3/1/2025
The end of the regular season is near for the Emory Eagles with one game left, but let's recap last week's action. Emory had two games last week, one against a tough Chicago team that beat them earlier on in the season in overtime. They also had a ranked match-up vs #18 WashU.
Last Friday, we saw the Eagles match up with Chicago University, whom they beat 77-72, led by a three-headed monster of Logan Shanan, Ben Pierce, and Jair Knight, who combined for 60 of the team's 77 points.The Eagles shot the lights out making 14 of their 24 threes attempted, which is 50%.
On Sunday, the 23rd, the Eagles matched up with a ranked Washu team that came into the matchup one game behind the Eagles in the conference standing. Unfortunately for Eagle Nation, Emory would come up short in this matchup, with the final score being 85-75. Emory's Ben Pierce led the squad with 25 points, but they struggled mightily to hit shots throughout the game. They shot 5/25 from three and 45% from the field. Despite keeping it close, Emory could never seem to hit those crucial shots to get them back in the game, and if you know Coach Z's system, he plays fast and requires you to put up a lot of shots and hit a lot of shots. Unfortunately, they could not execute, and they came up short. Emory will be looking to bounce back and finish the season strong with their final game this Saturday against Rochester.
2/22/2025
What if I told you Emory University has one of America's most successful college basketball programs? Yes, you read that correctly. Now, some of you are thinking right now, is this the same Emory University that produces the best doctors and lawyers in the world, my uncle being one of them, who I can confirm does not have an athletic bone in his body.
They can't have a good basketball program, right? For those who don't know, let me catch you up on some history. Since head coach and former Davidson Assistant Jason Zimmerman took over in 2007 and has taken the Eagles to the D3 Tournament 10 times and as far as the Elite Eight (Emory’s best run since 1986). He is a consistent winner who always seems to be one piece short. This year he has that one piece plus more. Coach Z is one of the most well-respected coaches in Division 3. What you might not know is that he mentored future Naismith Hall of Famer Steph Curry while he was at Davidson. While he is currently a Division 3 coach, his name is often talked about in Division 1 circles as a future major program star coach.
Fast forward to the 2025 season, after a disappointing 2024 campaign that saw them miss the tournament for the first time in ten years, there were high expectations of a bounce back season coming into the year. So far, they have met and even exceeded those expectations. They are led by the star backcourt of Ben Pearce and Jair Knight. In my opinion, it's the best backcourt in d3 hoops. Ben Pearce was an all-region NABC player in the 2023 and 2024 seasons while Jair Knight was All-Region in 2024. With these two coming back for the 2025 season, this dynamic duo seemed impossible to stop.
They started the season with ten straight wins, beating Number 2 John Carroll and Number 9 Calvin University They quickly shot up the rankings for a brief stint at the number 1 spot. Now they stand at 18-4, with three of their losses coming to ranked opponents and one to a tough conference opponent in overtime. They are the number 7 D3 team in the country according to d3hoops.com. With three games remaining in the season, they will certainly be looking to finish the year strong and make a deep run in the tournaments this year. With Jair Knight averaging 19 points per game, and Ben Pearce knocking down 17 points per game, Coach Z has the firepower to potentially capture Emory’s first National Title.
Comentários