GAME FACTS – After breaking for final exams and holiday break, the Emory men's basketball team returns to action, Dec. 29-30, when it hosts the Holiday Classic. Joining the Eagles in the two-day event are LaGrange College, UW-Oshkosh and Guilford College. A schedule of the Holiday Classic contests is as follows:
Dec. 29
LaGrange vs. Guilford – 2:00 pm
Emory vs. UW-Oshkosh – 4:00 pm
Dec. 30
LaGrange vs. UW-Oshkosh – 2:00 pm
Emory vs. Guilford – 4:00 pm
THE COACHES – Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, 1994) is in his 13th year of patrolling the Emory sideline. 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 223-103. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 128-29 ledger and claims a 95-74 mark in road/neutral settings.
He has guided Emory to 10 straight winning seasons and seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), tying the longest streak in the history of the University Athletic Association.
After going 17-33 his first two years at Emory, Zimmerman has compiled a won-lost slate of 206-70 (.746) since the 2009-10 season.
Matt Lewis (Cornell College, '10) is in his second year at the helm of the UW-Oshkosh program and will bring a school and career record of 34-7 into the Holiday Classic. Last season, Lewis guided the Titans to the D-III national championship, besting Swarthmore College, 96-82, in the title game. UW-Oshkosh closed out 2018-19 with a won-lost effort of 29-3.
In his 17th season as the head coach at Guilford is Tom Palombo (Virginia Wesleyan, 89). Heading into the Dec. 29 tilt against LaGrange, Palombo has amassed a school record of 319-140. A year ago, he saw the Quakers play their way to overall record of 24-8 that included the school's sixth NCAA Tourney berth where they advanced to the Round of 16.
2019-20 RECORDS – Emory, ranked No. 2 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll for the third straight week, sports a 9-0 mark, just the second time in the 34-year history of the program that it has opened the season with that record. The Eagles last played on Dec. 7 when they topped South Region foe Piedmont College, 96-71, raising their home record to 4-0. Romin Williams led three Emory double-figure scorers with a game-high 26 points while Matt Davet chipped in 18 points. The Eagles have scored 90 or more points in four straight and in a total of six games this season.
The No. 2 national ranking is the highest ever for the Emory men's program, with the previous high being No. 4 on Jan. 24, 2012.
UW-Oshkosh comes to town with a 5-4 mark. The Titans played their last game before the holidays on Dec. 17, dropping a 96-95 overtime verdict at St. Norbert College.
Guilford will check into the Holiday Classic with a won-lost effort of 8-2. In their last performance (Dec. 7), the Quakers saw an eight-game win streak come to an end when they came out of the short end of a 64-57 count to Virginia Wesleyan.
SERIES RECORDS – UW-Oshkosh has a victory in the only match-up against Emory, with that taking place in a Round of 16 contest in the 2018 NCAA D-III Tournament. Playing on the campus of Augustana College, the Titans posted a 92-73 outcome over the Eagles.
In a series that began in January of 2008, Emory has won the last seven meetings against Guilford to claim an all-time mark of 7-2 against the Quakers. The two teams opened the 2019-20 campaign back on November 9 in Greensboro with Emory prevailing by an 89-67 margin. Romin Williams and Matt Davet paced the Eagles' scoring attack with 18 points apiece while Matthew Schner pulled down eight rebounds. The Eagles have won the last three and stand 3-1 vs. Guilford in games that have been played at the Woodruff PE Center.
EMORY PUTTING UP THE POINTS – The Emory attack is generating 94.0 points per game with that average topping all University Athletic Association teams. The Eagles are averaging 85.25 points over their four home dates and 101.0 in five away/neutral affairs.
In breaking down the scoring by halves, Emory is putting up 45.9 points during the opening 20 minutes of play and 48.1 in the second half. The Eagles have totaled 50 or more points in seven halves of action.
EMORY TOUGH ON THE GLASS – While the explosive Emory offense is well documented, the Eagles have been solid in the rebounding department, enjoying an edge in that category on eight occasions including four outings by 10 or more boards.
After nine games, Emory posts a +12.0 rebound margin, good for the No. 2 spot in the league ladder. The Eagles are pulling down and average of 15.4 rebounds on the offensive end of the floor, good for the No. 1 spot on the conference chart, which has aided them in registering 155 second-chance points (17.2 scppg). Through games played Dec. 21, a check at the UAA stats show that junior Lawrence Rowley sits No. 3 on the UAA ladder in rebound average (8.6 rpg) while Matthew Schner holds down the No. 8 position (7.2 rpg).
THREE BALL A KEY WEAPON FOR EMORY – Emory's affinity for the trey ball was on display in the Piedmont game with the Eagles' 15 makes from beyond the arc representing the sixth time this season that they rang up double figures in that category, while tying the program's eighth-highest game total
The Eagles are averaging a UAA-best 10.6 triples per game and their mark of 38.9 percent (95-of-244) from beyond the arc is No. 2 among conference squads (through games played Dec. 17).
Matt Davet is second among league performers with an average of 3.1 treys per contest while Romin Williams stands third with an effort to 3.0 per outing. Davet has three or more triples to his credit in six games while Williams has multiple treys in seven contests. Matthew Schner finds himself in the No. 8 position on the conference chart with an effort of 2.3 three-pointers per game.
EMORY STRONG AT THE STRIPE – Emory finished the Piedmont game with a 78.9 percent (15-of-19) showing from the foul line, the sixth straight and eighth time this season it posted a mark of 70 percent or better from the stripe.
