Emory Men's Basketball Continues Homestand vs. Wash U & Chicago

GAME FACTS -  The Emory men’s basketball team looks forward to its second straight University Athletic Association home weekend when it plays host to Washington University on Friday (Feb. 11) and the University of Chicago on Sunday (Feb. 13).  Friday’s encounter against Wash U. begins at 8:00 p.m. while Sunday’s contest against UC 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).  During his tenure with the Eagles’ program, he has compiled a school and career record of 48-47.

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 30^th campaign of calling the shots for Washington University is Mark Edwards (Washington University, 1969).  Edwards will take a school and career slate of 540-248 into Friday’s action.  He has directed to the program to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and has won a pair of national championships (2007-08 and 2008-09).

Mike McGrath (DePauw University, 1992) is in his 12th season as the head coach at Chicago. A three-time UAA Coach of the Year, McGrath heads into the weekend with a school and career record of 179-123. He has directed the Maroons to four conference crowns, most recently in 2007-08.

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 16-4 with its 7-2 mark in UAA action good for second place, one game behind the University of Rochester.  The Eagles swept a pair of UAA home games last weekend, defeating Brandeis, 85-70, on Friday before topping New York University, 93-85, on Sunday.  Senior Julien Williams paced the team’s scoring attack against Brandeis with a season-high 18 points while junior Austin Claunch and freshman Jake Davis each totaled 19 points in the victory over NYU.

Emory’s 16 wins ties the second-highest win total in school history while the seven triumphs in league action ties the fourth-highest mark. 

Washington University sports an overall record of 11-9, 5-4 in the UAA.  The Bears have been on a hot streak of late, capturing five of its last six games.  Over the weekend, Wash U. lost at Carnegie Mellon on Friday night, 78-65, before rebounding to claim an 80-71 triumph at Case Western on Sunday.

Heading into a Friday evening contest at Rochester, Chicago stands 8-12 overall, 5-4 in league affairs.  The Maroons split a pair of league contests last weekend, losing at Case Western, 88-75, before registering a 79-71 decision at Carnegie Mellon.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

SERIES RECORDS -  In a series that dates from January of 1988, Washington University holds an all-time mark of 38-9 against Emory. The Eagles won the initial meeting of this season back on Jan. 14, using a team-high 15 points from junior Alex Gulotta in a 69-68 decision that snapped a nine-game skid to the Bears.  Wash U. posts a 17-6 record against Emory in games played in Atlanta.

Chicago leads in the all-time series against Emory by a 33-15 margin.  The Eagles ventured into the Windy City and captured the first meeting of 2011, 78-70, behind 18 points apiece from Austin Claunch and sophomore Alex Greven.

CLAUNCH DISHES AND SCORES – Junior Austin Claunch averaged a double-double in last weekend’s home games against Brandeis and NYU, tossing in a team-high 17.5 points while doling out 10.0 assists in helping the squad to a 2-0 mark.  After finishing with 16 points, second high on the team, in the 85-70 win over Brandeis, Claunch tied freshman Jake Davis for team scoring honors with 19 points and chipped in a school-record tying 12 assists in a 93-85 triumph over NYU.  His assists total against the Violets represented the fourth time this season and fifth in his career that he doled out 10 or more assists in a game.

Heading into the weekend, the 5-foot-9 Claunch leads the UAA and ranks fourth nationally in assists (7.3 apg), and No. 2 in the league and 16^th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.74).  His 145 assists this year ranks second on Emory’s seasonal ladder and he is seven from passing the No. 1 mark of 151 that he set during the 2009-10 campaign.  Career-wise, he resides in the No. 4 position on the Eagles’ chart with 359 assists.

WILLIAMS ADDING FIREPOWER TO EMORY OFFENSE --  Though he saw a five-game double-figure scoring streak come to an end in the NYU game on Sunday, senior Julien Williams has given the Eagles a boost offensively recently.  In his last six outings, Williams is averaging 12.6 points and shooting 64.5 percent (31-of-48) from the field including 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from three-point range.  After scoring a then season-best 16 points at Brandeis (Jan. 28), Williams sparked the 85-70 decision over the Judges this past Friday by recording a team-high 18 points. 

Career-wise, the 6-foot-2 Williams has appeared in 92 games and holds down the No. 13 spot on Emory’s all-time chart with 441 rebounds.

GULOTTA’S 3-POINT FG STREAK STILL INTACT – Junior Alex Gulotta sank three-point field goals in both games last weekend, running his streak to 32 games where he has knocked down at least one triple.  After sinking his lone attempt from distance with 14:29 left in the encounter with Brandeis, Gulotta converted four triples against NYU, boosting his season total to 62, good for sixth place on the school’s seasonal list.

