GAME FACTS – After playing eight of its first nine contests either on the road or on neutral courts, the Emory men's basketball team eagerly awaits a five-game homestand that begins on Friday (Jan. 3) when it welcomes Piedmont College to the the Woodruff PE Center in a 7:00 pm tip. Following the encounter against the Lions, the Eagles play host to Birmingham Southern College on Monday, Jan. 6, in another 7:00 pm start.
THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is seventh-year Head Coach Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, 1994). 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). During his tenure with the Eagles' program, he has compiled a school and career record of 97-64.
Zimmerman has directed the Eagles to four straight winning seasons, the first time in school history that has happened. Last year, he guided the Eagles to a 20-7 mark, the third time that the program has reached that figure and second during his tenure on the Emory sidelines. The Eagles landed their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 1990 season and were co-champions of the University Athletic Association. After going 17-33 his first two years with the Eagles, Zimmerman has guided Emory to a ledger of 80-31 since the 2009-10 season.
Greg Neeley (Ohio Northern, '07) is in his first season at the helm of the Piedmont program. Neeley joined the Lions after spending the 2012-13 season at Warren Wilson where he led his squad to an overall mark of 19-10 that included the Owls' first-ever USCAA national championship. In four years as a head coach, which includes a two-year stint at Ancilla College (2010-11 and 2011-12), Neeley has a career slate of 40-47.
Patrolling the sidelines for the third season at Birmingham Southern is Chris Graves (John Brown, '99). During his tenure with the Panthers, he has compiled an overall record of 52-13. Graves spearheaded BSC to a 25-3 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2011-12.
2013-14 RECORDS – Emory heads into the Piedmont contest with a record of 6-3. The Eagles last played on Dec. 9 when they saw a five-game win streak come to an end following a 97-86 overtime setback at Oglethorpe. Senior Jake Davis paced the Emory scoring attack in that affair with 26 points while junior Josh Schattie tied for game honors with a career-high 11 rebounds. Friday's contest will be just the second home game for Emory, with the team posting a 110-76 victory over Covenant (Dec. 3) in its Woodpec appearance to date this season.
Piedmont brings a 4-4 showing into its meeting with Emory. The Lions last saw action, Dec. 17-18, when they dropped two games at the Don Lane Classic in Lexington, Kentucky, falling to host Transylvania, 98-94, and to Capital University, 76-58.
Birmingham Southern invades the Woodpec with a 7-2 won-lost ledger. The Panthers are coming off a split of a pair of games at the Coaches Classic by Kay Jewelers (Dec. 28-29), coming up short to host Randolph-Macon, 67-57, before bouncing back to claim a 72-56 verdict over Guilford.
SERIES RECORDS – Emory enjoys a 7-2 lead in the series against Piedmont that has its origins in 1988. The Eagles have captured the last four meetings including last year's 109-70 verdict played at the Woodruff PE Center. Emory has won five of six contests in the series played on its home floor.
Birmingham Southern has won three of the four games in the series with Emory. The Panthers have a three-game win streak over the Eagles that includes a 90-76 decision earlier this season (Nov. 17) at BSC's Black Tie Classic. Each team has a victory on Emory's home court.
DAVIS FUELS EMORY OFFENSE – Senior Jake Davis (Cincinnati, Ohio) has played a key role in an Emory offensive attack that is generating a conference –leading 87.6 points per game. The 6-foot-5 Davis tops all UAA players in scoring (23.0 ppg) and has either led or shared for the Emory team scoring lead in five of the last six and in a total of seven contests this year. In the squad's last outing, Davis produced a team-leading 26 points in the overtime setback to Oglethorpe, his sixth effort of 20-plus points this season and 32nd of his career.
Through games played Dec. 29, Davis, who has already been named UAA Player of the Week on two occasions this season, is ranked second among conference performers in free throw percentage (.897, 61-of-68), eighth in steals (1.4 spg), ninth in minutes (30.1 mpg), and 13th in three-point field goals (1.6 tpg).
