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GAME FACTS – The Emory men's basketball program will be one of 62 teams vying for the Division III national title when it opens the postseason on Saturday (Mar. 8) by hosting a second-round game. The Eagles, just one of two teams to receive a first-round bye in this year's postseason, will meet the winner of the Centre College vs. LaGrange first-round matchup that will be played in Danville, Kentucky, on Thursday (Mar. 6). Saturday's contest at the Woodruff PE Center will begin at 7:00 pm.
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 108-69. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 60-23 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. This year's appearance in the postseason marks the second straight year and third overall that Emory has made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Zimmerman guided the Eagles to a 20-7 mark, the third time that the program had 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 91-36 since the 2009-10 season.
Greg Mason (Centre, 1994) is in his 13th season at the helm of the Centre College program. Heading into Thursday's game vs. LaGrange, Mason has a school and career record of record of 293-110 that includes seven campaigns of 20 or more wins. He has guided the Colonels to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and has been tabbed as the NABC South Region Coach of the Year on two occasions.
In his third year as the head coach at LaGrange College is Kendal Wallace. Wallace will take a school and career ledger of 42-37 into Thursday's tussle at Centre. Prior to his current post, Wallace served as an assistant coach at Maryville College for five seasons.
2013-14 RECORDS – Emory heads into the postseason with an overall record of 17-8 with the victory total fifth on the school's seasonal list. The Eagles finished out the University Athletic Association portion schedule with a 9-5 effort, good for sole possession of second place. Emory's showing in league play represented the fifth straight campaign that it had finished third or higher.
The Eagles concluded the regular season with a 97-83 loss at Rochester last Saturday that snapped a four-game winning streak. Senior McPherson Moore led five Emory double-figure scorers with 22 points, his fifth consecutive outing of 20 or more points, while classmate Jake Davis chipped in 18 points.
Emory is 7-3 in home games and 10-5 in away/neutral contests this season. The Eagles are slotted 17th nationally among D-3 programs in this week's BennettRank. For more information on BennettRank, go to: http://bennettrankbasketball.com/.
Centre holds an overall record of 24-3 and owns a six-game winning streak heading into the LaGrange contest. The Colonels, ranked 19th by D3hoops.com, were the regular season (13-1) and tournament champions of the Southern Athletic Association. The Colonels' only loss in conference play was a 53-50 verdict against Birmingham Southern (Feb. 14).
LaGrange travels to Centre looking to continue its late-season momentum that has seen it win six of its last seven outings. The Panthers, 18-10 overall, earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs after winning the USA South Tournament, defeating Huntingdon College, 94-84, in the title game.
SERIES RECORDS – If Emory meets Centre on Saturday, it will mark the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between the schools.
Emory holds an 18-4 advantage in the series with LaGrange with the first game played on Jan. 24, 2001. The teams met earlier this year (Dec. 1) with the Eagles emerging with a 106-84 win at LaGrange's Thanksgiving Tournament. Jake Davis paced the Emory scoring attack with 31 points while sophomore Will Trawick grabbed 17 rebounds, which has stood up as the high-water mark by an Eagle this season, and that tied for the ninth-highest individual game total in school history. The Eagles have won nine of the last 11 matchups against the Panthers and show an 8-0 mark in games that have been played at the Woodruff PE Center.
EMORY'S NON-CONFERENCE FOES ENJOYING SUCCESS – As of Mar. 3, Emory's 10 non-conference foes had compiled an overall record of 178-117 (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 (19-8), Birmingham Southern (17-10), Virginia Wesleyan (22-6), Christopher Newport (19-9), Maryville College (18-8), LaGrange College (18-10) and Oglethorpe (21-7).
50 PERCENT A KEY MARK – Emory's 50.7 percent showing (35-of-69) from the floor against Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 14 raised its record to 8-0 this year when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor. The Eagles connected on 50 percent or higher in field goal opportunities in five conference games during the 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.
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 – McPherson Moore vs. Brandeis (1st Half), Feb. 23
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 the last nine and in a total of 22 games this year (14-8), and ranks first in the UAA and 19th nationally (stats released Mar. 3) in fewest turnovers per game (10.4 tpg). The Eagles have 11 games of single-digit turnovers this year (highest total during Zimmerman's tenure as head coach) including a season-low of four in outings vs. Wash U (Feb. 9) and Case Western (Feb. 16). In a related category, Emory sets the pace in the conference and is 12th among all D-III programs in turnover margin with a showing of +5.04 (10.4 tpg vs. 15.5 tpg).
In its 17 victories, Emory is averaging 9.58 turnovers (14.8 for opponents) while showing an average of 12.3 in its eight setbacks. One reason that Emory has enjoyed an edge in turnover margin has been an active defense that has produced 8.8 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 (Feb. 16), tying the 14th-highest game total in school annals.
