GAME FACTS – The Emory men's basketball team faces another weekend of life on the road when it battles a pair of University Athletic Association opponents. On Friday (Feb. 14), the Eagles invade Skibo Gymnasium for an 8:00 pm contest against Carnegie Mellon before tackling Case Western on Sunday at the Horsburgh Gym in a noon tip.
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, he ranks as the program's winningest coach, compiling a school and career record of 104-68. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 58-23 ledger.
Zimmerman has directed the Eagles to four straight winning seasons (2009-10 through 2012-13), 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 win total 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 87-35 since the 2009-10 season.
Tony Wingen (Springfield, '83) is in his 24th season at the helm of the Carnegie Mellon program. Heading into Friday's game, Wingen has a school record of 266-329 while recording 287 victories over 26 campaigns as a head coach, which includes a two-year stint at the University of the South (1988-89 through 1989-90).
In his 11th year of calling the shots at Case Western is Sean McDonnell (Boston College '96). Prior to his current post, McDonnell served as the head coach at Hiram College for three seasons.
2013-14 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 13-7 overall, with its 5-4 mark in UAA play good a three-way tie for second place. The Eagles split UAA road games last weekend, defeating Chicago by an 82-74 margin before coming out on the short end of a 94-80 verdict to No. 4-ranked Washington University.
Senior Jake Davis (Cincinnati, OH) led the Emory scoring attack in both games, totaling a game-high 28 points vs. Chicago before topping all players once again with a career-high 36 points against Wash U. Davis has been the Eagles' top point producer in the last four and in a total of 13 contests this season. Sophomore Will Trawick (Bedford, NY) averaged 12.0 points over the weekend as he put together a pair of double-figure scoring games, chalking up 14 points (second high on the squad) against Chicago before finishing with 10 points vs. WU.
Emory is 5-3 in home games and 8-4 in away/neutral contests this season. The Eagles are slotted in the No. 25 spot nationally in this week's BennettRank. For more information on BennettRank, go to: http://bennettrankbasketball.com/.
Carnegie Mellon hosts Emory with an overall record of 10-10 and stands 3-6 in league affairs. The Tartans are coming off a pair of defeats on the road last weekend, 92-86 in overtime to NYU and 87-62 against Brandeis. CMU is 6-4 in home games this season.
Case Western heads into a Friday night home game against Rochester the owners of a
12-9 overall record, 4-5 in the league. The Spartans enter the weekend aiming to get back into the win column following road setbacks to Brandeis (85-74) and NYU (79-74).
CWRU has won nine of its 11 home games this year.
SERIES RECORDS – Emory claims a 30-22 edge in the all-time series with Carnegie Mellon that began in November of 1987. The Eagles have captured six of the past nine contests vs. the Tartans, though CMU came through with a 95-83 win earlier this season (Jan. 17) in Atlanta.
Emory holds a 24-19 advantage in the series against Case Western Reserve that saw the first game contested in January of 1987. The Eagles have captured the last seven encounters vs. the Spartans including this year's first meeting, a 102-76 verdict back on Jan. 19. CWRU is 12-10 vs. Emory in games played on its home floor, though the Eagles have won on their last three trips to Cleveland.
EMORY'S NON-CONFERENCE FOES ENJOYING SUCCESS – As of Feb. 11, Emory's 10 non-conference foes have compiled an overall record of 136-95 (Birmingham Southern is figured in twice).
Seven of the 10 teams that appeared on the Eagles' docket of non-conference contests have enjoyed winning seasons including Spalding (15-6), Birmingham Southern (12-9), Virginia Wesleyan (16-5), Christopher Newport (14-7), Maryville College (15-6), LaGrange College (12-9) and Oglethorpe (17-4). In this week's BennetRank, Emory's Strength of Schedule is ranked 28th nationally.
50 PERCENT A KEY MARK – Emory sports a record of 7-0 this year when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor with the most recent win in that category coming vs. Brandeis (Jan. 26) when it hit 57.6 percent in a 94-88 victory. The Eagles have connected on 50 percent or higher of their field goal opportunities in four conference games this year.
Through nine league games, Emory is No. 4 in the UAA in field goal percentage (.453, 268-of-591).
TOP-SCORING PLAYER HALVES – Jake Davis and McPherson Moore (St. Louis, MO) have produced the team's top individual scoring half this season with each player logging one 22-point stanza. Moore posted 22 points during the opening half of play vs. Case Western (Jan. 19) en route to finishing with a career-high 31 points in a 102-76 victory. Davis lit up LaGrange College for a 22-point second half back on Dec. 1, finishing that contest with 31 points in a 106-84 triumph over the Panthers.
