JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (11-7, 7-5 South Atlantic Conference) renews its rivalry with Lincoln Memorial (16-2, 12-0 South Atlantic Conference) for the 201st time Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse.
The series is tied 100-100 with the Railsplitters, ranked seventh in the NABC coaches' poll and sixth in the D2SIDA media poll, collecting a 98-82 decision over the Eagles earlier this season in Tex Turner Arena.
"We've spent a great deal of time preparing," head coach Chuck Benson said. "LMU is an outstanding opponent that has unbelievable offensive versatility – probably the best that Josh Schertz has ever had since he's been there. I would go so far to say that this is the best team he's had."
Lincoln Memorial is really freaking good. The Railsplitters have won all but two of their games by double digits this season (the exceptions are a four-overtime, one-point win over Lenoir-Rhyne and a 77-72 win over Tusculum). On top of that, the Railsplitters have a quintet of 40+ point wins this season, with the most recent being a 106-57 mudhole-stomping of Coker. The game was a Coker three-point half court heave at the end of regulation away from being the largest margin of victory in South Atlantic Conference history.
In a bit of a change for LMU, the Railsplitters have morphed from a post-oriented team to a perimeter team. That is evident in the three-point marksmanship. Luquon Choice and Jalen Steele are tied for 1st in the SAC with 55 made threes this season. LMU is third in the country in three-point field goal percentage (43.4 percent) and ranks 14th nationally in threes made per game (10.7).
Gerel Simmons, Choice and Steele all average at least 15 points per game. Simmons, who had 37 in the first meeting this season, averaged 18.7 per game while Choice and Steele follow with 16.1 and 15.9, respectively.
Combined, the trio averages 50.7 points per game. Simmons, Choice and Steele are the second highest scoring trio of players in the Southeast Region to Francis Marion's Derek Brown, Mike Davis Jr. and Alante Fenner, who combine to averaged 50.8 points per game.
"Typically there's someone out there who is a weak link on the floor," Benson said. "In their case, it's not there. Any one of those guys can hurt you in a big time way. We have to limit easy shots and put pressure on them to difficult ones."
Carson-Newman's combination of Charles Clark (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Sawyer Williams (Owenton, Ky.) and Carson Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn.) is the fourth highest scoring trio in the region. C-N's three-headed monster averages 49.8 points per game.
The Eagles will need them operating at a highly efficient level if they hope to keep pace with LMU's prodigious offensive output.
The Railsplitters are second in the country in points per game with 95.9 and have the third highest averaged margin of victory in the nation (19.4). The Railsplitters are also third in the country in field goal percentage (51.6). It just so happens, LMU is third in the SAC for the stat as well with Queens leading the nation and C-N a fraction of a percentage point behind in second.
The Eagles have won four in a row for the first time this season and seven of their last eight. In the victories on the streak, C-N's shooting prowess has just been stupid good. C-N is shooting 56 percent from the field in its victories with four of the seven wins featuring 55 percent shooting or better.
"We are a night and day different team from when we played them in November," Benson said. "I like where we are right now. We've established a consistent defensive identity. We've had offensive consistency, minus the turnovers and we've finally go that under control these last three or four weeks. We are in a much better place, of the two teams, we've made the greater strides. However, LMU has been operating at another level all season."
C-N and LMU have split their last four meetings, but they haven't been close. While the series has been dead even, 15 points is the closest margin of victory over the last four meetings between the two clubs.
The Eagles downed LMU last year at Tex Turner Arena 87-62 when the Railsplitters were 20-0 and ranked number one in the country.
LMU paid the Eagles back 21 days later by handing Carson-Newman's its largest home loss since the turn of the century with a 91-61 win at Holt Fieldhouse.
However, C-N got the ultimate revenge last season by holding the then third-ranked Railsplitters to the lowest point total in South Atlantic Conference championship game history with a 63-48 SAC title-clinching win.
LMU continued the trend of beatdowns in the series earlier this season with its 16-point win. The Railsplitters shot 52 percent for the game and took advantage of a first half where C-N hit just 32 percent of its shots en route to a 49-26 halftime lead.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Railsplitters is set for 8 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:45 p.m. with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
