VIDEO: Chuck Benson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (7-11, 4-8 South Atlantic Conference) makes the short trek up 25-E to take on rival Lincoln Memorial (19-1, 12-0 SAC) Wednesday night at 7:30 in Tex Turner Arena.
The Railsplitters are ranked third in both the D2CCA media poll and the NABC coaches poll. After losing to West Texas A&M to start the year, LMU has reeled off 19 straight wins. Only three teams, Queens, Kentucky Wesleyan and Carson-Newman have stayed within single-digits of LMU on the streak.
"This is just another typical season in Harrogate, I guess," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said with a chuckle. "It's a credit to coach Shertz, his staff and his players. We're not in shock, awe or disbelief. We'll just go up there and do what we do to the best of our ability and see where things fall out."
The Railsplitters 23.9 ppg margin of victory is second nationally. The Railsplitters have seven wins of at least 30 points or more this season.
Carson-Newman will look to find some offensive footing against the country's toughest defense in LMU. The Railsplitters 37.3 defensive field goal percentage leads the nation. Kentucky Wesleyan has been the only team to shoot better than 45 percent from the field on the Railsplitters. LMU has kept 13 of their 20 foes below 40 percent shooting and eight below 35 percent shooting.
"This year's LMU team has much larger guards than previous teams," Benson said. "They don't have an Emmanuel Terry-type guy in the middle, but Rhondi Hackett doesn't make mistakes, gets rebounds and distributes the ball well. Then their guards are all in the mode of Courvoisier McCauley and 6-5, 210 pounds and can attack you from range or at the rim."
Cam Henry has been playing stratospheric basketball for LMU, especially from range. He's knocked down 55.6 percent of his threes the last five games. Three of those games he hit at least four triples.
Lincoln Memorial is the conference's top three-point shooting team. The Railsplitters connect on 40.4 percent of their threes, a figure that is 18th nationally. LMU has knocked down double-digit threes in five straight games and 10 of their last 12.
"The investment they've made up there to work year round, to have the otherworldly shotmaking is not the norm," Benson said. "Kudos to them for the work they put in and the confidence and belief they have to deliver lower percentage shots at a much higher percentage."
The Railsplitters' 19-game win streak is the longest active streak in the country by five games Seattle Pacific is next with a 14-game streak. The Railsplitters have won 11 straight home games, the eighth-best streak nationally. LMU has been unblemished at home since losing 80-78 to Wingate in the SAC quarterfinals last year.
The Eagles have six wins under Chuck Benson over nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial teams. That's more than any other team in the SAC over the last decade. Anderson has the next most with four followed by Queens with three.
The Eagles are looking to avoid an eighth straight road loss. The Eagles haven't won away from Holt since March 2, 2019 with an 89-78 win at Newberry. It's the Eagles longest road skid since C-N lost nine straight away from Holt from Feb. 5, 2011 to Jan. 25 2012. C-N snapped that skid when the Eagles handed fifth-ranked LMU a 64-61 defeat in Harrogate. The Eagles have just one win in their last 13 road games.
Carson-Newman's numbers aren't terribly different from home games to road. The Eagles commit 2.5 more turnovers per game on the road and score 7.8 points per game fewer away from Holt Fieldhouse.
Tipoff between Carson-Newman and LMU is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts 15 minute prior to gametime with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
