The men's basketball team, which holds a record of 9-3, finishes up a five-game homestand this upcoming weekend as they match up with two tough University Athletic Association (UAA) opponents: Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) and Case Western Reserve University (Ohio).
While the rest of the student body was at home on break, the Eagles were busy taking care of business at Emory, winning three games. On Jan. 3, the Eagles rode the 40-point combination of seniors Jake Davis and McPherson Moore to an 83-65 win over the Piedmont College Lions.
On Jan. 6, Davis' 28 point, 8 rebound night led the team to a 76-61 victory over the Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) Panthers.
On Jan. 11, Head Coach Jason Zimmerman won his 100th game as the head coach of the Eagles as the team opened up UAA Conference play against the University of Rochester (NY) Yellowjackets. Emory once again won by double digits, using a balanced scoring effort with five players in double figures. Zimmerman is only four wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history, an impressive accomplishment in seven years.
On Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., the Eagles will host the 7-5 Carnegie Mellon Tartans, who are 0-1 in UAA play after losing to Case Western last weekend. Led by coach Tony Wingen, who has a record of 263-324, the Tartans are 5-1 at home and 2-4 on the road. In the all-time series between the Eagles and Tartans, Emory holds a 30-21 edge, while going 21-4 during home games against Carnegie Mellon.
On Sunday, Jan. 19 at 12 p.m., Emory will host the 9-3 Case Western Reserve Spartans, who are 1-0 in UAA play. Case Western is off to their best start in eight years.
The Spartans are 6-1 at home and 2-2 on the road. Emory holds a 23-19 edge in the all-time series between the Eagles and Spartans, with the Eagles winning six straight matchups.
Coach Zimmerman alluded to the strength of the UAA, saying, "This conference is now one of the best in the country. All of the teams are at or above .500 on the year. Winning conference games is going to be really tough because each game is brutal to win."
The Eagles have been hot as of late–they have won eight of their last nine games, and haven't lost since the end of November aside from a close overtime affair with Oglethorpe University. Opponents face a tough task beating the Eagles at home, as Emory is 39-4 in their last 43 games at the Woodruff P.E. Center.
Regarding the tough UAA matchups that are upcoming, Moore, the team's second-leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, wrote in an email to the Wheel: "Every game in the UAA is a battle. There are no opponents you can overlook and the top teams in the conference are among some of the best in the nation. Every team can get beat, which speaks to the highly competitive nature of our conference."
Both Moore and Zimmerman praised the team's efforts so far this season, but said that there is still room for improvement.
Moore wrote: "I think that we have a lot of room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball and we are improving our defensive skills everyday in practice."
Zimmerman, meanwhile, urged his squad to stay focused on each individual game.
"You can't win a national championship in one day, but you can lose it," he said.
– By Ethan Morris
Photo courtesy of Emory Athletics
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