The men’s basketball team maintained its status as one of the top D-III programs in the country, closing out the campaign with an overall record of 22-5, the program’s 11^th consecutive winning season.  The win total tied the third-highest mark in school history and represented the third straight year of 20 or more wins.

Since the 2010-11 season, Emory owns the No. 1 record among conference teams in overall (204-65) action and the second-best showing in league (102-38) tussles.

The Eagles were University Athletic Association co-champions, finishing league play with a ledger of 11-3. It represented the fourth time in the past six seasons that Emory had captured or shared the conference crown (program's seventh-ever league title).  Emory earned a conference-record eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance where it advanced to the second round.

During the year Emory attained its highest national ranking ever when it held down the No. 2 spot for four straight weeks (Nov. 25, Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Dec. 16), finishing 18^th  in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.  Offense was in abundant supply throughout the season with Emory averaging 86.6 points per outing, good for the No. 1 post in the UAA, 23^rd in D-III and fourth on the school’s seasonal chart.  The Eagles dropped 90 or more points on 11 opponents including a program-record 124 in a win against Pfeiffer.

Emory began the year with 10 straight wins, just the second time in the 34-year history of the program that it posted a 10-0 mark.  The Eagles captured double-digit road wins at Guilford College and Berry in their two opening games of the campaign before returning home where they emerged with decisive wins over Sewanee and Oglethorpe, followed by hard-fought 67-62 verdict over Covenant College.  Emory ventured to the Maryville College Thanksgiving Tournament where it set the school scoring record against Pfeiffer before toppling the host Scots by a 95-82 count.  The Eagles kept up their winning ways in their final outings before finals and the holidays, bettering LaGrange, 98-89, on the Panthers' home floor before rolling to a 96-71 decision at home over Piedmont College.  Returning to action when it hosted its Holiday Classic, Emory battled to an 87-80 win over defending D-III champion UW-Oshkosh before seeing its 10-game win streak come to an end when Guilford pulled off a buzzer-beating 70-69 victory.

After winning two of its first three UAA contests, the Eagles rattled off four straight wins, started with a pair of home verdicts over Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve followed by wins on the road against Chicago and Washington University.  After a setback to Chicago opened the second half of league play, four consecutive victories, which included outcomes at home over Wash U, NYU and Brandeis, boosted Emory's UAA mark to 10-2.  A loss at Case Western dropped the squad into second place one game behind Wash U heading into the final regular-season game at Rochester.  Needing a win to keep them alive for a piece of the conference crown, the Eagles built a big lead against the Yellow Jackets and then held on for an 80-76 win.  Waiting at the Rochester airport for its flight home, all eyes were on the video stream of the Chicago - Wash U game, with Emory needing the Maroons to win at home against the Bears.  Chicago did emerge with a seven-point win, allowing Emor to co-tie for first place.   

A total of four players earned All-UAA accolades, highlighted by junior Matthew Schner’s first-team nod.  The 6-foot-4 Schner, who was chosen as the conference’s Co-Player of the Year, stood among the league’s top 10 in 12 statistical categories including nine rankings of sixth or higher. The Boca Raton, Fla., native also garnered all-region honors as chosen by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D3hoops.com.  Juniors Lawrence Rowley, Nick Stuck and Romin Williams were selected as Second Team All-UAA honorees with Rowley tabbed as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Emory saw juniors Romin Williams and Matt Davet both reach the 1,000 career-point plateau during the season, with Williams becoming the second-fastest player in school history (61 games) to reach that goal on Dec. 4 at LaGrange College while Davet reached that mark in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, when the Eagles battled Case Western Reserve on Feb. 23.

Head Coach Jason Zimmerman was recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club as the recipient of the organization’s Whack Hyder College Coach of the Year for the state of Georgia.  It marked the third time during his 13-year tenure that he had been chosen for the award.

Other noteworthy accomplishments by the 2019-20 team included:

** Averaging 86.6 points per game, good for first place in the University Athletic Association, 23rd among D-III teams and fourth on the school's seasonal chart

** Scoring 90 or more points on 11 occasions 

** Scoring 100 or more points on two occasions

** Pacing the UAA and ranking 22nd nationally in scoring margin (+12.4) -- won 16 games by 10 or more points

** Connecting on a conference-leading 74.7 percent (432-of-578) of its free throw opportunities, 54th among D-III schools and sixth on the program's seasonal chart

** 432 free throws set the pace in the UAA, stood 36th nationally and ranked as the seventh-highest mark in program history

** Rank No. 2 in the UAA in assists per game (16.2 apg) -- team's 438 total assists led the UAA and placed fifth all-time at Emory

** Scored 2,338 points, third most in school history

** Knocked down a school-record 268 three-point field goals, good for the No. 1 post in the UAA and 41st in D-III

** Sinking 10 or more triples on 15 occasions (12-3) -- at the end of the year, Emory had converted at least one three-point field goal in its last 597 games

** Holding down the No. 33 position in D-III in rebound margin (+6.4), outboarding a total of 20 opponents

** Established a program single-game record with 124 points in a game vs. Pfeiffer (Nov. 30)

** Converting 43 field goals vs. Pfeiffer  (Nov. 30), tying the school's third-highest game mark

** Registering 16 three-point field goal outings vs. Maryville (Dec. 1) and Case Western Reserve (Jan. 26), tying the sixth-highest game total in program history

** Standing second in the conference and 54th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.7 tpg) -- 11 contests of single-digit turnovers

** Compiling an 12-3 won-lost mark at the Woodruff PE Center.  At the conclusion of the ’19-20 campaign, the Eagles had registered a 117-16 record in their last 133 home encounters.  During Zimmerman’s 13 years at the helm of the program, Emory has manufactured a 135-32 slate on its home floor. 

Honors and Awards