Emory Men's Basketball Battles Chicago And Wash U. In Return Engagements

GAME FACTS - After playing host to the University of Chicago and Washington University last weekend, the Emory men's basketball team turns around and play those opponents on the road.  On Friday (Feb. 5), the Eagles invade the Ratner Center to face Chicago in an 8:00 p.m. (CST) tip before tackling the Bears at the WU Fieldhouse on Sunday starting at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

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).

In his 11th season as the head coach at the University of Chicago is Mike McGrath (DePauw, 1992).  During his tenure with the Maroons, he has recorded a school and career won-lost mark of 167-108.  A three-time UAA Coach of the Year, McGrath has guided the program to four conference titles.

Mark Edwards (Washington University, 1969) is in his 29th campaign of directing the fortunes of the Wash U.  program.  Heading into a Friday night home game against Rochester, Edwards owns a school and career ledger of 521-238.  He directed the Bears to the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Division III national championships and has captured nine UAA league titles.

2009-10 RECORDS - Emory has won six of its last seven games and will take an overall record of 13-5, including a 5-2 mark in the University Athletic Association, good for a second-place tie with Brandeis, into Friday's encounter against Chicago.  The Eagles are off to their second-best 18-game start in school history, trailing only the 1989-90 team's 17-1 ledger.  Emory opened last weekend with a 71-44 win against Chicago before falling to No. 3-ranked Washington University on Sunday by a 65-56 margin.  For the second straight week, the Eagles have received votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.

Chicago meets Emory with 9-9 showing in overall contests, 3-4 in the UAA.  Following its defeat to Emory, the Maroons came out on the short end of a 76-75 overtime decision at Rochester on Sunday. UC sports a 7-2 record in games played on its home floor this season.

The Bears of Wash U., ranked No. 3 nationally, in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, start the weekend with a 16-2 record, including a 6-1 effort in the UAA, good for sole possession of first place.  The Bears will take a five-game winning streak into Friday's game against Rochester. 
 

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman    

SERIES RECORDS -  Chicago claims an all-time record of 32-14 against Emory.  Emory's win last Friday snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Maroons.
 
Wash U. has been victorious in 37 of 45 meetings with Emory. The Bears have won the last eight games in the series.  

CLAUNCH SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS - Sophomore Austin Claunch sank both his free throw opportunities Friday night against Chicago and in the process established a school record with 37 consecutive free throws.  Claunch surpassed the previous standard of 35 held by Kevin Felner which he set during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.    Claunch, who started the streak in the second half of the Hanover game (Dec. 19), ended the month of January by sinking all 35 of his tries from the charity stripe.

In UAA statistics released Feb. 1, Claunch is first among UAA players with an 88.5 percent showing from the foul line (54-of-61) in overall contests and holds down the No. 1 spot in conference action with a perfect 1.000 percent (27-of-27).


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. 

EMORY OFFENSE PUTTING UP NUMBERS - Through 18 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 Jan. 31, Emory holds down the No. 1 spot among University Athletic Association teams with a 78.9 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 (.470).

EMORY SECOND HALVES SPARK SUCCESS - After outscoring the opposition in just four of its first 11 games (12^th game a tie), Emory has outscored foes over the final 20 minutes of action in each of the last six contests.  In that stretch, the Eagles have posted a 40.8-31.3 second-half scoring advantage.

HIXON A CONSISTENT PRESENCE ON THE GLASS - Senior Chad Hixon quietly continues to give the Eagles solid play on the boards, finishing with a team-high seven rebounds against Chicago before tying Alex Greven for team honors with five caroms on Sunday against Washington University.  The 6-foot-3 Hixon leads the club with a 6.7 per-game average in rebounding, good for the No. 6 spot among UAA players.  He also tops the team and is fifth on the UAA ladder in rebounding in conference contests (6.4 rpg).  Hixon, who has led or shared for the team lead in rebounding on 10 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 (36.3 mpg).  He is No. 2 in both assists (6.2 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and is fourth in steals (2.0 spg). No. 10 in three-point field goal percentage (.397), his team-high 12.7 per-game scoring average is good for the eighth spot on the league's scoresheet.

