VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman's men's basketball program opens the 2021-22 campaign with two games inside Holt Fieldhouse Saturday and Sunday with the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge.
The Eagles take on Lees-McRae Saturday at 7 p.m. before challenging King Sunday at 4 p.m.
"I've enjoyed the preseason and I think our players have enjoyed it as well," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "But, we need something new and fresh. We're excited to finally have a chance to play and to play against two high quality opponents out of the gate."
Carson-Newman is looking to snap a two-game losing streak in season openers. The Eagles dropped a 103-101 thriller to Lees-McRae to start the 2019-20 campaign before beginning last year's season with a 67-53 loss at Coker.
Lees-McRae has won back-to-back season openers, downing Carson-Newman two years ago before tallying a win over Erskine 109-77 last season.
The Bobcats have gotten their offense into form quickly in season's past. Lees-McRae has debuted with a 100-point outing in two straight openers and at least 80 points in five straight years.
The Bobcats were picked fifth in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll.
At 93.1 points per game last year, Lees-McRae had the fourth highest scoring offense in the country. The Bobcats loved the long ball a year ago, burying 10.7 threes per game to rank 15th in the country.
Carson-Newman gave up 65.3 points per game a year ago to rank as the country's 10th best scoring defense.
King was picked 10th in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll. The Tornado was 14th in the nation in points per game (85.2) and led the Conference Carolinas in rebounds per game (39.6).
The Tornado throttled the Eagles in 2019 in the last meeting between the teams. King won in Banner Elk, N.C. 93-74. Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Jordan Floyd exploded for 34 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including a 4-of-9 effort from long range.
"Both Steve at Lees-McRae and Jason at King are of the George Pitts (former King head coach) coaching tree," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We sort of know based on history what to expect, but this is still game one and game two of a new year. You'd expect some adjustments to happen with their strategies, and we'll have to be able to adjust to that in real time. We just need to worry about controlling what we can control on both sides of the ball."
Lees-McRae and King are two of three Conference Carolinas schools on the schedule this year (Erskine represents the third). The Eagles had won nine straight against the league dating back to a 73-65 loss to Mount Olive in the second game of the 2014-15 season prior to dropping three straight to the league in 2019-20 against the Bobcats, Tornado and then Southern Wesleyan.
King was relentless on the offensive glass in 2020-21, averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game - a total that ranked fifth nationally.
Carson-Newman has won nine straight home games.
C-N was stingy with efficiency, limiting teams to 39.3 percent shooting, the league's best figure and the country's fifth best.
Saturday's game with Lees-McRae starts at 7 p.m. Coverage on the Eagles Sports Network begins at 6:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on cneagles.com/live. Sunday against King gets underway at 4 p.m. with the Countdown to Tipoff starting at 3:45 on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
