GAME FACTS – The Emory men's basketball program opens its 34th year of intercollegiate competition on Saturday (Nov. 9) when it plays at Guilford College.
The Ragan-Brown Field House on the Guilford campus will serve as the venue of the ninth-ever ever meeting between the Eagles and Quakers and tip is slated for 4:00 pm.
Live Stats and video will be available with the links below.
Live Stats
https://www.guilfordquakers.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/boxscores/20191109_1stt.xml
Video (no fee for SD - $6.95 fee for HD stream)
https://www.guilfordquakers.com/multimedia/BoxCastMBK/2019/Emory
THE COACHES – Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, 1994) begins his 13th year of patrolling the Emory sideline. 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, he ranks as the program's winningest coach, compiling a school and career record of 214-103. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 124-29 ledger and claims a 90-74 mark in road/neutral settings.
He has guided Emory to 10 straight winning seasons and seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), tying the longest streak in the history of the University Athletic Association.
After going 17-33 his first two years at Emory, Zimmerman has compiled a won-lost slate of 197-70 (.738) since the 2009-10 season. He has amassed a 10-6 won-lost effort in NCAA Tourney contests.
Tom Palombo (Virginia Wesleyan, '89) enters his 16th year as the head coach at Guilford. Heading into the Emory contest, Palombo has a chalked up a school record of 311-138.
2018-19 RECORDS – Emory closed out the 2018-19 season with an overall record of 20-6, its 10th consecutive winning campaign. The Eagles captured the UAA title, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the process, with a mark of 11-3. Emory was ranked 25th nationally in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. The 20 victories represented the seventh time in program history, and the sixth under Zimmerman, that it had reached or surpassed that total.
Guilford registered a won-lost slate of 24-8 last season, won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA D-III Tournament. The Quakers are ranked 19th in the D3hoops.com 2019-20 Preseason Top 25 Poll.
SERIES RECORDS – In a series that began in January of 2008, Emory has won the last six meeting against Guilford to claim an all-time mark of 6-2 against the Quakers. The two teams last squared off on Dec. 16, 2017, in Atlanta with the Eagles prevailing by an 84-58 margin. Emory stands 3-1 vs. Guilford in Greensboro with the last contest played at Ragan-Brown in November of 2016 where the Eagles battled to a 69-66 overtime victory.
EMORY AND SEASON OPENERS - Emory owns a 22-11 all-time mark in season-opening games, and checks into Saturday's contest with wins in nine of its last 10 season openers. Last year, Emory began the campaign with a 98-80 triumph at Piedmont. Saturday's match-up will represent the first time that Guilford has been Emory's season-opening foe.
Zimmerman stands 9-3 in season-openers while at Emory.
EMORY PICKED AS TEAM TO BEAT IN UAA – Emory was picked as the team to beat in the University Athletic Association in a preseason poll conducted by the league coaches, picking up seven of the eight first-place votes cast. Washington University nabbed the other first-place ballot and was picked for second. Brandeis and Chicago were slotted in third and fourth place, respectively.
EAGLES RANKED 6th IN D3hoops.com PRESEASON POLL – Emory is ranked sixth nationally in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Preseason Poll, the program's highest showing in the preseason in school history. The Eagles are one of two UAA representatives to garner preseason recognition with Washington University holding down the No. 7 spot.
EMORY AN EXPERIENCED GROUP – The Eagles return 10 veterans, including four starters, from last year's team that averaged a school-record 92.9 points per game, good for first place in the University Athletic Association and eighth among D-III teams. The Eagles scored 90 or more points on 16 occasions (second most in school history), and their 263 three-point field goals represented the second-highest seasonal total in program annals.
A check at the rosters reveals that over 85 percent of last season's scoring is back in the fold including the top four-point producers, all of whom averaged in double figures. Among the returnees is junior guard Romin Williams, who played his way to First Team All-UAA and Second Team All-South Region accolades after pacing the conference with a 17.3 points-per-game average. A returning co-leader in terms of minutes (28.7 mpg), Williams totaled double-figure scoring on 23 occasions and knocked down a team-high 77 three-point field goals, the program's fourth-highest seasonal total. Junior forward Matt Davet, who came off the bench on 22 occasions last season, recorded starter-like stats, averaging 22.8 minutes per playing stint with his 16.6 points-per-game average second on the team and tied for second in the league. Chosen to the All-UAA Second Team, Davet turned in 19 double-figure scoring contests including a team-high tying nine efforts of 20 or more points. Junior Matt Schner, a First Team All-UAA selection, started 25 of 26 contests and wound up among the league's top 10 in scoring (10th, 13.8 ppg), rebounding (7th, 7.0 rpg), field goal percentage (5th, .586, 139-of-237) and three-point shooting (1st, .455, 40-of-88). The 6-foot-5 Schner dialed up 20 outings of 10 or more points including three of 20 or more. Junior forward Lawrence Rowley looks to continue his role as a mainstay in the lineup after landing Second Team All-UAA recognition a year ago. Rowley produced a team-high tying 23 double-figure scoring performances en route to finishing ninth on the UAA's scoring chart at 14.5 points per game. Junior Nick Stuck, 6-foot-2, is back to direct the Emory offense from his point-guard post. Stuck, who drew starting assignments in the last 12 games of the year, doled out a team-high 4.7 assists per game, good for fourth place in the UAA, while placing in the league and 20th in D-III in assist-turnover ratio (2.75).
WILIAMS TABBED AS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN -- Romin Williams was selected as Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by D3hoops.com. Williams was the lone UAA player to be recognized by D3hoops.com. Chosen to all-region teams by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D3hoops.com a year ago, Williams ranked as the Eagles' top scorer on eight occasions and rang up 450 points, the fourth-highest total by an Emory sophomore.
DID YOU KNOW -- Since the 2010-11 season, Emory has the No. 1 record among UAA teams in overall (182-60) play and the second-best mark in league action (91-35) .… Washington University has the conference's second-best overall ledger (173-62) and the top slate in conference play (93-33) … That Emory has at least one three-point field goal in its last 571 games -- The last time the Eagles failed to convert from beyond the arc came on Feb. 14, 1997, vs. Washington University (0-of-6) … Emory was won 52 of its last 53 games when allowing 69 or fewer points (5-0 in '18-19, 11-0 in '17-18, 7-1 in '16-17, 13-0 in '15-16, 16-0 in '14-15) … Emory posts a 32-4 ledger in games since the 2016-17 season when it has converted 10 or more three-pointers in a contest (11-2 in '18-19, 11-0 in 2017-18, 10-2 in '16-17 … The Eagles have won 42 of their last 43 games at the Woodruff PE Center against non-league foes with the only blemish coming last season (Nov. 25, 2018) against Randolph-Macon … Emory is 106-13 (.890) over its last 119 home contests … The Eagles have recorded 100 or more points 54 times in program history and own a 48-6 won-lost record in those affairs … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory has 23 contests of 100 or more points and stands 21-2 in such games … Since the 2012-13 season, the Eagles are 115-7 when outshooting the opposition from the floor (16-1 in 2018-19, 16-1 in '17-18, 17-1 in '16-17, 12-3 in '15-16, 18-0 in '14-15) … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory stands 176-21 when leading at halftime (20-2 in 2018-19, 19-1, in '17-18, 13-0 in '16-17; 18-3 in 2015-16).