GAME FACTS -  The Emory men’s basketball team plays its final regular-season game of 2010-11 on Saturday when it hosts nationally ranked Rochester.  The Woodruff Physical Education Center on the Emory campus will serve as the venue for the 48^th meeting between the Eagles and Yellowjackets and tip is slated for 4:00 p.m.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is fourth-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).  During his tenure with the Eagles’ program, he has compiled a school and career record of 51-48.

Last season, Zimmerman directed the Eagles to an overall record of 15-10, the program’s first winning season since 2004-05.  In addition, Emory tied for third place in the University Athletic Association with a 7-7 slate, with that win total the most since 2000-01.  For his efforts, Zimmerman, along with assistants Chris Murphy and Ben Wright were named the UAA’s Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

In his first campaign as the head coach at Rochester is Luke Flockerzi.  Prior to his current post, Flockerzi served as head coach at Skidmore College for three seasons and guided the Thoroughbreds to a 16-9 mark his final season.  Heading into Saturday’s contest, Flockerzi has a four-year career mark of 50-49.

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory checks into Saturday’s fray with an overall record of 19-5 including a 10-3 mark in the University Athletic Association.  The Eagles’ overall win total is the second highest in school history, behind only the 25 triumphs racked up by the 1989-90 team,  while its 10 triumphs in league action ties for the second-highest mark. 

Last weekend Emory split a pair of road affairs, defeating Case Western, 83-64, on Friday before coming out on the short end of a 72-70 overtime decision to Carnegie Mellon.  The Eagles have won their last eight home games and stand 12-1 at the Woodpec this season.

Rochester, ranked No. 14 nationally by D3hoops.com, comes to town with an 11-game win streak that has boosted its overall record to 20-4.  The Yellowjackets have clinched first place in the UAA and will bring a conference slate of 12-1 into Saturday’s game.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

SERIES RECORDS -  Rochester has won the last four meetings between the schools and posts a 31-16 advantage in the all-time series.  Earlier this year (Jan. 8), the Yellowjackets recorded an 81-65 decision over the Eagles in the UAA opener for both squads.  Leading the Emory scoring attack in that game was freshman Jake Davis with 18 points. Emory has won 12 of the 23 meetings against UR played on its home floor.

CLAUNCH SETS SCHOOL SEASON ASSISTS MARK – CONTINUES CLIMB UP CAREER CHART – For the second straight year Austin Claunch established a school mark for most assists in a season.  After doling out 13 assists last weekend, the 5-foot-9 Claunch has 177 on the year, which tops the previous standard of 151 that he registered last season.  Through games played Feb. 20, Claunch tops the UAA and is third nationally in assists (7.4 apg).  In UAA contests, his 7.8 per-game average is good for the top spot.  

Career-wise, Claunch holds down the No. 2 slot on Emory’s all-time ladder with 391 assists.  Last weekend, he moved ahead of Paul Damm’s (1986-90) total of 388. The holder of the No. 1 mark is Paul Schuliger (1987-91) with 421.

DAVIS CONTINUES CONSISTENT PLAY – Freshman Jake Davis led the Eagles in scoring (19.5 ppg) and was second in rebounding (9.0 rpg) in last weekend’s games vs. Case Western and Carnegie Mellon.  He recorded his third double-double of the campaign with a season-high 22-points, 12-rebounds performance against CWRU and followed that with a team-high 17 points vs. Carnegie Mellon.

Davis has come through with 18 double-figure scoring games this season and has three efforts of 20 or more points to his credit.  He has led or shared for team scoring honors on nine occasions and has been the club’s top rebounder in nine outings as well.  The 6-foot-5 frontliner ranks third on the squad and ninth in the UAA in scoring (13.6 ppg) and tops the team and is tied for fourth on the UAA chart with a 6.5 per-game average in rebounding.  Davis leads all UAA freshmen in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage (.827) and is third in field goal percentage (.485).

GULOTTA’S 3-POINT FG STREAK ENDS AT 35 – Junior Alex Gulotta saw his streak of sinking three point field goals come to an end at 35 games when he did not convert a triple against Carnegie Mellon last Sunday.  Gulotta’s 35-game streak tied him with Robert Spivey for the second-longest streak in school history behind only the No. 1 mark of 40 held by Jeff Hall.

Gulotta did knock down three treys in the Case Western game on Friday, boosting his yearly total to 70, good for the No. 3 spot on the school’s seasonal ladder.  He has posted 16 games of two or more triples and has 13 outings of three or more. 

As he heads into the weekend, Gulotta is No. 1 in the UAA and 37^th nationally with a mark of 2.9 treys per game.  His 46.4 percent showing from beyond the arc ranks third among UAA players and is 12^th on the national scene.  A double-figure scorer on 13 occasions, he is averaging 11.8 points per game, fourth on the team and 14^th in the UAA.

Career-wise, he is 7^th on Emory’s career ladder with 132 three pointers (2 from moving into sixth place) and first in three-point percentage (.442, 132-of-298).

GREVEN AIDING THE CAUSE – Sophomore Alex Greven has ranked among the UAA’s top 10 scorers all year and will take a 14.8 per-game scoring average into Saturday’s game, second on the team and eighth among UAA cagers.  Greven has scored in double figures in his last six and in a total of 20 games this year and owns four contests of 20 or more points.  The 6-foot-3 Greven has been solid at the charity stripe and is second on the squad and fourth in the UAA with an 83.0 percent (83-of-100) mark from the foul line.

