	W 61–57	11–10 (1–7)	26 – Montero	16 – Toure	4 – Spottsville	Convocation Center (2,382) Ypsilanti, MI
February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Buffalo	W 66–62	12–10 (2–7)	14 – Groce	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	Convocation Center (1,364) Ypsilanti, MI
February 8, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Akron	L 58–59	12–11 (2–8)	15 – Groce	10 – Toure	2 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,290) Akron, OH
February 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy	W 73–70	13–11 (3–8)	22 – Groce	13 – Toure	3 – 3 tied	McGuirk Arena (1,929) Mount Pleasant, MI
February 15, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN3		Western Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy	W 69–51	14–11 (4–8)	17 – Toure	6 – Toure	6 – Groce	Convocation Center (4,324) Ypsilanti, MI
February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Kent State	W 70–49	15–11 (5–8)	15 – Groce	9 – Groce	3 – Spottsville	Convocation Center (1,196) Ypsilanti, MI
February 22, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Ball State	L 55–64	15–12 (5–9)	16 – Toure	8 – Toure	4 – Groce	Worthen Arena (5,921) Muncie, IN
February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Illinois	L 71–73	15–13 (5–10)	26 – Binelli	10 – Toure	4 – Tied	Convocation Center (1,378) Ypsilanti, MI
February 29, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy	W 67–63	16–13 (6–10)	17 – Montero	14 – Toure	3 – Groce	Convocation Center (1,640) Ypsilanti, MI
March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Michigan	L 54–70	16–14 (6–11)	11 – Groce	12 – Toure	2 – Spottsville	University Arena (1,821) Kalamazoo, MI
March 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Toledo	L 57–79	16–15 (6–12)	12 – Tied	5 – Toure	5 – Spottsville	Savage Arena (4,823) Toledo, OH
MAC Tournament
March 9, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+	(11)	at (6) Kent State First round	L 76–86	16–16	14 – Tied	13 – Toure	5 – Groce	MAC Center (2,008) Kent, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source.