GAME FACTS – The Emory men's basketball team plays its final two regular-season home games this weekend when it plays host to New York University on Friday (Feb. 21) in an 8:00 pm start before meeting Brandeis on Sunday starting at noon. The contest against BU will be Senior Day with the contributions of Jake Davis, McPherson Moore and Stephen Simmons being recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
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 106-68. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 58-23 ledger.
Zimmerman has directed the Eagles to five straight winning seasons (2009-10 through 2013-14), 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 89-35 since the 2009-10 season.
Joe Nesci (Brooklyn College, '79) is in his 26th season at the helm of the NYU program. Heading into Friday's game, Nesci has a school and career record of 454-220 that includes seven campaigns of 20 or more wins and eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
In his 11th year of calling the shots at Brandeis is Brian Meehan (Clark University '86). Meehan is in his 18th season as a head coach which includes a seven-year stint at Salem State College.
2013-14 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 15-7 overall, with its 7-4 mark in UAA play good for sole possession of second place. The Eagles are coming off a productive weekend that saw them net a pair of road wins, starting with a 100-86 decision over Carnegie Mellon on Friday followed by an 84-68 triumph against Case Western.
Senior Jake Davis (Cincinnati, OH) averaged 24.0 points, shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the floor and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the charity stripe, in the two contests while classmate McPherson Moore (St. Louis, MO) averaged 22.0 points on the strength of 55.6 percent (15-of-27) field goal shooting, which included a keen 60 percent effort (6-of-10) from beyond the arc. Davis topped the team's scoring effort for the 14th time this year with a 33-point evening against Carnegie Mellon while Moore paced the Eagles with 20 points in the triumph vs. Case Western.
Emory is 5-3 in home games and 10-4 in away/neutral contests this season. The Eagles are slotted in the No. 12 spot nationally in this week's BennettRank. For more information on BennettRank, go to: http://bennettrankbasketball.com/.
NYU comes to town with an overall record of 15-7 and stands 5-6 in league affairs. The Violets are coming off two close losses at home last weekend, 68-63 to Chicago and 79-75 Washington University. NYU is 3-4 in road games this season.
Brandeis heads into a Friday night road game vs. Rochester the owners of a
12-10 overall record, 4-7 in the league. The Spartans split a pair of home contests last weekend, coming out on the short end of a 95-82 outcome to Wash U before posting a 70-50 win over Chicago. The Judges are 2-6 in road/neutral affairs this season.
SERIES RECORDS – NYU leads in the all-time series with Emory, which began in December of 1986, by a 32-22 margin. The Eagles have won six of the last seven meetings including this year's first match-up, an 86-82 decision at NYU where Alex Foster chalked up 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Emory effort. The Violets stand 15-11 vs. Emory in games played in Atlanta, though the Eagles have won the last three affairs contested at the Woodruff PE Center.
Brandeis holds a 27-26 advantage in the series against Emory that saw the first game played in January of 1988. The Eagles have made some ground up in the series, capturing seven of the last nine encounters. Earlier this year, Emory used a career-high 26 points by junior Michael Florin in registering a 94-88 triumph at BU. The Eagles have captured the last four and claim a 16-10 mark against the Judges in games played in Atlanta.
EMORY'S NON-CONFERENCE FOES ENJOYING SUCCESS – As of Feb. 18, Emory's 10 non-conference foes have compiled an overall record of 150-100 (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 (16-7), Birmingham Southern (14-9), Virginia Wesleyan (17-6), Christopher Newport (16-7), Maryville College (16-7), LaGrange College (14-9) and Oglethorpe (19-4). In this week's BennetRank, Emory's Strength of Schedule is ranked 30th nationally.
50 PERCENT A KEY MARK – Emory's 50.7 percent showing (35-of-69) from the floor against Carnegie Mellon raised its record to 8-0 this year when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor. The Eagles have connected on 50 percent or higher in field goal opportunities in five conference games this year including a season-high 57.6 percent (38-of-66) from the floor at Brandeis back on Jan. 26. Since the 2011-12 season, the Eagles are 22-2 in games when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
Through 11 league games, Emory is No. 6 in the UAA in field goal percentage (.462, 337-of-730).