WILLIAMS ENJOYING STRONG FINISH – Julien Williams, one of two Emory players who will be recognized during Saturday’s Senior Day festivities (Marcus Patterson being the other), has enjoyed a strong second half of the season. After scoring in single digits in his first 14 games of 2010-11, the 6-foot-2 Williams has posted double-figure scoring in eight of his last 10 games.   In his last 10 outings, he is tossing in 13.2 points and shooting 64.8 percent (48-of-74) from the floor. In that span of games, he has topped the team in scoring on three occasions and also produced a career-high 19 points against Chicago (Feb. 13).

While he is averaging 8.1 points per contest in overall play, he is fourth on the team and 15^th on the UAA ladder in scoring in just league play with an 11.0 per-game effort.  In addition, he is connecting at a 58.1 percent clip (50-of-86) from the field in UAA action, good for the No. 3 spot in the loop.

Career-wise, the 6-foot-2 Williams has appeared in 96 games and holds down the No. 13 spot on Emory’s all-time chart with 465 rebounds.

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND – The Eagles have had five players reach double figures in scoring on eight occasions this year.  So far this year, Emory has had players score 20 or more points on 15 occasions compared to last year’s total of six.

Emory’s balanced scoring attack is borne out by the fact that it has three of the top 10 and four of the top 14 scorers in the UAA.  Claunch tops the quartet with his 16.2 per-game average good for sixth place.  Alex Greven ranks eighth in the league at 14.8 points while Jake Davis is 9^th at 13.6 points per game.  Gulotta is 14^th at 11.8 points per game. 

CLAUNCH AN ALL-AROUND PERFORMER – One would be hard pressed to find a more all-around player than Austin Claunch.  A strong candidate for numerous postseason accolades,  Claunch ranks among the top 10 in the UAA in six different statistical categories and is first in four – assists (7.4 apg), steals (1.8 spg), free throw percentage (.871) and minutes (36.2 mpg).  The other two departments that he ranks in the top 10 are scoring (6^th, 16.2 ppg) and assist/turnover ratio (3.0).   His assist/turnover ratio ranks 12^th nationally. 

A double-figure scorer in 21 contests, his steals total place him 20^th on the school’s seasonal chart and he has registered 12 games of two or more thefts.  He has played seven games in their entirety including all 45 minutes in last Sunday’s overtime battle at Carnegie Mellon.

DOUBLE-DIGIT OBSTACLES DON’T FAZE EAGLES – Emory’s 69-68 win at Washington University (Jan. 14) represented the third time this season that the Eagles had rallied from a significant double-digit deficit and came away with a win.   Emory faced three 14-point deficits in the second half against the Bears, the final one being a 52-38 disadvantage with 16:18 left on the clock, before battling back for the one-point win. 

Back on Nov. 28, Emory trailed by a dozen points at halftime in a home game against Maryville before shooting 65.4 percent (17-of-26) in the second half en route to a wild 103-99 decision over the Scots.  The squad’s other win came in the season opener against Oglethorpe where it fell behind by 16 points at halftime and still faced a 14-point uphill climb with just 7:33 left in the contest.  The Eagles then responded with a 21-7 spurt over the remainder of regulation before posting a 92-84 overtime verdict over the Petrels.

Emory almost notched other wins of the come-from-behind variety when it surged back to within one point after seeing Washington & Lee build a 21-point cushion with 17:22 left in the game. However, the Generals held on for an 86-75 triumph.  On the road against Brandeis (Jan. 28), Emory stared at a 20-point hole with 12:32 left in the contest before rallying to force overtime where the Judges held on for an 86-82 victory.

EAGLES SET SCHOOL SEASON MARK FOR TREYS – In last Sunday’s game at Carnegie Mellon,  Emory established a school season record for most three-point field goals.  The Eagles’ four treys against the Tartans upped their 2010-11 total to 210, bettering the previous standard of 208 set by the 2009-10 squad.  Emory has registered 10 or more three-point field goals in nine contests this season.

Heading into the Rochester game, Emory is averaging 8.8 three-pointers per game, good for the No. 1 spot in the UAA and 15^th nationally, and has four players who have sank 25 or more from beyond the arc.  Emory has had five or more players register three-point field goals in 11 contests, seven of which have come in UAA games.  The Eagles saw eight different players account for triples earlier this year against Huntingdon (Jan. 2) and Piedmont (Jan. 3).

FRIEDBERG FOR THE DEFENSE – Michael Friedberg finished with one blocked shot in both the Case Western and Carnegie Mellon contests last weekend, extending his streak to 12  consecutive games with at least one rejection and boosting his season total to 50, good for the No. 2 spot on Emory’s seasonal chart. 

The 6-foot-6 Friedberg has recorded two or more blocks in 13 outings this season and he holds down the No. 2 position in the UAA and is 34^th nationally in blocks per game (2.2).  In league contests, his 2.6 per-game showing is good for the top spot.

NOTES – Emory has shot 70 percent or better from the foul line in each of its last six games and is connecting at a  79.4 percent rate (120-of-151) in that stretch … In Emory’s 13 home games, it is shooting 81.7 percent (259-of-317) from the stripe compared to 74.5 percent (181-of-243) in its 11 road/neutral contests …  The Eagles top the UAA and rank No. 3 nationally in free throw percentage (.786) …  Junior Justin Resnick has knocked down three-point field goals in his last nine and in 16 of the last 17 contests … Resnick has recorded nine games of two or more triples and is connecting at a 52.9 clip (9-of-17) in the last six contests … Resnick is 14^th among UAA performers in three-point field goal percentage (.372) … Emory has outshot 12 opponents from the floor this season and stands 13-0 in those games … Eagles’ opponents have posted a better field goal percentage in 11 games with Emory standing 6-5 in those encounters … Emory enjoys an 86.3-73.3 scoring advantage in its 10 UAA wins, and have been outscored, 79.7-72.3 in its three league losses … The Eagles have turned the ball over fewer times than the opposition in 16 games and post a 13-3 slate in those contests.