Eastern Michigan Outplayed by Duke

Well, at least it was a tight game for a little bit.

The Eagles held their own early on, playing the Blue Devils well and were only down two at 22-20 with seven minutes left in the first half. After that, though, the Eagles went on a six minute field goal drought and went into halftime down ten. A lot of things have to go right to make an upset happen, and a drought that long isn't one of them.

The second half didn't go much better as the Eagles just couldn't chip away at the lead. They never got closer than ten, and a twenty-three point loss was probably expected in a hostile environment against a good team.

Mike Talley had yet another great game, pouring in twenty points on 7-17 shooting. Talley was joined in double figures by Karrington Ward (11 points) and J.R. Sims (10). Eastern Michigan only hit 56% of their free throws and were just 4-18 from the three point line. Again, against a team like Duke this is pretty much expected, but it's something that Rob Murphy will be a little concerned about.

Next up for the Eagles during their gauntlet of a non-conference schedule is a game at #2 Syracuse on New Year's Eve.  The Orange will be the fourth ranked team the Eagles have faced this season, and the third top-ten opponent.