TOP-SCORING PLAYER HALVES – Jake Davis and McPherson Moore 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 – Jake Davis vs. Carnegie Mellon (2nd half), Feb. 14
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 19 games this year (12-7) and ranks first in the UAA and 20th nationally (stats released Feb. 17) in fewest turnovers per game (10.5 tpg).
The Eagles have 10 games of single-digit turnovers this year including a season-low of four in outings vs. Wash U (Feb. 9) and Case Western last Sunday. In a related category, Emory sets the pace in the conference and is 9th among all D-III programs in turnover margin with a showing of +5.18 (10.5 tpg vs. 15.7 tpg).
In its 15 victories, Emory is averaging 9.7 turnovers (15.2 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 8.9 steals per game in overall play, tops in the UAA. The Eagles have come up with 10 or more thefts in seven outings including a season high of 17 against Case Western, tying the 14th-highest game total in school annals, last Sunday (Feb. 16).
EMORY TOP SCORING-HALVES IN 2013-14
64 pts – vs. Covenant (2nd half) – Dec. 3, 2013
61 pts – vs. Methodist (2nd half) – Nov. 23, 2013
57 pts – vs. Carnegie Mellon (2nd half) – Feb. 14, 2014
55 pts – vs. LaGrange (2nd half) – Dec. 1, 2013
52 pts – vs. Brandeis (1st half) – Jan. 26, 2014
52 pts – vs. Case Western (2nd half) –Jan. 19, 2014
51 pts – vs. LaGrange (1st half) – Dec. 1, 2013
50 pts – vs. Case Western (1st half) – Jan. 19, 2014
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 57 points against Carnegie Mellon and 35 vs. Case Western
Heading into the weekend, Davis and Moore rank as the UAA's top-scoring tandem in overall play at 39.8 points per game. Davis is averaging a league-leading 23.2 points per outing, good for the No. 7 position among all D-III players, while Moore's 16.6 per-game effort is fifth on the UAA ladder. Davis and Moore have combined for 41 double-figure scoring contests (Davis with 21 and Moore with 20) and have led or shared for team scoring honors on 19 occasions (Davis 14 times, Moore 5 times).
The pair are also the highest-scoring tandem in UAA games, averaging 40.8 points per outing with Davis at 23.3 points and Moore at 17.5 points. Standing behind them are Wash U's Chris Klimek (19.3 ppg) and Matt Alan Aboona (17.7 ppg).
The Davis & Moore combo have accounted for 22 of the squad's 23 20-point plus contests with Davis totaling or surpassing the 20-point mark in 14 games and Moore on eight occasions.
The pair registered 57 of the club's 100 points vs. Carnegie Mellon last Friday, the fifth-highest mark by two players in school history. Back on Jan. 19, the combo totaled 58 of the team's 102 points vs. Case Western back on Jan. 19 with that performance representing the program's third-highest mark by two players in a game. Earlier in the year, 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 (now sixth).
DAVIS CONTINUES MARCH UP ON SCORING LIST – Last weekend, Jake Davis totaled 48 points, boosting his career total to 1,771 points, good for the No. 2 position on the school's all-time scoring list. Davis recorded 33 points against Carnegie Mellon, his fifth outing this year and sixth of her career of 30 or more points, before picking up 15 points in the win over CWRU. Heading into the upcoming weekend, Davis trails only Tim Garrett's (1986-90) all-time mark of 1,875 points. His 510 total points this year is good for the No. 2 spot all-time at Emory, trailing only Garrett's 597 points (1989-90).
During his career at Emory, Davis has produced 87 double-figure scoring contests (97 career games) and 40 performances of 20 or more points, 14 of which have come this season. His 18.3 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. NYU second on the team and fifth in the UAA in overall scoring average (16.6 ppg). Moore currently owns a 19-game double-figure scoring streak that has seen him produce eight contests of 20 or more points in that stretch. Moore is scoring at a17.5 per-game clip in UAA outings, good for fifth place on the league list.
Earlier in the year, Moore posted a 15-game streak (11/23-2/2/14) with at least one three-point field goal (then tying the school's 12th-longest effort). With three games left in the regular season, Moore stands 15th on the school's yearly chart with 50 three-point field goals while his 85 career triples rank 17th all-time at the school.
