GAME FACTS - After playing the past two weekends on the road, the Emory men's basketball team looks forward to returning to the Woodruff PE Center for a pair of University Athletic Association contests.  On Friday, the Eagles will battle the Violets of New York University in an 8:00 p.m. start before playing host to Brandeis on Saturday in a noon tip.  Sunday's game will be Senior Day with the program recognizing the contributions of Anthony Fernandez, Chad Hixon and Daniel Curtin.   

Both games will have live video streaming.  To access the video, go to:
http://www.emoryathletics.com/information/webcasts

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is third-year Head Coach Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, '94)  Named head coach in April of 2007, Zimmerman came to Emory after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville (2003-04 through 2006-07).  Prior to his stint with the Aces, Zimmerman was an assistant at Davidson College for seven years (1996-97 through 2002-03).

Joe Nesci (Brooklyn College, 1979) is in his 22^nd year as the head coach at NYU and enters Friday's contest with a school and career won-lost ledger of 385-182.  He has guided the program to 21 winning seasons.

In his seventh season as the head coach at Brandeis is Brian Meehan (Clark, 1986).  Heading into a Friday night match-up at Rochester, Meehan had compiled a school record of 113-67.  In 14 years as a head coach, which includes a seven-year stint at Salem State, Meehan owns a career slate of 273-106.  

2009-10 RECORDS - Emory opens its final home weekend of regular-season action with an overall record of 14-8 including a 6-5 slate in the UAA, good for a third-place tie with NYU. Last weekend, the Eagles split a pair of road games, topping Carnegie Mellon, 77-71, on Friday before coming out on the short end of a 65-63 decision at Case Western on Sunday.  Emory was won six of nine home contests this season.

NYU stands 15-7 overall and 6-5 in league action following a split of home games last weekend.  The Violets topped Chicago, 71-66, on Friday before dropping a 71-63 outcome to Washington University on Sunday.  NYU has won five of its last seven outings.

The Judges of Brandeis have won three of their last four games and will meet Rochester with an overall effort of 17-5, including a 7-4 mark in the UAA which is good for second place. Brandeis split its two games last weekend, losing to Washington University, 92-82, before topping Chicago, 83-71. 
 

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman    

SERIES RECORDS -  NYU holds a 30-16 advantage in the series with Emory.  The Eagles have won the last two meetings including a 69-57 decision earlier this year in New York.  The Violets have captured 14 of 22 contests played at Emory.

Brandeis posts an all-time mark of 25-20 against Emory.  The Eagles ended a 12-game losing streak to the Judges on Jan. 24 when they posted a 77-64 win.  Emory stands 12-10 against Brandeis in games played on its home floor.

CLAUNCH ON VERGE OF SETTING SCHOOL MARK - Sophomore Austin Claunch recorded 11 assists over the weekend and in the process moved into second place on the school's seasonal ladder with 134 assists.  Claunch is just two assists shy of tying the current standard of 136 held by Paul Damm set during the 1989-90 campaign.  Heading into Friday's game against NYU, Claunch has 11 performances of seven or more assists this season.

EMORY SENIORS SUITING UP LAST TIME AT THE WOODPEC - Sunday's game against Brandeis will represent the final regular-season home appearances for a trio of Emory seniors.  Anthony Fernandez and Daniel Curtin are four-year members of the program while Chad Hixon is in his second campaign after a two-year stint at Oxford at Emory.

Heading into the weekend, Fernandez has played in a total of 80 games, 37 as a starter, and has scored 880 points, 15^th all-time at Emory, while pulling down 366 rebounds which ranks 16^th on the school's all-time chart.  A double-figure scorer on 42 occasions, his career 11.0 points per-game scoring average is among the top 20 at Emory.  Other career categories in which he figures prominently include field goals (t-11^th, 343), free throw percentage (14^th, .768) and free throws (19^th, 159).  A two-time All-UAA honorable mention selection, he has scored 20 or more points 12 times and has recorded a total of seven double-doubles.

Curtin has appeared in 72 games, and has drawn 24 starting assignments, 22 coming this year.  One of the prolific long-range shooters in school history, he heads into the weekend in 10^th place on the school's all-time list with 117 three-point field goals.  He has converted 37.0 percent of his opportunities from beyond the arc and holds down the No. 8 position on the school's all-time annals in that department.  He has produced 28 double-figure scoring performances including six of 20 or more points.  At the start of the weekend, he had a team-high 34 treys this season and he stood No. 2 among UAA players with a 44.2 percent effort from distance.   Finally, he is 11^th in career free throw shooting at 78.0 percent (89-of-114).

Hixon has earned the starting nod in 41 of 46 games during his two years and has given the Eagles solid all-around play at both ends of the floor.  He has registered 25 double-figure scoring outings and has either led or shared for team scoring honors on nine occasions.  He led the team in rebounding last year en route to honorable mention All-UAA recognition and is on course to do it again this season as he posts a 6.6 per-game average in that category, good for sixth place among UAA players.  During his stint with the Eagles, he has ranked as the squad's top board man in 25 contests.

EMORY OFFENSE PUTTING UP NUMBERS - The Eagles have scored 85 or more points on eight occasions compared to a total of five times for the entire 2008-09 campaign. 

Through games played Feb. 14, Emory holds down the No. 1 spot among University Athletic Association teams with a 77.2 points per game average in overall play.  The Eagles have posted 90 or more points on five occasions and also top the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.401) while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (.460).

GULOTTA DIALS IN FROM LONG DISTANCE - Sophomore Alex Gulotta knocked down six more three-point field goals over the weekend, hitting on 42.9 percent of his opportunities (6-of-14) from beyond the arc.   He recorded three treys against both Carnegie Mellon and Case Western and is now shooting a conference-leading 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from beyond the arc.  Gulotta, who has a nine-game streak of three-point field goals to his credit, holds down the No. 2 position in the league with an identical percentage in conference tilts (21-of-40). 

