VIDEO: Regular Season Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Third-seeded Carson-Newman (13-5) cranks open play in the Pilot/Flying J SAC Basketball Championships by welcoming sixth-seeded Wingate (11-8) to Holt Fieldhouse for an 8 p.m. tip Monday.
Carson-Newman was granted a bye to the quarterfinal round of the tournament by virtue of its three seed. Wingate cruised by 11th-seeded Mars Hill 104-83 Saturday.
The Eagles are 2-3 all-time in the tournament as a three seed. The last time the Eagles were a three seed in the SAC tournament, they ended up with an at-large NCAA tournament bid (2018). The Eagles drilled Newberry 102-82 before bowing out to Queens in the semifinals 92-73.
This is just the fourth time that Carson-Newman has made the SAC tournament as a three seed. In fact, it is the least frequent seed C-N has drawn in the tournament. Prior to 2018, the Eagles last time as a three didn't go so well. In 2008, Mars Hill downed the Eagles 78-76 in the quarterfinals. That game is the only time in SAC tournament history that Carson-Newman didn't advance to the semifinals as a higher seed.
The Eagles' offense was stupefying good for the month of February. Carson-Newman is averaging 88.9 points per game for the month while shooting 54.6 percent from the field, 48.65 percent from three and 76.7 percent at the free throw line.
Carson-Newman has been canning 10.1 threes a game in the month. Nick Brenegan has been especially hot from long range. He has buried 15-of-28 triples this month (53.6 percent). Luke Brenegan and Ren Dyer haven't been too shabby either - knocking down 48.9 and 43.9 percent of their threes, respectively.
Carson-Newman has the league's top scoring defense - averaging 65.4 points allowed per game, a figure that ranks 13th nationally.
Carson-Newman boasts the league's best field goal percentage defense - opponents shoot 39.3 percent from the field, a figure that also is eighth nationally. Carson-Newman has held eight of its last 13 foes to below 40 percent shooting. Tusculum and Catawba are the only teams to shoot better than 45 percent from the field on the Eagles.
Part of the Eagles defensive standing comes from shot blocking. Carson-Newman leads the SAC and ranks 16th nationally with 4.3 blocks per game. If the season were to end today, Carson-Newman would set a new school record for average shots blocked per contest. Bryant Thomas has swatted 35 shots this year to rank second in the country.
Carson-Newman has never won three games in a season against Wingate. The Eagles downed the Bulldogs in Cuddy Arena back on Nov. 24, 78-71 before using a 9-0 second half run to create distance in a 76-64 win Jan. 24 in Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman takes aim at an ninth straight win. Carson-Newman has produced just one other nine-game win streak as a member of Division II, the other came during the run to the Sweet 16 in the 2001-02 season when C-N rolled to 19 straight Ws.
Carson-Newman has 13, nine-game win streaks all time.
Wingate has the top one-two scoring punch in the conference. Jarren Cottingham and Francis Sio combine to average 35.5 points per game.
"The team itself understands that those guys are the guys," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "Sio and Cottingham can score in such a variety of ways. They both have NBA range and can break you down off the bounce and get to the rim. It's as strong a one-two punch as you could face."
Wingate is the only team in the league that has two top-eight scorers. Cottingham averages 17.9 a game, the sixth highest total in the league. He has produced an octet of 20 point games including back-to-back 20-point efforts.
Meanwhile, Sio has scored double-digits in every game this year with the exception of the last matchup with C-N. He has a sextet of 20-point efforts. Sio has scored 20 in back-to-back contests twice this year.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minutes prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown To Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