After nine contests, Emory has been successful on 79.7 percent (171-of-216) from the foul line with that performance leading the UAA. In its four home games, Emory has converted 73.3 (55-of-79) of its foul shots while draining 82.2 percent (116-of-141) in the five away/neutral contests.
The Eagles claim three of the conference's top-10 free throw shooters, with Romin Williams's standard of 85.2 percent (46-of-53) fourth on the conference ladder and Matt Davet's 84.6 percent (33-of-39) good for the No. 5 spot. Rounding out the trio is Matt Schner at 82.1 percent (32-of-39), good for ninth place.
MOVING UP THE LADDER – Romin Williams has 27 three-point field goals through seven contests, upping his career total to 168 which is good for sixth place on the school's all-time ladder, just two shy of passing Kevin Felner (1989-93) into the No. 5 position … Williams has cracked the school's all-time Top-20 in scoring with his 1,041 points placing him 15th on that list … Matt Davet has totaled 118 career three-point field goals and is tied for 19th on the Eagles' all-time ladder … In addition, Davet has logged a total of 831 points during his Emory tenure … Matt Schner is off to a hot-shooting start, connecting on 55.4 percent (56-of-101) of his field goal attempts … Schner ranks as the program's career leader in field goal shooting at 57.6 percent (195-of-338) … Junior Nick Stuck stands 10th all-time at Emory with 203 assists.
ROWLEY SCORING AND BOARDING – Lawrence Rowley has been a consistent performer for the Eagles, scoring in double figures on seven occasions while snatching 10 or more rebounds in four outings. Through games played Dec. 21, Rowley, ranks 11th among UAA players and fourth on the team's score sheet with an average of 14.3 points per game. His 8.6 per-game effort in rebounding is third in the conference, and he has finished as the Eagles' top performer on the glass on four occasions. He has three double-doubles to his credit this season (eight in career), most recently a 20-point, 10-rebound evening in the 98-89 win at LaGrange.
The 6-foot-5 Rowley stands as the squad's most accurate shooter, converting 60 percent (48-of-80) from the field, good for the No. 5 spot on the UAA leader board. He has been successful on 50 percent or better on his field goal attempts in all nine games.
EMORY PICKED AS TEAM TO BEAT IN UAA – Emory was picked as the team to beat in the University Athletic Association in a preseason poll conducted by the league coaches, picking up seven of the eight first-place votes cast. Washington University nabbed the other first-place ballot and was picked for second. Brandeis and Chicago were slotted in third and fourth place, respectively.
WILIAMS TABBED AS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN -- Romin Williams was selected as a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by D3hoops.com. Williams was the lone UAA player to be recognized by D3hoops.com. Chosen to all-region teams by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D3hoops.com a year ago, Williams ranked as the Eagles' top scorer on eight occasions and rang up 450 points, the fourth-highest total by an Emory sophomore.
NOTES & NUGGETS – Nick Stuck's 10 assists in the victory over Piedmont represented his second career contest in double digits … Stuck is tied for second in the UAA in assists (6.6 apg) … Freshman Greg Lawrence grabbed a season-high nine rebounds in the LaGrange game … Romin Williams and Matt Schner have scored in double figures in ech of the Eagles' opening nine contests … When Romin Williams notched his 1,000th career point in the LaGrange game (Dec. 4), he became the second-fastest player in school history to reach that plateau (61 games), trailing only Jake Davis who accomplished it in 60 contests … Emory's school-record 124 points against Pfeiffer bettered the previous mark of 116 set twice – vs. Carnegie Mellon on Jan. 20, 2019, and Trinity University (TX) on Dec. 1, 2018 … Emory's back-to-back 62-point halves vs. Pfeiffer tied the fifth-highest point totals by a Zimmerman-coached Eagle squad.
DID YOU KNOW -- Since the 2010-11 season, Emory has the No. 1 record among UAA teams in overall (191-60) play and the second-best mark in league action (91-35) .… Washington University has the conference's second-best overall ledger (182-63) and the top slate in conference play (93-33) … That Emory has at least one three-point field goal in its last 580 games -- The last time the Eagles failed to convert from beyond the arc came on Feb. 14, 1997, vs. Washington University (0-of-6) … Emory was won 55 of its last 56 games when allowing 69 or fewer points (3-0 in '19-20, 5-0 in '18-19, 11-0 in '17-18, 7-1 in '16-17, 13-0 in '15-16, 16-0 in '14-15) … Emory posts a 38-4 ledger in games since the 2016-17 season when it has converted 10 or more three-pointers in a contest (6-0 in '19-20, 11-2 in '18-19, 11-0 in 2017-18, 10-2 in '16-17 … The Eagles have won 46 of their last 47 games at the Woodruff PE Center against non-league foes with the only blemish coming last season (Nov. 25, 2018) against Randolph-Macon … Emory is 110-13 (.894) over its last 123 home contests … The Eagles have recorded 100 or more points 55 times in program history and own a 49-6 won-lost record in those affairs … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory has 24 contests of 100 or more points and stands 22-2 in such games … Since the 2012-13 season, the Eagles are 121-7 when outshooting the opposition from the floor (6-0 in '19-20, 16-1 in 2018-19, 16-1 in '17-18, 17-1 in '16-17, 12-3 in '15-16, 18-0 in '14-15) … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory stands 183-21 when leading at halftime (7-0 in '19-20, 20-2 in 2018-19, 19-1, in '17-18, 13-0 in '16-17; 18-3 in 2015-16).