VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (2-3, 0-2 South Atlantic Conference) will size up the SAC's top defense when Wingate (4-1, 2-1 SAC) arrives at Holt Fieldhouse for a 4 p.m. tip Saturday.
The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the NABC Coaches poll with signature wins over Belmont Abbey and No. 21 Lincoln Memorial under their belts.
"They have capitalized on their opportunities so far," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We have our hands full with them. It's early, and it's a small sample size, but they are the best team in our league defensively and are doing it."
Wingate has vaulted into consideration for the NABC top 25 behind lock down defense. At 66 points per game, the Bulldogs have the SAC's best scoring defense. The Bulldogs only allow teams to shoot 26.7 percent from three - the top figure in the SAC and a total that ranks 30th in the country.
"It goes back to toughness from the top down," Benson said. "Brian Good and his staff do an excellent job making sure their players know what the expectations are defensively. They done it against quality competition too against Belmont Abbey, Lincoln Memorial and Newberry."
Lincoln Memorial is the only team to shoot better than 30 percent from long range on Wingate on the year. The Railsplitters were 13-of-37 from deep (35.1 percent) in Wingate's first regular season win over LMU in 22 tries on Nov. 20, 2021.
Lenoir-Rhyne has been the only team to shoot better than 45 percent from the field on the Bulldogs. The Bears made 49.2 percent of their shots in a 75-70 win at Shuford Gym on Nov. 17.
Jaren Cottingham has scored in double digits in every game en route to leading Wingate in scoring. Cottingham dropped a season-high 24 in a loss at Lenoir-Rhyne and 21 in the win over Lincoln Memorial.
Wingate enters the contest off a 32-point thrashing of Newberry 89-57. The win is Wingate's first 30-point win in league play since Feb. 8, 2015 and an 88-57 win over Mars Hill in Cuddy Arena.
Meanwhile, C-N has been hyper-effective at knocking down threes to open up this season. Carson-Newman leads the nation knocking down 51.6 percent of its triples. The Eagles have only attempted 95 threes on the year, last in the SAC. However, C-N has made 49 - the fifth most in the league.
"It's first the players," Benson said. "And we have guys who spend a lot of time working on their shots. Then they know from a schematic standpoint to be hunting those opportunities. We've encouraged them to be aggressive in firing them off. I'm pleased with our shooting, no question about it."
Bryant Thomas has returned to his form as one of the country's best shot blockers. Thomas has re-directed 13 on the year to rank fourth in the country. His 2.75 blocked shots per game are 12th in the country. Thomas leads the SAC in both categories while Carson-Newman is the SAC's top shot-blocking team. The Eagles are 27th nationally as a team with 4.8 rejections per game.
Carson-Newman is looking for a fourth straight win over Wingate. The Eagles have won four of the last five against the Bulldogs and took both regular season meetings over Wingate last year, as well as a SAC quarterfinal meeting.
The Eagles limited the Bulldogs to 64 points per game on 35.7 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent shooting from three. The three-point percentage is brought down by a 5-of-22 effort from the regular season meeting in Holt Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs shot better than 40 percent from three in the other two games.
Carson-Newman is also aiming for a fourth straight win over the Bulldogs inside Holt Fieldhouse.
Tipoff between Carson-Newman and Wingate is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown To Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
