VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After its longest layoff this century, Carson-Newman (1-2, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) finally returns to action with a tall task and trip to tackle No. 24 Tusculum (3-1, 3-1 SAC) Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.
No fans will be permitted inside the building for the only meeting between the rivals this year.
Carson-Newman hasn't played a game since Dec. 2, a 70-67 loss to Newberry. While nothing is normal in these CoVID times, Carson-Newman's 35-day break between games is unprecedented.
"Talking with our trainer Brwyan Campbell," C-N head coach Chuck Benson said. "He defined what our guys are going through physically as returning to practice from summer break. You think about it, a long Christmas break is a little over a week. This is five times that size. Our guys have come back and had great attitudes and practices, and we've made strides. However, we are most definitely in the process of getting back into playing shape and we're just not there yet despite our efforts. That's not a Carson-Newman thing, that's a national thing. The guys are controlling what they can control with their attitude and effort."
The break is by far the longest of the Chuck Benson era. The Eagles had 21 days between an 80-78 loss to Bluefield State on Dec. 15 and a 96-89 win over Brevard on Jan. 5, 2011. The only greater gap than that came during the 2005-06 season when the Eagles beat Lincoln Memorial 87-63 on Dec. 10, 2005 in Holt before taking 24 days off before playing at Alabama-Huntsville on Jan. 3, 2006 in a 67-57 win for the Chargers.
"I don't know what a fair expectation for the quality of basketball is right now," Benson said. "There are so many unprecedented firsts right now. We can only try to control what we can control and that's our attitude, our effort and the way that we respond to adversity. We're thankful we're back together and thankful we have a chance to play. We just want to enjoy these opportunities because we don't know when the next opportunity will come."
Carson-Newman's defense is off to a fearsome start for 2020-21. While the season has begun in fits and starts, and the sample size is limited, Carson-Newman is one of three teams in the league with at least three Division II games limiting foes to fewer than 70 points per game (69.3). The Eagles rank second in the league in field goal defense (40.7) and are tops in the conference in blocks per game with 3.7.
Carson-Newman's defense will be put to the test Wednesday when it travels to Tusculum. The Pioneers feature the league's most up-tempo offense, a stark change from a year ago when the Pioneers featured a pace of play akin to the Virginia Cavaliers. Tusculum attempts a league-best 69 shots a game.
"They're trying to reward themselves when they get stops and they're trying to push and attack," Benson said. "They've embraced the three ball more than in years past and they are still elite on the offensive glass. They have experienced leadership that has picked their games up especially with the emergence of Trenton Gibson as one of the more elite players in this league."
The Pioneers 94.8 points per game is the second highest in the league. Tusculum also ranks third in the conference in field goal efficiency (47.3 percent) and threes made per game (9.8). Tusculum is once again on pace to be the league's top rebounding team, collecting 42.5 boars per game and a league-best 14.5 offensive boards per contest.
Pioneer Arena has been an offensive house of horrors for Carson-Newman since JT Burton took over as head coach at Tusculum. The Eagles have averaged 51.5 points per game in their last two trips down 11E. Carson-Newman has struggled to throw the ball into the ocean from the end of a pier, especially in the second half in those last two treks.
The Eagles are 36-of-108 (33.3 percent) from the field and 14-of-43 (32.5) percent from three. Those numbers dip to a paltry 14-of-53 (26.4) from the field and 5-of-18 (27.7) from three after halftime. Somewhat shockingly, the Eagles had halftime leads in their last two trips to Tusculum, only to score a combined 44 points after halftime in 63-49 and 62-52 losses.
Carson-Newman is looking to snap a 15-game losing streak to ranked opposition. LMU registers as C-N's last ranked win. The Eagles downed the Railsplitters, then ranked sixth in the country 111-109 on Nov. 12, 2016. Carson-Newman has four wins all-time against top-10 teams with Chuck Benson as head coach, and seven wins all-time under Benson against ranked opposition, third most in the conference behind Josh Schertz at LMU and Bart Lundy at Queens.
Carson-Newman is 1-1 all-time against ranked league teams that aren't LMU or Queens under Benson. C-N lost to No. 21 Anderson 90-72 on Feb. 25, 2012 and beat No. 20 Lenoir-Rhyne 94-89 on Dec. 19, 2015.
Tipoff between Carson-Newman and Tusculum is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