The following is a list of top-scoring halves by Emory players this year.
22 points – McPherson Moore vs. Case Western (1st half), Jan. 19
22 points – Jake Davis vs. LaGrange (2nd half), Dec. 1
20 points – Jake Davis vs. Washington University (1st half), Feb. 9
19 points – Will Trawick vs. Methodist (2nd half), Nov. 23
17 points – Jake Davis vs. Christopher Newport (2nd half), Nov. 24
17 points – Jake Davis vs. Christopher Newport (1st half), Nov. 24
17 points – Jake Davis vs. Birmingham Southern (2nd half), Nov. 17
EMORY HANDLES WITH CARE – Emory has turned the ball over on fewer occasions than the opposition in 17 games this year (10-7) and ranks first in the UAA and 30th nationally (stats released Feb. 10) in fewest turnovers per game (10.9 tpg).
The Eagles have eight games of single-digit turnovers this year including a season-low of four in last Sunday's game vs. Wash U. In a related category, Emory sets the pace in the conference and is 20th among all D-III programs in turnover margin with a showing of +4.5 (10.9 tpg vs. 15.4 tpg).
In its 13 victories, Emory is averaging 10.1 turnovers (14.7 for opponents) while showing an average of 12.3 in its seven setbacks. One reason that Emory has enjoyed an edge in turnover margin has been an active defense that has produced 8.7 steals per game in overall play, tops in the UAA. The Eagles have come up with 10 or more thefts in six outings including a season high of 14 against Oglethorpe (Dec. 9).
DAVIS & MOORE A FORMIDABLE TANDEM – Emory's senior duo of Jake Davis and McPherson Moore continued their offensive production totals this past weekend with the pair combining for 39 points against Chicago and 47 vs. Wash U.
Heading into the weekend, Davis and Moore rank as the UAA's top-scoring tandem in overall play at 39.2 points per game. Davis is averaging a league-leading 23.1 points per outing, good for the No. 9 position among all D-III players, while Moore's 16.1 per-game effort is seventh on the UAA ladder. Davis and Moore have combined for 37 double-figure scoring contests (Davis with 19 and Moore with 18) and have led or shared for team scoring honors on 17 occasions (Davis 13 times, Moore 4 times).
The pair are also the highest-scoring tandem in UAA games, averaging 39.2 points per outing with Davis at 23.1 points and Moore at 16.1 points. Standing behind them are Wash U's Chris Klimek (19.8 ppg) and Matt Palucki (16.7 ppg).
The Davis & Moore combo have accounted for 19 of the squad's 22 20-point plus contests with Davis totaling or surpassing the 20-point mark in 13 games and Moore on six occasions.
Moore and Davis accounted for 58 of the team's 102 points vs. Case Western back on Jan. 19 with that total representing the program's third-highest mark by two players in a game. Earlier in the season, the two chalked up 56 points between them (Davis 34, Moore 22) in a 92-90 outcome over Christopher Newport, then the fourth-highest showing by two Emory cagers.
DAVIS CRACKS 1,700 CAREER-POINT PLATEAU – During last Sunday's Wash U game, Jake Davis cracked the 1,700 career-point plateau with his 36-point afternoon against the Bears boosting his total to 1,723 points during his stint in an Eagle uniform. Davis ranks as the program's No. 2 all-time leading scorer, trailing only Tim Garrett's ('86-90) first-place mark of 1,875 points.
The 36 points by Davis represented his fourth contest this season of 30 or more points and tied the program's fourth-highest individual game total. Davis has scored 30 or more points on five occasions during his career.
During his career at Emory, Davis has produced 85 double-figure scoring contests (95 career games) and 39 performances of 20 or more points, 13 of which have come this season. His 18.1 points-per-game career scoring average is second at Emory only to Garrett's effort of 18.6.
MORE ON MOORE – McPherson Moore will enter Friday's action vs. Carnegie Mellon second on the team and seventh in the UAA in overall scoring average (16.1 ppg). Moore currently owns a 17-game double-figure scoring streak that has seen him produce six contests of 20 or more points in that stretch. Moore is scoring at a16.6 per-game clip in UAA outings, good for sixth place on the league list.