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND - Through 18 games, Emory has had five or more players score 10 or more points in six 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 --  Despite seeing an eight-game streak of shooting 75 percent or better from the foul line in the Wash U. contest (50 percent, 3-of-6), the Eagles continue their marksmanship from the foul line over the last 12 games, converting 80.4 percent (185-of-230) from the stripe which is in stark contrast to its effort of 66.4 percent in its first six games.

The Eagles are No. 1 among UAA teams in that category in both overall play (.754) and conference (.787) action

THREE-POINT SHOOTERS A PROBLEM FOR OPPONENTS --  Emory has a stable of dangerous three-point shooters with the team's UAA leading mark of 41.4 percent (143-of-345) in overall action serving as evidence.  In the latest UAA statistics, the Eagles have three of the top five and four of the leading 10 performers in three-point shooting.  Sophomore Alex Gulotta holds down the No. 1 spot with a blazing 55.3 percent mark (21-of-38) while senior Daniel Curtin is second at 47.6 percent (30-of-63).  Freshman Alex Greven checks in at 40.9 percent (27-of-66), good for fifth place and Claunch rounds out the quartet with his 39.7 percent effort (23-of-58) ranking him 10^th.
The Eagles have seven or more treys in 13 contests and have four 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 10 three-point field goals against Chicago and followed that with 11 from beyond the arc against Washington University, the first time since Dec. 1 & Dec. 4, 2004 (vs. Oglethorpe and Maryville, respectively) that the Eagles had recorded back-to-back games of 10 or more treys.

PLAYERS MOVING UP EMORY CAREER CHARTS - After 18 games, a pair of Emory players continue their climb up the school's career listings in various categories.  Daniel Curtin stands in the 10^th position with 113 three-point field goals and is five shy of tying Blake Hollander (1994-98) for ninth place on that list.   In addition, his career effort of 37.2 percent (113-of-304) in three-point shooting is good for the No. 7 spot.

Anthony Fernandez has 355 career rebounds to his credit, good for 18^th position on the school's all-time list.  The 6-foot-4 Miami native is just four boards shy of moving into 16^th place on that chart.  Scoring-wise, Fernandez stands 17^th with 855 points, seven shy of tying Lewis Satterwhite (1995-99) for the 16^th spot.

NOTES - Heading into the weekend, Claunch's 111 assists place him fifth on the school's seasonal list ... He is 25 assists from tying the standard of 136 held by Paul Damm (1989-90) ... Emory has totaled 143 three-point field goal this season, the 11^th- highest seasonal total in school history ... The Eagles are 10 trreys shy of moving into tenth place on the school season chart ... Emory's 86.7 percent showing (13-of-15) from the foul line against Chicago marked the fifth 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 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from three-point range ... Alex Greven's team-high 12 points against Washington University marked the fifth time that he paced the team in scoring and was his 10^th double-figure scoring game of the campaign ... Claunch notched a game-high 17 points against Chicago, the fourth time he has ranked as the team's top point producer this year ... Claunch finished the weekend with 15 assists and just two turnovers in 58 minutes of action ... The Eagles finished with a season-low six free throw attempts in the Wash U. contest ... Over the last six games, the Eagles are averaging just 9.7 turnovers vs. 16.2 for the opposition ... Junior Julien Williams is second on the squad and 14^th among UAA players in rebounding (4.9 rpg) ... The Eagles post an 8-1 won-lost slate under Zimmerman when sinking 25 or more free throws ... Emory has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six games this year and stands 6-0 in those contests ... The Eagles have enjoyed an edge in rebounding on nine occasions and show an 8-1 ledger in those affairs ... Emory has attempted more free throws than the opposition in nine games ... In games it has won, Emory is averaging 83.2 points and shooting 48.9 percent from the field ...  In games they have lost, the Eagles are scoring 68.0 points and shooting 42.2 percent from the field ... Emory is 10-1 this season when leading at halftime, 3-4 when facing a deficit.