EMORY OFFENSE IN HIGH GEAR – After averaging 69.0 points over its first three games of the season, Emory has unleashed a dynamic offensive attack that has averaged 96.8 points the past six contests.
Emory's 106 points vs. LaGrange followed by its 110-point effort against Covenant marked the first time since Dec. 8 (100 pts. vs. Maryville) and Dec. 15 (106 pts. vs. Oglethorpe) 2007, that the Eagles reached or cracked the century mark in back-to-back contests. In addition, Emory's five straight outings of 90-plus points (Nov. 23 through Dec. 3) represented the second-longest streak in school annals behind the 1989-90 squad which rang up seven consecutive outings of 90 or more points.
Through games played Dec. 29, Emory is No. 1 in the UAA in scoring offense (87.6 ppg).
EMORY HANDLES WITH CARE – Emory has turned the ball over on fewer occasions than the opposition in eight games this year (5-3) and leads the UAA in turnover margin with a mark of 3.9. The Eagles have finished in single digits in turnovers on three games this year and are averaging 12.0 miscues per game vs. 15.9 for their foes.
In its six victories, Emory is averaging 10.3 turnovers (15.2 for opponents) while showing an average of 15.3 in its three losses. One reason that Emory has enjoyed an edge in turnover margin has been an active defense that has produced 9.0 steals per game, second in the UAA. The Eagles have come up with 10 or more thefts in three outings including a season high of 14 against Oglethorpe.
NOTES - Jake Davis's 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Oglethorpe contest represented his first double-double of the campaign and 12th of his career … Davis has totaled 1,468 points during his career, good for the No. 5 spot on Emory's all-time chart, and is approaching Terry Gorsuch's (1987-91) fourth-place mark of 1,480 … Josh Schattie's seven offensive rebounds vs. Oglethorpe tied the highest-individual total by a Zimmerman coached player … Emory has shot 73 percent or better from the foul line in seven straight contests and holds down the No. 2 position in the UAA in that category (.780, 181-of-232) … Senior McPherson Moore, who totaled a career-high 24 points in the Oglethorpe contest, will enter the Piedmont game having made 16 straight free throws … Through games played Dec. 29, Moore is No. 8 in the UAA in free throw percentage (.829, 29-of-35) … Moore will enter the Piedmont game with the team's longest streak of six games with a three-point field goal … Sophomore Will Trawick ranks as Emory's leader in rebounding with his 5.8 per-game average 12th in the UAA (through Dec. 29) … Trawick registered a huge game on the glass against LaGrange (Dec. 1) with his career-high 17 rebounds tying the ninth-highest individual game total in school history and representing the highest total by a Zimmerman-coached Emory player … Michael Florin has scored in double figures on six occasions and his 5.8 assists-per-game average is second among UAA players … Florin's nine assists vs. Oglethorpe represented his second-highest total of the season … Florin has played 30 or more minutes in seven games and stands No. 2 in the league in minutes played (32.2 mpg) … Sophomore Davis Rao knocked down a pair of treys in the Oglethorpe game and has triples to his credit in five straight contests … The Eagles have outshot five opponents from the floor (5-0) while having been outshot in four contests (1-3) … The Eagles stand 4-1 when leading at the break this season, 77-13 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … The Eagles have outpointed the opposition in 11 of 18 halves this year … Emory is averaging 40.7 points during the first half of play (36.4 for opponents) and 45.6 points during the second half (41.7 for opponents) … During Zimmerman's tenure, the Eagles have scored 90 or more points on 37 occasions and own a 34-3 slate in those games … Emory's victory over Covenant (Dec. 3) boosted its record to 36-4 over its last 40 home games … Emory's 110-76 win over Covenant raised the program's all-time record to 37-5 when scoring 100 or more points … Emory's 64 points in the second stanza against Covenant represented the highest –point total by a Zimmerman-coached team.