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 impressive offensive exploits last weekend with the pair combining for 40 points against Rochester in the regular-season finale.
Heading into the Saturday, Davis and Moore rank as the UAA's top-scoring tandem in overall play at 40.2 points per game. Davis is averaging a league-leading 22.8 points per outing, good for the No. 8 position among all D-III players, while Moore's 17.4 per-game effort is third on the UAA ladder. Davis and Moore have combined for 47 double-figure scoring contests (Davis with 24 and Moore with 23) and have led or shared for team scoring honors on 22 occasions (Davis 14 times, Moore 8 times). The pair currently rank as the program's most prolific 1-2 punch in a season with the next closest being Chase Fawsett (18.8 ppg) and Clayton Fuller (18.5 ppg) combining for 37.3 points per game during the 2003-04 season.
The pair also finished as the highest-scoring tandem in UAA games, averaging 41.2 points per outing with Davis at a league-best 22.5 points and Moore at 18.7 points, good for the No. 2 spot. The next highest-scoring duo were Wash U's Chris Klimek (17.7 ppg) and Alan Aboona (17.3 ppg).
The Davis & Moore combo have accounted for 26 of the squad's 28 20-point plus contests with Davis totaling or surpassing the 20-point mark in 15 games and Moore on 11 occasions.
The pair registered 57 of the club's 100 points vs. Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 14 (Davis 33 pts., Moore 24 pts.), 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 (Moore 31 pts., Davis 27 pts.) 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 – In last Saturday's game vs. Rochester, Jake Davis tallied 18 points, boosting his career total to 1,830 points, No. 2 on the school's all-time scoring list. Heading into this weekend, Davis trails only Tim Garrett's (1986-90) all-time mark of 1,875 points. His 569 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 90 double-figure scoring contests (100 career games) and 41 performances of 20 or more points, 15 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.
As for this season, Davis is ranked among the top 10 players in the UAA in five categories including rebounding (10th, 5.7 rpg), free throw percentage (.876, 156-of-178), steals (t-3rd, 1.6 spg) and offensive rebounds per game (2.2 orpg). His 156 makes from the charity stripe are a school seasonal record while his free throw percentage mark ranks ninth. He has recorded four games of 10 or more free throws including a 15-for-15 performance vs. Methodist University (Nov. 23). In his last three games, Davis is 20-of-22 (.909) from the stripe.
MORE ON MOORE – McPherson Moore will enter Saturday's NCAA Tournament contest on a hot streak with five consecutive contests of 20 or more points to his credit. Over his last five performances, he is scoring at a team-high 22.6 per-game clip, shooting a blistering 54.9 percent (39-of-71) from the floor including 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from three-point range. In addition, he is snagging 4.6 rebounds over the last five contests and has come up with nine steals in that span.
No. 3 in overall scoring (17.4 ppg) while finishing No. 2 in league affairs (18.7 ppg) among UAA players, Moore currently owns a 22-game double-figure scoring streak that has seen him produce 11 contests of 20 or more points in that stretch. He has led the squad in scoring in the last four and in a total of eight games this year.
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). He stands 11th on the school's yearly chart with 57 three-point field goals while his 92 career triples tie for 16th all-time at the school. In addition, he is No. 3 on the Eagles' career ladder in field goal percentage (.514, 270-of-525).
Heading into the weekend, Moore stands in the No. 9 position on the UAA list in overall field goal percentage (.512, 154-of-301) and also finds himself among the league's top 10 in free throw percentage (7th, .833, 70-of-84), three-point field goals per game (6th, 2.3 tpg) and three-point field goal percentage (7th, .425, 57-of-134). Moore has been effective at the Woodruff PE Center this season, averaging 19.8 points and shooting 53.1 percent (76-143) from the floor in the team's 10 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) has been a catalyst for the Emory offense from his point guard position, with his play helping the Eagles average a UAA-leading 84.6 points per game, good for 16th place nationally.
Florin is doling out 5.6 assists per game good for the No. 2 spot on the UAA list and 22nd nationally, while his 5.4 per-game effort in league outings placed second on the conference ladder.
Florin, whose 141 assists this year ranks fifth on the Eagles' seasonal chart, is first in the league and 11th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.93). He has 12 outings of six or more assists including 10-assists performances vs. Methodist (Nov. 23) and Case Western (Jan. 19). Florin heads into the week No. 5 on the school's all-time list with 335 assists.