His 32-game streak of three-point field goals is third-longest in school history behind the No. 1 mark of 40 contests held by Jeff Hall and the No. 2 standard of 35 held by Robert Spivey.

As he heads into the weekend, Gulotta is among the UAA and national leaders in a couple of categories.  His average of 3.1 three-point field goals per game is No. 2 in the UAA
and 23rd in the D-III ranks while his 48.4 percent mark from distance is fourth in the league (minimum 2.0 makes per game) and ninth nationally (minimum 2.5 makes per game).  

Career-wise, he is 8^th on Emory’s career ladder with 124 three pointers and first in three-point percentage (.451).

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND – The Eagles saw five players reach double figures in scoring in Friday’s  game vs. Brandeis, bringing the total number of games this year to seven where the team has had five or more players finish with 10 or more points.  So far this year, Emory has had players score 20 or more points on 13 occasions compared to last year’s total of six.

DOUBLE-DIGIT OBSTACLES DON’T FAZE EAGLES – Emory’s 69-68 win at Washington University (Jan. 14) represented the third time this season that the Eagles had rallied from a significant double-digit deficit and came away with a win.   Emory faced three 14-point deficits in the second half against the Bears, the final one being a 52-38 disadvantage with 16:18 left on the clock, before battling back for the one-point win. 

Back on Nov. 28, Emory trailed by a dozen points at halftime in a home game against Maryville before shooting 65.4 percent (17-of-26) in the second half en route to a wild 103-99 decision over the Scots.  The squad’s other win came in the season opener against Oglethorpe where it fell behind by 16 points at halftime and still faced a 14-point uphill climb with just 7:33 left in the contest.  The Eagles then responded with a 21-7 spurt over the remainder of regulation before posting a 92-84 overtime verdict over the Petrels.

Emory almost notched other wins of the come-from-behind variety when it surged back to within one point after seeing Washington & Lee build a 21-point cushion with 17:22 left in the game. However, the Generals held on for an 86-75 triumph.  On the road against Brandeis (Jan. 28), Emory stared at a 20-point hole with 12:32 left in the contest before rallying to force overtime where the Judges held on for an 86-82 victory.

THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL A KEY WEAPON – Heading into the weekend, Emory is averaging 9.0 three-pointers per game,  good for the No. 2 spot in the UAA and 17^th nationally.  The Eagles have registered a total of 180 triples, good for a sixth-place tie on the school’s seasonal chart, and have four players who have sank 25 or more from beyond the arc.  Emory has had five or more players register three-point field goals in nine contests, five of which have come in UAA games.  The Eagles saw eight different players account for triples earlier this year against Huntingdon (Jan. 2) and Piedmont (Jan. 3).

DAVIS MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT – Jake Davis has made a big impact during his freshman season with the Eagles with his 13.7 points per-game scoring average good for the No. 3 spot on the team and the No. 10 position among UAA players.  Heading into Friday’s game vs. Wash U., the 6-foot-5 Davis has scored in double digits in his last six and in a total of 16 contests this year.  Over the last six outings, he is averaging 15.1 points and shooting 49.2 percent (32-of-65) from the field.  Davis, whose 49.2 percent mark from the floor is good for 13^th place in the conference, is also averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds per stint, good for a fourth-place tie in the UAA.  So far this year he has produced 13 efforts of six or more rebounds.

Davis ranks as the conference’s top freshman in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage
(. 814, 70-of-86) and is No. 2 in field goal percentage.

Davis has paced the club in scoring on seven occasions and has been the club’s top board man in eight contests.  In the Eagles’ 11 home games, he is averaging 14.2 points and shooting 46.8 percent from the floor while tossing in 13.0 points and hitting on 52.3 percent of his field goal tries in the team’s nine affairs away from the Woodruff PE Center.

NOTES – Junior Justin Resnick has knocked down three-point field goals in his last five and in 12 of the last 13 contests … Resnick has recorded eight games of two or more triples including three against NYU this past Sunday (Feb. 6) … Sophomore Michael Friedberg continues to be a key defensive presence with blocked shots in his last eight games … Friedberg stands No. 2 in the UAA in rejections (2.1 bpg) and his 40 blocks this year tie for third on the school’s seasonal list …  Friedberg has been the team’s top rebounder in five of the past games and he ranks second on the squad and 11^th in the league with a 5.4 per-game average … The win over NYU raised the program’s record to 10-11 on Super Bowl Sunday … 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 13 games and post a 11-2 slate in those 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 … As a team, the Eagles lead the UAA and stands 15^th nationally in scoring (83.6 ppg) … Emory also tops the UAA and is second nationally in free throw percentage (.790) … Emory, the UAA co-leader in steals (7.8 spg), has seven games of 10 or more steals compared to last year’s entire total of three contests.