DETROIT (11/20/2023) -- After four games on the road, the Titans will finally be able to perform in the friendly confines of Calihan Hall as the University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team hosts longtime rival Eastern Michigan on Tuesday. 

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN App with Jeremy Otto and Earl Cureton '11 on the call. Fans can also listen to the action on the radio on WLQV 92.7 FM & 1500 AM FaithTalk Detroit with the Voice of Detroit Mercy basketball Dan Hasty.

It will be a festive game with the annual MITTEN DRIVE as anyone who donates a pair of mittens at the door will get in for FREE! Also before the start of the game, Detroit Council Member Angela Calloway will present the prestigious Spirit of Detroit Award to men's basketball assistant coach Jerica Williams, given by the Detroit City Council to a person, event, or organization deemed to have performed an outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.

The showdown is between one of Detroit Mercy's longest rivals as this will be the 80th meeting between the two schools, the fourth-most against any opponent in Titan history, while the 59 wins are the most against any foe in school history. 

The Titans will also look to keep up some impressive home streaks as they have won six in a row against non-conference schools at home and are also 78-13 all-time in home openers dating back to the 1932-33 campaign, including winning 26 of their last 28. 

Tickets start at just $15 and can be purchased by clicking here. 

COACH WILLIAMS MAKES HISTORY

• Detroit Mercy hired its first female assistant coach in school history in former high school coach Jerica Williams.
• She is one of 31 women on DI MBB staffs in positions of leadership directly working with the players, although she is the only coach in Division I who has on-the-court instruction and recruiting duties.
• She was the girls' basketball head coach at Detroit Country Day from 2020-2022, where she was named back-to-back Coach of the Year in her first two years as a head coach while leading her team to back-to-back MSHAA Final Fours, before becoming Girls' Basketball Program Lead at the Windward School in Los Angeles, California. In the off-season, she continued working with NBA players on and off the court.
• Prior to that, she served as an Assistant Coach at Cal State Northridge from 2019-2020 and was the Chief of Staff at her alma mater, San Diego State in 2018-19. 
• Williams played collegiate basketball from 2006-2010 at UCLA and San Diego State, where she was part of two Mountain West Conference championship teams along with two NCAA appearances. Prior to college, she led her high school team to four straight CIF championships, winning 3 in a row. 
• It was announced that prior to the home opener on Nov. 21, Detroit Council Member Angela Calloway will present the prestigious Spirit of Detroit Award to her for her outstanding achievement in becoming the program's first-ever female men's assistant coach.
•  The Spirit of Detroit Award is issued by the Detroit City Council to a person, event, or organization deemed to have performed an outstanding achievement or service to the citizens of Detroit.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Eastern Michigan is one of the oldest rivals in school history, with this being the 80th career meeting between the two schools, located just about 35 miles apart. Detroit Mercy has dominated the series, winning 10 of the last 14 for an overall advantage of 59-20. 
• The Titans are also 31-7 all-time playing at home, although EMU has grabbed the last two meetings inside Calihan Hall. 

LONGTIME RIVALS

• Detroit Mercy is 59-20 all-time against Eastern Michigan, with the 59 wins the most ever over any opponent, while the 79 total games are the fourth most against any foe in Titan history, following Loyola - 125, Xavier - 95 and Marquette - 88. 

Most Wins In School History 

• 59 Eastern Michigan
• 58 Loyola Chicago
• 47 Cleveland State
• 43 Xavier
• 40 Youngstown State

RIVALS IN THE RECORD BOOK AS WELL

• The Titans and Eagles are just rivals on the court, but even official records of the two butt heads.
• According to EMU record book, the Eagles are 22-62 in the series, but it lists two games in 1898 when the Titans were not varsity. Also, there are games that they had in 1911, 1913, and 1922 that do not appear in the Titan record books.
• It should be noted that discrepancies with those early years are common as there are games schools have had against Detroit Tech, Detroit Law, Detroit Normal, Detroit Junior College, and Detroit High that have been attributed to UDM when they were, in fact, other schools, mostly Wayne State.
• It is the same for Eastern Michigan as it was once called Michigan State Normal School and Michigan State Normal College. 

AGAINST THE MAC

• Detroit Mercy is 184-127 all-time against current members of the MAC and has won three in a row against the league at home. 

VS. THE GREAT LAKES STATE

• The Titans are 294-173 (.629) all-time against other schools from the state of Michigan, including 274-99 versus programs outside of the two Big Ten institutions.

CALIHAN STRONG

• The Titans have won six in a row against non-conference teams at home in the last two years. 

TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

• The University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball team will have 11 non-conference games, with several against multi-bid leagues.
• Nine of the 11 contests will have the Titans on the road as the red, white and blue face teams from the AAC, ACC, BIG 10, SEC and the WCC, among others.
• The 11 foes totaled a 202-161 (55.6%) record last season, with four making postseason trips in NC State (NCAA), Northwestern (NCAA), Toledo (NIT), and Cincinnati (NIT).

EARNING THOSE HOTEL POINTS

• The Titans started the year with four straight away from Calihan Hall for the fourth time in school history and the third time under head coach Mike Davis.
• In 2020-21, Detroit Mercy started the year with nine straight on the road, while in 2019-20, the red, white and blue played seven in a row away from the Motor City.
• It also happened in 2006-07 when the Titans played their first five outside of Detroit.

STONE FINALLY REACHES NEW HIGH

• Senior Jayden Stone tallied a career-high 25 points at Cincinnati, going 9-of-20 from the field and connecting on four triples. 
• He also led the team with 22 points at Ole Miss. 
• Stone is averaging a team-high 18.3 points in the first four games, along with 6.0 rebounds and has a team-best 13 triples.
• He has now played in 17 career games with the Titans and has netted 20 or more seven times. 

DEL CADIA NETS CAREER BEST

• Graduate senior Edoardo Del Cadia tied and then set his career high in points, while posting his first career double-double in the first four games.
• He tallied a career-best 16 points and career-tying 10 boards at Ole Miss, to go with three assists, a block and a steal. His last time out at Ohio, he had nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.  
• He tied his then-career best with 13 points at Cincinnati, hitting 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the arc before fouling out after playing just 22 minutes and that was after seven points, six boards and three helpers in the opener at Toledo.
• He is currently averaging 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals, shooting 50.0% from the field (15-of-30). 

OLAJUWON IN THE BOOKS

• Redshirt freshman Abdullah Olajuwon increased his production with four points, a team-high eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals at Ohio.
• He scored his first basket in the season opener at Toledo, added two more points with six boards at Cincinnati, and had a bucket at Ole Miss. 
• He is now 1,322 points behind his dad, Hakeem Olajuwon, who netted 1,332 in three years at Houston from 1981-84.

SCORE IT MARK

• Sophomore Marcus Tankersley scored just seven points in each of the first two games at Toledo and at Cincinnati on 6-of-13 shooting, but he exploded for a career-high 19 points at Ole Miss and added 14 points with a career-high eight rebounds at Ohio. 
• He was a career-best 8-of-13 from the field, hitting just his third career 3-pointer in the process, and also dished out a career-best five assists and grabbed four rebounds against the Rebels and 5-of-13 shooting against the Bobcats. 
• Dating back to last season, he has now scored in double figures in four of the last six games. 
• He saw action in 24 games, all as a reserve, last season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds, shooting 51.3% from the field (20-of-39) and 93.8% (15-of-16) at the line.
• He really came on at the end of the year, scoring 10 points (4-5 FG, 4-4 FT) with three steals and tying his season high with five boards against Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Championship opening round and ending the year with a season-best 14 points, hitting 6-of-9 from the field, with three rebounds and three assists in the Horizon League Championship Quarterfinals at Youngstown State.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF FOR TRENTON

• Junior Trenton Johnson - a walk-on - did not see action in the opener at Toledo and played just 15 minutes at Cincinnati, but when the Titans needed another man at Ole Miss, his hard work and dedication paid off.
• Johnson scored his first DI points, finishing with eight on 3-of-4 shooting, 2-of-3 from three, along with three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 33 minutes.
• He upped his point total to nine at Ohio, adding three assists and a block. 
• He spent the last two years at Vincennes University, seeing action in 64 games with 27 starts and posted 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

WIN #411 & COUNTING

• Head coach Mike Davis earned his first triumph as a head coach on Nov. 14, 2000, when his Indiana Hoosiers defeated Pepperdine, 80-68, in Bloomington.
• Last season, he won his 400th career game in the 70-49 victory over Charlotte at Calihan Hall.
• He now has 411 career wins, 142nd in DI NCAA history, one away from 141st and Mike Deane. 
• Davis is one of nine current coaches to win 100 games at three different schools (Indiana, UAB, Texas Southern). 

FROM ALL OVER

• Detroit Mercy's roster features student-athletes from five states (Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Maryland, Indiana) and five countries outside the states (Australia, Canada, Croatia, France, Italy).
• Edoardo Del Cadia is believed to be the first Titan from Italy, while Jayden Stone is the first Titan from Australia and Alex Tchikou the first from France.