Emory Men's Basketball Tackles Carnegie Mellon and Case Western On The Road

GAME FACTS - The Emory men's basketball team takes to the road for the second consecutive weekend when it battles a pair of University Athletic Association foes.  On Friday, the Eagles invade Skibo Gymnasium on the Carnegie Mellon campus for an 8:00 p.m. tip before closing out the weekend with a Sunday afternoon battle at Case Western Reserve University that will begin at noon.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is third-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).

Tony Wingen (Springfield College, 1992) is in his 20^th year as the head coach at Carnegie Mellon and checks into Friday's contest with a school won-lost ledger of 233-263.  In 22 seasons as a head coach, which includes a two-year stint at Sewanee, Wingen has a career mark of 254-291.

In his seventh season as the head coach at Case is Sean McDonnell (Boston College, 1996).  Prior to his current post, McDonnell served as the head coach at Hiram College for three seasons.

2009-10 RECORDS - Emory starts the weekend with an overall record of 13-7 including a 5-4 effort in the UAA.  The Eagles have dropped their last three contests including decisions this past weekend at Chicago (73-68) and No. 3-ranked Washington University (83-69).  Emory has compiled a 7-4 record this season in road/neutral games.

Carnegie Mellon entertains Emory with 4-16 record and is winless in nine league contests.  Last weekend, the Tartans came out on the short end of a 59-58 decision at home against NYU before dropping a 63-42 verdict to Brandeis.

Case heads into a Friday night battle against Rochester the owners of an 11-9 record, 3-6 in the UAA.  Last weekend, the Spartans notched a pair of wins at home, 63-61 against Brandeis and 69-51 vs. New York University.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman    

SERIES RECORDS -  Emory claims an all-time record of 25-19 against Carnegie Mellon.  The Eagles topped the Tartans earlier this year, 80-67, at the Woodruff PE Center.  Carnegie Mellon holds a 15-7 edge in games played on its home floor and have won the last eight contests played in the Steel City.

Case holds a slim 18-17 edge in the series with Emory.  Emory won the initial meeting of this year, 98-89, in Atlanta that snapped a three-game losing streak to the Spartans.  Case was captured 10 of 17 affairs against Emory played on its home floor.

CLAUNCH SEES FREE THROW STREAK COME TO AN END - Sophomore Austin Claunch saw his impressive free throw shooting streak come to an end in the Chicago game. Claunch made his first charity toss of the night before misfiring on his second attempt, ending his streak at 38 consecutive makes.

Claunch surpassed the previous standard of 35 held by Kevin Felner which he set during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.  Claunch started the streak in the second half of the Hanover game (Dec. 19) and ended the month of January by sinking all 35 of his tries from the charity stripe.

In UAA statistics released Feb. 9, Claunch is first among UAA players with an 87.9 percent showing from the foul line (58-of-66) in overall contests, and holds down the No. 1 spot in conference action with a 97.1 percent effort (33-of-34).

EMORY OFFENSE PUTTING UP NUMBERS - Through 20 games, the Eagles have scored 85 or more points on eight occasions compared to a total of five times for the entire 2008-09 campaign. 

Through games played Feb. 7, Emory holds down the No. 1 spot among University Athletic Association teams with a 77.9 points per game average in overall play.  The Eagles have posted 90 or more points on five occasions and also top the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.414) while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (.466).

GULOTTA DIALS IN FROM LONG DISTANCE - Sophomore Alex Gulotta continues to develop his reputation as one of the UAA's top scoring threats off the bench after sparking a second-half Emory rally against Chicago that cut a 21-point halftime deficit to one point.  The Briarcliff Manor, NY, native totaled all 13 of his team-high tying points over the final 20 minutes of action, sinking four-of-five from three-point range and one free throw.  Gulotta's performance was his fourth double-figure effort of the season while his four treys represented his eighth outing of two or more treys.  He will enter the upcoming weekend with three-point field goals to his credit in his last seven games.

So far this year, Gulotta is sniping away at a 55.3 percent rate from beyond the arc (26-of-47), good for the No. 1 spot among UAA players in overall action. In conference affairs, he is hitting at an even-higher 57.7 percent (15-of-26), also good for first place on the league's chart.

HIXON A CONSISTENT PRESENCE ON THE GLASS - Senior Chad Hixon's team-high six rebounds against Chicago marked the fourth time in the last five games that he ranked as the team's top board man.   Through games played Feb. 7, the 6-foot-3 Hixon paces the club in rebounds with a 6.4 per-game showing, good for seventh place on the UAA chart. 

He also tops the team and is ninth on the UAA ladder in rebounding in conference contests (5.9 rpg).  Hixon, who has led or shared for the team lead in rebounding on 11 occasions this year, has seven games of seven or more rebounds to his credit.

CLAUNCH FIGURES PROMINENTLY IN UAA RANKINGS - In addition to his free throw shooting prowess, Austin Claunch is proving to be one the UAA's most versatile players as he ranks among the top 10 overall UAA performers in six other categories.  In addition to holding the top spot in free throw percentage, the 5-foot-9 Claunch paces the league in minutes (36.0 mpg).  He is No. 2 in both assists (6.2 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and is third in steals (2.0 spg). No. 4 in three-point field goal percentage (.413), his team-high 12.6 per-game scoring average is good for the eighth spot on the league's scoresheet.

