Emory Men's Basketball Returns Home For Brandeis & NYU Encounters

GAME FACTS -  After playing five of its first seven University Athletic Association games on the road, the Emory men’s basketball team begins the second half of the conference schedule this Friday and Sunday (Feb. 4 & 6) when it hosts Brandeis and New York University, respectively.  The games against the Judges and Violets starts a stretch that will see the Eagles play five of their final seven league encounters at the Woodruff PE Center.  Friday’s affair against Brandeis begins at 8:00 p.m., while Sunday’s contest vs. NYU is slated for a noon tip.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is fourth-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).  Last season, Zimmerman directed the Eagles to an overall record of 15-10, the program’s first winning season since 2004-05.  In addition, Emory tied for third place in the University Athletic Association with a 7-7 slate, with its win total the most since 2000-01.  For his efforts, Zimmerman, along with assistants Chris Murphy and Ben Wright were named the UAA’s Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

In his eighth season as the head coach at Brandeis is Brian Meehan (Clark, 1986).  Heading into  Friday’s game, Meehan has a school record of 131-73. In 15 campaigns as a head coach, which includes a seven-year stint at Salem State, Meehan owns a career slate of 274-107.  

Joe Nesci (Brooklyn College, 1979) is in his 23^rd year as the head coach at NYU and checks into a Friday contest at Rochester with a school and career won-lost showing of 399-191.  He has directed the program to 21 winning seasons and 15 postseason appearances.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 14-4 with its 5-2 mark in UAA action good for second place, one game behind the University of Rochester.  The Eagles split a pair of UAA road games last weekend, rallying from a 20-point second-half deficit against Brandeis before falling 86-82 in overtime on Friday, before bouncing back to claim an 87-78 win at NYU on Sunday.  Senior Julien Williams and freshman Jake Davis tied for team scoring honors in the Brandeis game with 16 points apiece while junior Austin Claunch rang up a career-high 27 points in the victory over NYU.
Emory’s 14-4 record is the second-best 18-game mark in school history, behind only the 1989-90 team’s effort of 17-1.  The Eagles have registered an 8-1 won-lost slate in home games this season.

Brandeis comes to town with an overall record of 13-4, 3-4 in the UAA.  After defeating Emory on Friday, the Judges entertained league-leading Rochester on Sunday and dropped a 77-64 verdict to the Yellowjackets.  Brandeis is 5-2 this year in away/neutral games.

Heading into a Friday evening contest at Rochester, NYU stands 12-6 overall, 1-6 in league affairs.  Before losing to Emory on Sunday, the Violets entertained Rochester on Friday and lost, 67-65.  

SERIES RECORDS -  In a series that dates from January of 1988, Brandeis holds an all-time mark of 25-22 against Emory.  The Eagles own a 13-10 mark against the Judges in games played in Atlanta.

NYU leads in the all-times with Emory by a 31-17 margin.  The Eagles have captured three of the last four meetings including last Sunday’s contest.  The Violets have captured 15 of 23 meetings played on Emory’s home floor.  

NOTES – After scoring in single digits the first 14 games of the campaign, senior Julien Williams has considerably upped his scoring pace, registering double-figure scoring in his last four games.  In his last four performances, Williams is averaging 13.5 points and shooting 70.9 percent (22-of-31) from the field including 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from three-point range … Williams totaled a season-high 16 points in the Brandeis contest … Claunch’s career-high 27 points against NYU was the fourth time this season and fifth in his career that he scored 20 or more points in a game …  Heading into the weekend, Claunch has 125 assists, good for the No. 4 spot on the school’s seasonal chart, and is just two shy of moving into the No. 3 position and 12 from moving into the No. 2 slot … Career-wise, his 339 assists rank fourth on Emory’s all-time list … Junior Alex Gulotta’s streak of three-point field goals is now at 30 games, tying Kevin Felner (Feb. 8, 1991 through Feb. 26, 1992) for the third-longest effort in school history … Gulotta, who leads the UAA in three-point field goals per game (3.2 tpg) and who ranks fourth in try percentage (..483), has 57 triples to his credit this year, good for ninth place on the school’s seasonal chart … Career-wise, he is 10^th on Emory’s ladder with 119 three pointers … Freshman Jake Davis has scored in double figures in his last four games and is averaging 15.5 points and shooting 54.7 percent (23-of-42) from the field in that stretch … The 6-foot-5 Davis, who has compiled double-digit scoring on 14 occasions this year, is No. 10 overall and the top freshman scorer (13.6 ppg) in the UAA … In addition, he leads all conference frosh in rebounding with a team-high effort of 6.6 per game … Junior Justin Resnick has three-point field goals to his credit in his last three and in 10 of his last 11 contests …  Emory finished January with a 7-2 record, the eighth time in school history that an Eagles’ team had notched six or more victories in a month … When Emory hosts NYU on Feb. 6, it will be looking to improve upon its 9-11 record on Super Bowl Sunday … Sophomore Michael Friedberg has blocked shots in his last six games and his 36 rejections on the year are fourth on Emory’s seasonal ladder … Emory has outshot 10 opponents from the floor this season and stands 9-1 in those games … The Eagles have turned the ball over fewer times than the opposition in 12 games and post a 10-2 slate in those contests … Emory’s 21 free throws vs. NYU represented the sixth time this year that it converted 20 or more from the charity stripe … As a team, the Eagles lead the UAA in overall scoring (83.0 ppg), free throw percentage (.782) and offensive rebounds (11.8 rpg) … Emory has three of the UAA’s top 10 and four of the top 12 scorers – Claunch (4^th, 15.8 ppg), sophomore Alex Greven (6^th, 15.1 ppg), Davis (10^th, 13.6) and Gulotta (12^th, 12.4 ppg) … So far this year, Emory has had players score 20 or more points on 14 occasions compared to last year’s total of six … Emory has six games of 10 or more steals compared to last year’s entire total of three contests.