Moore saw a 15-game streak with at least one three-point field goal (then tying the school's 12th-longest effort) come to an end last Friday in the Chicago game.
Heading into the weekend, Moore stands into the No. 9 position on the UAA list in overall field goal percentage (.500, 115-of-230) and also finds himself among the league's top 10 in free throw percentage (7th, .814) and three-point field goals per game (7th, 2.2 tpg). Moore has been effective at the Woodruff PE Center this season, averaging 18.9 points and shooting 52.6 percent (60-114) from the floor in the team's eight home dates.
ZIMMERMAN SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR COACHING WINS – The 82-74 win over Chicago last Friday enabled head Jason Zimmerman to establish the program record with 104 career victories. Zimmerman entered the UC game tied with Brett Zuver (1998-99 through 2006-07) for that honor.
FLORIN SOLID AS EMORY FLOOR GENERAL – Junior Michael Florin (Port Washington, NY) recorded a total of 10 assists and turned the ball over just two times while logging 63 minutes of action in last weekend's games vs. Chicago and Wash U. Over his last three outings, he has recorded 16 assists with just four turnovers, and will enter this upcoming weekend tied for the No. 1 spot in the UAA and 21st nationally with a 5.3 assists-per-game average.
Florin, whose 112 assists this year ranks ninth on the Eagles' seasonal chart, is first in the league and 11th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.95). He has nine outings of six or more assists including a pair of 10-assists performances vs. Methodist (Nov. 23) and Case Western (Jan. 19). Florin heads into the week in to No. 6 position on the school's all-time list with 306 assists, just five from moving into fifth.
EMORY AND THE CENTURY MARK – Emory's 102 points against Case Western (Jan. 19) represented the third time this season that it reached or surpassed the century mark. It is the first time since 2005-06 that the men's program has scored 100 or more points in a game on three occasions. Emory has recorded 100 or more points 43 times in program history and owns a 38-5 won-lost record in those affairs.
During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, the Eagles have 12 contests of 100 or more points and stand 11-1 in such games.
NOTES - The Eagles have shot 70 percent or better from the foul line in the last seven and in nine of their last 10 contests and enter the upcoming weekend second in the UAA and 11th nationally in free throw percentage (.778, 333-of-428) … Emory has attempted more free throws than the opposition in five games (5-0) while see its foes attempt more on 14 occasions (7-7) … The Eagles paced the UAA and rank 19th nationally in scoring offense (83.8 ppg) … Emory is No. 2 in scoring offense in conference games (81.1 ppg) … Davis Rao has the team's longest streak with 16 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal … Rao is 11th in the UAA in overall three-point field goal percentage (.422, 27-of-64) and second in conference play (.483, 14-of-29) … Michael Florin has played 30 or more minutes in 15 contests and is tied for fifth in the league in that category (32.0 mpg) … In addition to his scoring prowess, Jake Davis stands as the team's leader in rebounding with a 6.0 per-game average that is good for ninth place on the UAA chart … Davis has led or shared for team honors in rebounding in nine games this year …. Davis has 13 career double-doubles … Will Trawick put together back-to-back double figure scoring contests last week and now has scored 10 or more points on six occasions this season … The Eagles have outshot 12 opponents from the floor (12-0) while having been outshot in eight contests (1-7) … The Eagles stand 10-2 when leading at the break this season, 83-14 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … Emory has outpointed the opposition in 24 of 40 halves this year … During Zimmerman's tenure, the Eagles have scored 90 or more points on 38 occasions and own a 35-3 slate in those games … Emory is 40-7 over its last 47 home games … Emory's 64 points in the second stanza against Covenant (Dec. 3) represented the highest –point total by a Zimmerman-coached team … In its 13 wins, Emory is averaging 89.4 points and shooting 49.2 percent from the floor (407-of-828) while showing an effort of 73.6 points and shooting 37.3 percent from the field (184-of-493) in its seven defeats … Emory's 57.6 percent showing from the floor (38-of-66) vs. Brandeis (Jan. 26) was a season high and tied the program's 10th-highest game mark … The Eagles have sank 10 or more three pointers on six occasions this year and stand third in the UAA and 53rd nationally (through Feb. 9) in triples per game (8.3 tpg) … Emory's season-high 15 three pointers vs. Case Western (Jan. 19) tied the third-highest game total in school history while its 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from beyond the arc ranked ninth … Emory is averaging 40.5 points during the first half of play (36.0 for opponents) and 42.9 points during the second half (40.6 for opponents).