GAMES WHERE EMORY HAS TRAILED AT HALF AND RALLIED TO WIN
Nov. 23 vs. Methodist, trailed 36-43, won 97-91
Nov. 30 vs. Maryville, trailed 43-48, won 90-79
Jan. 6 vs. Birmingham Southern, trailed 29-30, won 76-61
Feb. 14 vs. Carnegie Mellon, trailed 43-44, won 100-86
Feb. 23 vs. Brandeis, trailed 41-45, won 85-80
Largest Emory Halftime Lead: 25 points, 49-24 vs. Piedmont (Jan. 3)
Largest Emory Halftime Deficit: 12 points, 43-55 vs. Rochester (Mar. 1)
FOSTER ADDS PUNCH TO THE LINEUP – After scoring in double figures just once in his first 11 games of the year, Alex Foster has emerged as a key cog in the Emory offensive attack, producing double-digit point production in his last six and in 11 of the last 14 outings.
Foster recorded 13 points in last weekend's game at Rochester and his extended his team-high streak to 12 games with at least one three-point field goal. The previous weekend he tied his second-highest career total with a 20-point evening vs. NYU (Feb. 21), hitting six-of-12 from the field, including a career-high tying four-of-seven from three-point range, before recording his second double-double of the year with 18 points and a team-leading 12 boards vs. Brandeis (Feb. 23).
Over the last four games, Foster is third on the team in scoring with a 16.6 per-game mark, shooting 50 percent from the floor (21-of-42) and grabbing a team-high 7.5 rebounds. In addition, he has converted all 13 of his free throw attempts.
He closed out the UAA portion of the schedule 13th on the league scoring chart with a 13.3 per-game average and was 15th with a 48.9 percent mark from the floor (64-of-131). His 92.1 percent mark from the charity stripe (35-of-38) in conference outings ranked second among all players while his 6.3 per-game effort in rebounding slotted him seventh.
EMORY MAKING THE MOST AT THE CHARITY STRIPE – Despite its setback at Rochester last weekend, the Eagles continued their outstanding free throw shooting, knocking down 89.3 percent (25-of-28) from the stripe, their third-highest performance of the season.
Over the past five games, Emory is connecting at an 86.2 percent clip (100-of-116) from the foul line, sinking 80 percent or better in all five outings.
Emory enters the upcoming weekend having connected on 73 percent or better of its free throw opportunities in its last 12 games (21 on the year). The Eagles are No. 1 in the league and hold down the No. 4 position nationally with a 79.6 percent mark (433-of-544) in free throw shooting, currently the No. 1 effort on the Eagles' seasonal chart.
EMORY AND THE CENTURY MARK – Emory's 100 points against Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 14 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 - Entering Saturday's game, Alex Foster has been successful on his last 19 free throw attempts … McPherson Moore is the first Emory player since Jeff Hall (Nov. 22, 2005 through Dec. 6, 2005) to have scored 20 or more points in five straight games … Over the last five games, Emory has turned the ball over 43 times (8.6 tpg) compared to the opposition's 79 miscues (15.8 tpg) … Over the last seven outings, Emory enjoys a 152-68 advantage in points-off-turnovers (21.7 ppg vs. 9.71 ppg) … Emory has attempted more free throws than the opposition in seven games (7-0) while see its foes attempt more on 16 occasions (8-8) … The Eagles pace the UAA and rank 16th nationally in scoring offense with its 84.6 points per-game average the third-highest Emory seasonal average …The Eagles also closed out conference play tops is scoring average (83.4 ppg) … Michael Florin has played 30 or more minutes in 17 contests and is eighth in the UAA in that category (31.6 mpg) … Jake 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) has topped the Emory rebounding attack in six games this season … A double-figure rebounder on three occasions this season, Trawick is tied with teammate Alex Foster for the No. 2 spot on the team and 13th on the UAA ladder in that category (5.5 rpg) … The Eagles have outshot 16 opponents from the floor (16-0) while having been outshot in nine contests (1-8) … Since the 2012-13 season, the Eagles are 35-1 when outshooting the opposition from the floor … The Eagles stand 12-2 when leading at the break this season, 85-14 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … Emory has outpointed the opposition in 29 of 50 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 42-7 over its last 49 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 17 wins, Emory is averaging 89.2 points and shooting 48.5 percent from the floor (532-of-1097) while showing an effort of 74.8 points and shooting 37.6 percent from the field (210-of-559) in its eight 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 eight occasions this year and stand fourth in the UAA and 57th nationally (through Mar. 3) in triples per game (7.9 tpg) … Davis Rao's (Ft. Wayne, IN) 17-game streak with at least one three-point field goal that came to an end in the Case Western game (Feb. 16), ranks as the tenth-longest in school history 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 40.9 points during the first half of play (37.0 for opponents) and 43.3 points during the second half (40.6 for opponents).