Heading into NYU and Brandeis, he claims 10 games of two or more treys and his 12 points against CMU was his fifth double-digit effort of the campaign.

HIXON SCORES & BOARDS - Senior Chad Hixon came through with a big effort in the Case game, pacing the club with a season-high 17 points, his ninth double-figure effort of the year, while snaring a team-best eight rebounds.  In the previous game at Carnegie Mellon, he topped the team with eight boards in a 77-71 triumph.  The 6-foot-3 Hixon has been a model of consistency when it comes to rebounding, setting the pace in that department in six of the last seven and in a total of 13 games this year.  He has grabbed seven or more caroms on nine occasions this season and heads into the weekend just seven shy of reaching 300 career rebounds.

CLAUNCH FIGURES PROMINENTLY IN UAA RANKINGS - Austin Claunch has proved to be one of the UAA's most versatile performers and ranks as the conference's No. 1 performer in three categories and while ranking among the top 10 in three others. 

Through games played Feb. 14, Claunch has drained a conference-leading 89.6 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe (69-of-77), with that mark currently fourth on the school's seasonal list.  The Cypress, Tex., native tops the UAA chart in the all-important assist/turnover ratio (2.7), and continues to log the most playing time at 34.6 minutes per contest.  Other categories where he ranks in the top 10 include assists (2^nd, 6.1 apg), steals (3^rd, 1.9 spg) and three-point field goal percentage (9^th, .377).

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND - Emory has had five or more players score 10 or more points in seven contests, a dramatic jump from last year's total of one time.  The Eagles have had six double-figure scorers in two games this year (Nov. 29, vs. LaGrange & Dec. 7 vs. Oglethorpe), the first time since the 2003-04 season that they had a pair of games with six players finishing with 10 or more points.

EMORY MAKES THE MOST OF CHARITY STRIPE ATTEMPTS --  The Eagles hold down the No. 2 spot in the UAA in free throw percentage in both overall (.745) and conference (.756) with the overall mark currently ranking as the second-best performance in school history, behind the 74.6 percent set by the 2003-04 team.

Over the last 16 outings, the Eagles have converted 78.0 percent from the foul line (227-291) which is in stark contrast to their effort of 66.4 percent in the first six games.

THREE-POINTERS GOOD TO EMORY - The Eagles pace the UAA in both three-point field goals (180) and three-point percentage (.401).  The team's 180 treys is the fifth-highest seasonal mark and 20 shy of tying the record of 200 established by the 2004-05 squad.

Through games played Feb. 14, Emory has the top two and four of the top nine three-point shooters in the UAA.  As mentioned earlier, Gulotta is first while senior Daniel Curtin ranks second at 44.2 percent (34-of-77).  Freshman Alex Greven stands sixth in that department at 38.8 percent (31-of-80) while Claunch holds down the ninth spot (.377).

The Eagles have seven or more treys in 16 contests and have five outings of 10 or more including 15 from beyond the arc, the second-highest game total in school history, against Oglethorpe on Dec. 7. 

Emory established a first in the history of the program when it totaled 10 or more treys in three consecutive games (vs. Chicago, Jan. 29; vs. Wash U., Jan. 31 & vs. Chicago, Feb. 5).

JANUARY A GOOD MONTH FOR EMORY - January proved to be a productive month for the Eagles with their 7-2 record representing just the fifth time that the program had reached seven or more victories in a month and the first since 1993.  The most successful January in school history took place in 1990 when Emory posted a perfect 9-0 mark. 

CLAUNCH SETS SCHOOL MARK FOR CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS - Austin Claunch set  school record when he made 38 consecutive free throws starting in the second half of the Hanover game (Dec. 19) and ending in the game at Chicago (Feb. 5).  Claunch surpassed the previous standard of 35 held by Kevin Felner which he set during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.  He ended the month of January going a perfect 35-for-35.

NOTES - Junior Julien Williams turned in a big effort in the win over the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon, finishing with a career-high 21 points ... Williams' performance marked his first effort of 20 or more points in an Emory uniform ...  The Eagles set a school record for fewest turnovers in a game when it finished with just two miscues against Case Western ... Earlier this season, Emory set what was then a record with three turnovers against Hanover (Dec. 19) ... The Eagles have finished with 10 or fewer turnovers in its last three consecutive games, coughing the ball up just 5.3 times in that stretch compared to the opposition's average of 10.7 ...  As a team, the Eagles are No. 2 in the UAA in turnover margin in both overall (+2.95) and conference (+4.27) play ... Emory is averaging 11.5 turnovers per outing compared to the 2008-09 average of 14.5  ...  Emory has converted 80 percent or better from the foul line in six games ... Freshman Michael Friedberg's six rebounds in the Case contest tied his second-highest total of the season ... Austin Claunch's 13 points against Carnegie was his 16^th contest of double-figure scoring ... Emory should be looking forward to its return home this weekend as it averages 82.1 points and shoots 48.4 percent from the field (44.3 percent from beyond the arc) compared to 73.8 points and 44.2 percent from the floor in road/neutral outings ... Emory is 11-1 when leading at halftime, 3-7 when facing a deficit at the break ... The Eagles have been outrebounded in the last five and in seven of the last eight games ... Emory is 8-1 when enjoying an edge on the glass, 5-7 when the opposition finishes with more rebounds ... Emory has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six games this year and stands 6-0 in those contests ... The Eagles post an 8-1 won-lost slate under Zimmerman when sinking 25 or more free throws.