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND - Through 20 games, Emory has had five or more players score 10 or more points in seven contests, a dramatic jump from last year's total of one time.  The Eagles have had six double-figure scorers in two games this year (Nov. 29, vs. LaGrange & Dec. 7 vs. Oglethorpe), the first time since the 2003-04 season that they had a pair of games with six players finishing with 10 or more points.

EMORY MAKES THE MOST OF CHARITY STRIPE ATTEMPTS --  After sinking just 61.5 percent from the charity stripe against Chicago (16-of-26), Emory knocked down all eight of its opportunities against Washington University.   As a team, the Eagles are tied with Brandeis for the top spot in the UAA with a 75.0 percent effort in free throw shooting in overall play.  In league play, Emory is hitting at a 77.1 percent clip (131-of-170), good for second place behind Brandeis.

Over the last 14 outings, the Eagles have converted 79.1 percent from the foul line (209-264) which is in stark contrast to their effort of 66.4 percent in the first six games.

THREE-POINTERS GOOD TO EMORY - Emory continued it sharp three-point shooting, totaling 21 three-point field goals and shooting 41.1 percent (21-of-51) from beyond the arc in the Chicago and Wash U. games.   With five regular-season games left on the schedule, the Eagles have racked up 164 three-point field goals, good for eighth place on the school's seasonal chart.  Emory has a chance at surpassing the season record of 200 set by the 2004-05 team.

Through games played Feb. 7, Emory has the top two and four of the top seven three-point shooters in the UAA.  As mentioned earlier, Gulotta is first while senior Daniel Curtin ranks second at 46.5 percent (33-of-71).  Claunch holds down the No. 4 spot at 41.3 percent (26-of-63) while freshman Alex Greven's showing of 40.3 percent (29-of-72) places him seventh.

The Eagles have seven or more treys in 15 contests and have five outings of 10 or more including 15 from beyond the arc, the second-highest game total in school history, against Oglethorpe on Dec. 7. 

Emory racked up 12 three-point field goals against Chicago on Friday, the third straight game of double-figure treys for the Eagles, marking the first time in school history that an Emory team finished with three consecutive games of 10 or more from beyond the arc.

PLAYERS MOVING UP EMORY CAREER CHARTS - A pair Emory players continue their climb up the school's career listings in various categories.  Daniel Curtin stands in the 10^th position with 116 three-point field goals and is two shy of tying Blake Hollander (1994-98) for ninth place on that list.   In addition, his career effort of 37.2 percent (116-of-312) in three-point shooting is good for the No. 7 spot.

Anthony Fernandez has 362 career rebounds to his credit, good for 16^th position on the school's all-time list.  The 6-foot-4 Miami native is 19 boards shy of moving into a 15^th-place tie place on that chart.  Scoring-wise, Fernandez stands 16^th with 872 points, four shy of tying Blake Hollander (1994-98) for the 15^th spot.

JANUARY A GOOD MONTH FOR EMORY - January proved to be a productive month for the Eagles with their 7-2 record representing just the fifth time that the program had reached seven or more victories in a month and the first since 1993.  The most successful January in school history took place in 1990 when Emory posted a perfect 9-0 mark. 

NOTES - Heading into the weekend, Claunch's 123 assists place him third on the school's seasonal list ... He is 13 assists from tying the standard of 136 held by Paul Damm (1989-90) ... Emory's 1.000 percent showing (8-of-8) from the foul line against Wash U marked the sixth time this year that it hit on 80 percent or higher from the stripe ... The Eagles are currently shooting 75.4 percent from the line this season which places them second on the school's seasonal ladder ... In his last four games, Gulotta is shooting 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from three-point range ... Emory is shooting 41.6 percent (42-of-101) from distance in the last four games compared to the opposition's mark of 30.0 percent (24-of-80) ... The Eagles have been outrebounded in the last three and in five of the last six games ... Curtin's 12 points against Wash U. marked his eighth double-figure scoring effort of the year ...  Claunch has worked his way onto the school's career ladder with his 85.5 percent mark from the foul line (89-of-104) good for the No. 3 position ...  Curtin is 11^th in career free throw percentage (.780, 89-of-114) ... Julien Williams finished the Chicago contest with 12 points, his sixth double-figure scoring effort of the season ... Emory is 8-1 when enjoying an edge on the glass, 5-5 when the opposition finishes with more rebounds ... The Eagles stand 9-1 when shooting more free throws than their opponent, 4-6 when the opposition attempts more from the stripe ... Claunch's team-high 13 points against Wash U. represented the fifth time this season he has paced the team in scoring ... Emory has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six games this year and stands 6-0 in those contests ... In games it has won, Emory is averaging 83.2 points and shooting 48.9 percent from the floor ... In games it has lost, the Eagles average 68.1 points and shoot 42.3 percent from the field ... Anthony Fernandez's 13 points against Chicago was his eighth double-figure scoring performance of the season ... In the last four games, Emory is averaging 11.0 turnovers per game vs. 14.3 for the opposition ... The Eagles post an 8-1 won-lost slate under Zimmerman when sinking 25 or more free throws ... Emory is 10-1 this season when leading at halftime, 3-4 when facing a deficit.