JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Third-seeded and 23rd-ranked Carson-Newman (16-5) starts NCAA tournament play with a highly familiar foe when it opens up play in the NCAA Southeast Regional Saturday at Tex Turner Arena in Harrogate, Tenn.
Meeting number 120 all-time for Carson-Newman against sixth-seeded Tusculum (13-5) will be the first between the programs beyond conference tournament play. Tipoff Saturday is set for 6 p.m.
"This has been a very enjoyable turn back in the right direction for our program," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "It's a testament to our players, staff and administration who supported us through darker days. Now we have an opportunity to compete in this tournament while trying to keep our emotions even and balanced to try to compete at the highest level."
The Eagles are white hot entering the tournament. The South Atlantic Conference tournament champs, C-N takes aim at an 12th straight win. The Eagles are on their 11th double-digit win streak in school history.
Winning 12 straight games would match the fourth-longest win streak in school history. The Eagles won 12 straight in the 1962-63 season.
Six of the Eagles 11 double-digit win streaks came in the 1960s. This is Carson-Newman's second double-digit win streak as a member of NCAA Division. Carson-Newman made the Sweet 16 the last time it put together double-digit wins, when the Eagles won 19 straight in 2001-02. The 1963-64 team holds the school record for consecutive wins with 22 straight.
Carson-Newman owns the country's second-longest active win streak. Carson-Newman, Mercyhurst and Saint Anselm (who hasn't played this year) have all won 11 straight. Flagler has the nation's longest active win streak at 13 games.
"Surprisingly, this team is determined and has remained so all season," Benson said. "I love where we are mentally, we don't have fat cat syndrome."
Carson-Newman has the league's top scoring defense - averaging 65.3 points allowed per game, a figure that ranks 11th nationally.
Carson-Newman boasts the league's best field goal percentage defense - opponents shoot 39.1 percent from the field, a figure that also is fifth nationally.
Carson-Newman has held 10 of its last 16 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. Car- son-Newman leads the SAC and ranks eighth nationally with 4.4 blocks per game. Bryant Thomas has rejected a 43 shots this season, needing nine more to catch Corbin Jackson for the single-season record. Car- son-Newman's 93 blocks as a team are within the top five in program history for a single season.
Carson-Newman is 1-5 all-time in NCAA tournament games. The Eagles are 33-19 in postseason play dating back to Carson-Newman's prolific NAIA tournament days.
"What's it take to win at this stage? Defend well, make shots in an efficient manner and have a little good fortune as well," Benson said. "We've had our fair share of all those these last six weeks, I hope we've got a little bit left. I've loved our guys attitude since the win in the title game against Queens and I think we're in a good position to perform."
C-N will be looking for its first NCAA tournament win in 16 years. The Eagles won in the round of 32 in 2002 77-66 over Johnson C. Smith be- hind 21 points from former All-American Kyle Gribble and a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double from Dustin Edwards.
The Eagles bowed out in the Sweet 16 that year to Shaw and future NBA player Ronald "Flip" Murray who scored 38 points to send the Bears to the Elite 8.
Tusculum is making its first NCAA appearance since 2009 when the Pioneers suffered an opening round defeat as the eight seed to regional host Augusta 62-60 in Christenberry Fieldhouse and are 0-2 all-time in NCAA tournament play.
This is the first meeting between the teams this year outside of Greeneville. The Pioneers won 82-72 back on Jan. 6 before C-N tallied a 60-59 SAC semifinal win eight days ago.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Pioneers is slated for 6 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 5:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
