GAME FACTS - After splitting a pair of games at the Washington and Lee Tournament last weekend, the Emory men's basketball team returns home to battle a pair of University Athletic Association foes.  On Friday (Jan. 8), the Eagles take on Carnegie Mellon in an 8:00 p.m. start before meeting Case Western Reserve on Sunday at noon.

Both of the games will be video streamed.  The link to access the games is: 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).

In his 20th season as the head coach at Carnegie Mellon University is Tony Wingen (Springfield, 1982).  During his stint at CMU, he has posted a record of 233-252 which includes last year's 20-win campaign that tied the school mark for most victories.  In 22 years of college coaching, which includes a two-year stay at the University of the South (1988-89 through 1989-90), Wingen has a career slate of 254-280.

Sean McDonnell (Boston College, 1996) is the third head coach in the history of the Case Western program and is in his seventh campaign calling the shots for the Spartans.  Prior to his current post, McDonnell served as the head coach at Hiram College for three seasons.

2009-10 RECORDS - Emory resumes UAA action the owners of an overall record of 7-4 that includes a 0-1 mark in conference action.  The Eagles opened the Washington & Lee Tournament with a 66-54 win against Drew University on Saturday before dropping a 76-65 verdict to the host Generals in the championship contest on Sunday.   Freshman Alex Greven led Emory in scoring in both affairs, notching 19 points against Drew before totaling a season-best 21 points against W&L.

Carnegie Mellon comes to Atlanta looking to snap a two-game losing streak that has left its overall record at 4-5.  The Tartans came out on the short end of both games at the Casa Mia Invitational, (Jan. 3-4), losing to Widener University, 67-60, and Alvernia University, 72-67.

Case Western Reserve opens league action at Rochester Friday evening sporting a won-lost mark of 8-3.  In their most recent action, the Spartans defeated Oberlin College at home, 55-52, on Jan. 2. 
 

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman    

SERIES RECORDS -  Emory claims a 24-19 edge in the all-time series against Carnegie Mellon.  The Tartans have won the last three contests between the programs including last year's 60-51 (at Emory) and 88-61 (at CMU) decisions.  Emory has captured 17 of the 21 games played on its home floor.

Case enjoys an 18-16 advantage over Emory in the all-time series.  The Spartans have captured the last three encounters including last year's 74-66 (at Case) and 76-65 (at Emory) outcomes.

HIXON HITTING THE BOARDS - Senior Chad Hixon has paced the Eagles in the rebounding department the last four games including a pair of six-board performances last weekend at the Washington & Lee Tournament.  The 6-foot-3 Hixon has recorded a pair of double-figure efforts in that category this year and has ranked as the club's top rebounder in a total of five outings.  In games played through Jan. 5, Hixon is tied for the No. 5 spot in the UAA with a 6.6 per-game mark in rebounding.

EMORY OFFENSE PUTTING UP NUMBERS - Through 11 games, the Eagles have scored 85 or more points on seven occasions compared to a total of five times for the entire 2008-09 campaign. 

Entering this weekend's action, Emory holds down the No. 1 spot among University Athletic Association teams with an 81.8 points per game average.  The Eagles have posted 90 or more points on four occasions and also top the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.422) while holding down the No. 2 position in field goal percentage (.495).

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND - Through 11 games, Emory has had five or more players score 10 or more points in five 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.

THREE-POINT SHOT AN EMORY WEAPON --  Emory has made the most of the three-point shot and is averaging 7.4 treys per contest. The Eagles have seven or more treys in seven contests and have a pair of outings of 10 or more including 15 from beyond the arc, the second-highest game total in school history, against Oglethorpe on Dec. 7.  In UAA statistics through Jan. 5, Emory held down the No. 1 position with a 42.2 percent mark from three-point range.   

In its five home games this year, Emory is averaging 8.4 makes from distance while shooting at a 43.3 percent clip

PLAYERS MOVING UP EMORY CAREER CHARTS - As the midway point of the season approaches, a pair of Emory players are moving up the school's career listings in various categories.  Senior Daniel Curtin has moved into 10^th position with 105 three-point field goals and a 36.4 percent showing (105-of-288) in three-point shooting.

Senior Anthony Fernandez is tied with Clayton Fuller (2002-04) for 18^th place in career rebounds with 330.  Scoring-wise, Fernandez moved into 20^th position with 779 points.

NOTES - Alex Greven's 21 points against Washington & Lee was the second-highest total by an Emory player this year, trailing only Daniel Curtin's 22 points vs. Greensboro College (Dec. 17) ...  Greven, along with sophomore Austin Claunch, are tied for the team lead with eight double-figure scoring games ...  Claunch paces the team with a 13.3 points per-game average, good for the No. 8 slot among UAA cagers, while Greven stands second on the team and 11^th in the conference in that category (12.2 ppg) ...  Claunch is second in the league in assists (6.0 apg) and is tied for ninth in field goal percentage (.534) ... After shooting 66.4 percent from the foul line (85-of-128) in their first six games, the Eagles have converted 77.8 percent (74-of-95) from the charity stripe in their last five contests ... Emory has hit 70 percent or better of its free throw attempts in four of its last five games and has moved into the No. 4 spot among UAA squads with a 71.3 percent showing ... Daniel Curtin will enter the Carnegie Mellon affair with three-point field goals to his credit in his last eight games ... Sophomore Corey Spraggins has hit on 50 percent or better of his field goal attempts in eight games and his team-leading 55.1 percent mark ranks fifth in the UAA ... Emory has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five games this season and is 5-0 in those contests ... Emory has outrebounded six opponents this year and stands 5-1 in those games ... Emory shows a 7-1 slate under Zimmerman when converting 25 or more free throws ...  In games that it has won, Emory is averaging 88.0 points and shooting 52.8 percent from the floor ... In games they have lost, the Eagles are scoring 71.0 points and shooting 43.8 percent from the field.