Heading into the weekend, Moore stands into the No. 8 position on the UAA list in overall field goal percentage (.506, 130-of-257) and also finds himself among the league's top 10 in free throw percentage (6th, .824), three-point field goals per game
(t-5th, 2.3 tpg) and three-point field goal percentage (8th, .420, 50-of-119) 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 on Feb. 7 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) turned in his second consecutive weekend of finishing with 10 assists and just two turnovers in the Carnegie Mellon and Case contests.
Over his last five outings, he has recorded 26 assists with just six turnovers, and will enter this upcoming weekend residing in the No. 2 spot in the UAA and 22nd nationally with a 5.5 assists-per-game average.
Florin, whose 122 assists this year ranks seventh on the Eagles' seasonal chart, is first in the league and 7th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.1). He has nine outings of six or more assists including 10-assists performances vs. Methodist (Nov. 23) and Case Western (Jan. 19). Florin heads into the week in to No. 5 position on the school's all-time list with 316 assists.
EMORY MAKING THE MOST AT THE CHARITY STRIPE – The Eagles were solid at the charity stripe in last weekend's games vs. Carnegie Mellon and Case Western, sinking 83.7 percent (31-of-37) of their attempts. Emory enters the upcoming weekend having connected on 73 percent or better of its free throw opportunities in its last nine games (18 on the year).
The Eagles have moved into the No. 1 position in the league and hold down the No. 8 position nationally with a 78.3 percent mark (364-of-465) in free throw shooting, with that showing currently the third-highest effort on the Eagles' seasonal chart.
EMORY AND THE CENTURY MARK – Emory's 100 points against Carnegie Mellon last Friday represented the fourth 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 44 times in program history and owns a 39-5 won-lost record in those affairs.
During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, the Eagles have 13 contests of 100 or more points and stand 12-1 in such games.
NOTES - Over the last four games, Emory has turned the ball over just 23 times (5.75 tpg) compared to the opposition's 58 miscues (14.5 tpg) … Over the last four outings, Emory enjoys a 103-37 advantage in points-off-turnovers (25.75 ppg vs. 9.25 ppg) … Davis Rao saw a 17-game streak with at least one three-point field goal come to an end in the Case Western game, with that mark the tenth-longest in school history … Emory has attempted more free throws than the opposition in five games (6-0) while see its foes attempt more on 14 occasions (7-7) … Junior Alex Foster owns the squad's longest streak with nine consecutive contests with three-point field goals … Foster is averaging 13.3 points and shooting 53.5 percent (15-of-28) from the floor in his past three contests … On the year, Foster has produced nine double-figure scoring contests, eight of those coming in league action … Foster is scoring at a 12.3 points-per-game clip in league play, good for the No. 16 position on the UAA chart … The Eagles pace the UAA and rank 14th nationally in scoring offense (84.6 ppg) … Emory is No. 2 in scoring offense in conference games (83.1 ppg) … Michael Florin has played 30 or more minutes in 16 contests and is sixth in the league in that category (31.7 mpg) … In addition to his scoring prowess, Jake Davis (Portland, OR) stands as the team's leader in rebounding with a 5.8 per-game average that is good for a 10th-place tie on the UAA ladder … Davis has led or shared for team honors in rebounding in nine games this year … Davis has 13 career double-doubles … Sophomore Will Trawick (Bedford, NY) pulled down a team-high 11 boards vs. Carnegie Mellon last Friday, his third performance of double figures in that category this season and tied for team honors with six caroms against Case Western … Trawick is second on the team and 12th among UAA players in rebounding in overall action (5.6 rpg) … The Eagles have outshot 12 opponents from the floor (14-0) while having been outshot in eight contests (1-7) … Since the 2012-13 season, the Eagles are 33-1 when outshooting the opposition from the floor … The Eagles stand 11-2 when leading at the break this season, 84-14 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … Emory has outpointed the opposition in 27 of 44 halves this year … During Zimmerman's tenure, the Eagles have scored 90 or more points on 39 occasions and own a 36-3 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 … Emory has scored 50 or more points in eight halves this season … In its 15 wins, Emory is averaging 89.7 points and shooting 49.2 percent from the floor (476-of-967) 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 seven occasions this year and stand third in the UAA and 55th nationally (through Feb. 17) in triples per game (8.0 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 (35.9 for opponents) and 43.5 points during the second half (40.6 for opponents).