JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (13-3, 6-2 South Atlantic Conference) gets its crack at one of the hottest teams in the country when it visits Cuddy Arena Saturday at 4 p.m. to take on league-leading Wingate (13-3, 8-0 SAC).
The Bulldogs are the only team in the SAC without a league loss. Winners of nine consecutive, the Bulldogs are the owners of the country's sixth-longest active winning streak. The Bulldogs are off to their best start in conference play in school history. Their eight straight league wins are also the sixth-longest active conference winning streak in the country.
"They are having an outstanding year," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "It's a credit to Brian Good and his staff for the start they have had. They have quality wins over quality opponents. They are physical as they always are under Coach Good and that will always pose a challenge."
Carson-Newman gets a crack at its 300th league win all-time. Carson-Newman is looking to join Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne as the only programs with 300 conference victories in the history of the SAC.
Nick Brenegan's 5.21 made triples per game are the most in the country. He has buried 79 this season. also first nationally among all divisions by pure volume. If he were to maintain this pace, he would break Ish Sanders' single-season record of 99 and become the first Eagle with triple-digit threes in a seaosn. There have been 11 triple-digit three-point seasons in SAC history. He also ranks first nationally and tops in the SAC in percentage at 53.4 percent for the season.
Brenegan has made more threes this season than 22 teams in NCAA Division II. His 79 threes are already the 10th most in a single-season in Carson-Newman basketball history. A five-three game would move him into the top five for the most threes in a single season with Ish Sanders and Charles Clark.
Brenegan has buried multiple threes in every game this season, but the Lincoln Memorial contest. He's made a three in 22 straight games dating back to last season. He has made at least three threes in 10 of the last 11 games.
Brenegan, John Zhao, Jack Browder and Trey Hubbard account for a third of the top 12 in the SAC in scoring. The quartet combines to average 72.8 points per game. They average more points per game than Newberry does as a team.
Carson-Newman is one of the top rebounding teams in the country. The Eagles have outrebounded every team they have faced with the exception of Tusculum. Carson-Newman is ninth nationally and number one in the league in total rebounds, averaging 42.25 per game. C-N's 12.1 rebounding margin ranks number one in the nation. Carson-Newman had produced three, three-game streaks where they outrebounded their foes by double digits in Chuck Benson's first 13 years with the program. The Eagles have done it three times this season. If the Eagles were to go +10 on the glass against Wingate, it would mark the first time in program history the Eagles have outrebounded five consecutive teams by double digits.
Carson-Newman has been on another level offensively at home. C-N has topped triple digits in seven of its nine home games. The Eagles average 102.9 points at home, while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from three. On the road, those numbers drop to 77.0 points per game with 44.5 percent shooting from the field and 39.8 percent shooting from three.
This iteration of the Eagles has matched the 2017-18 team for the most 100-point performances in a season in the NCAA era with eight. Carson-Newman hasn't had double-digit, triple-digit performances in a single-season since Chris Jones was coaching in the 1980s. The 1970-71 team holds the record with 12 such games. C-N hasn't had a 100-point performance in a road game since 2019, a 103-101 loss on opening night in 2019 at Lees-McRae.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Bulldogs 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 Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
