JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-3, 1-3 South Atlantic Conference) will try to level its road record at .500 when it heads to Anderson (1-2, 1-2 SAC) to tackle the Trojans Saturday at 2 p.m.
Both teams have dealt with lengthy layoffs. Anderson had 43 days between games after opening the year Nov. 24 at Catawba and a Jan. 4, 103-74, win against Limestone. Meanwhile, the Eagles had a 35-day break between games.
"We've learned that our guys take preparation seriously," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We have guys who have positive attitudes, that work hard and who are resilient."
Anderson will be looking for its first three-game winning streak in the series since 2010-12. The Trojans won four straight over C-N in that span, their longest win streak in series history. Carson-Newman had won eight straight over the Trojans prior to Anderson's 75-71 win in the Abney Center on Dec. 7, 2019.
Quin Nottingham was a thorn in Carson-Newman's side last year. The first-team All-SAC performer averaged 25.5 points per game last year against the Eagles while making 16-of-33 shots from the field and 7-of-18 threes.
Nottingham had an insane final four minutes in Anderson's 75-72 win over Carson-Newman in Holt Fieldhouse on Feb. 1, 2020. After starting 1-of-7 from three-point range, Nottingham buried four threes in the final 86 seconds, including a 35-footer, an and-one four-point play, and a 75-footer as the final horn sounded to give Anderson the win.
Nottingham hasn't quite returned to the form he had a year ago. The senior is averaging 14 points per game after averaging 19.3 a year ago. Nottingham is shooting 28.6 percent from the field and has made one of his last 11 shots from deep.
"That game where he scored 13 in the last 86 seconds to propel them for a win," Benson said. "Those things happen and he clearly is an elite player. They have a lot of guys that are capable like that. You can tell that due to the situation of playing through CoVID are off to slow starts. He will find his rhythm at some point this season, we just hope it's not against us. We can only control that to a degree, we have to go out and focus on our controllables on both sides of the ball."
Bryant Thomas has returned to form as a shot blocker. The UNC Charlotte transfer has multiple blocks in three of Carson-Newman's first four games. He ranks 12th nationally in blocks per game (2.33) and is seventh nationally in total blocks (10).
Luke Brenegan is one of the iron men in the nation. Averaging 37:22 minutes per game, Brenegan ranks sixth in the country in time on the floor.
Carson-Newman has a top-25 defense, with a 41.6 field goal percentage against, Carson-Newman ranks 21st nationally in field goal percentage defense. Tusculum is the only opponent to shoot better than 45 percent from the field on the Eagles this year.
The Eagles played five freshman in their contest against Tusculum, something that Benson anticipates will continue.
"The nature of inexperience is that it leads to inconsistency," Benson said. "In a perfect world, those guys will replicate the positive things they did at Tusculum. I have confidence because they are prepared, they have positive practice reps and they're excited. They'll very much be in the mix."
Anderson takes care of the ball about as well as anyone in the country. The Trojans 12.3 turnovers per game are 21st nationally and the second fewest in the SAC. That average is bouyed by a six-turnover performance against Limestone.
While Anderson is only shooting 30 percent from three for the season, the Trojans are 11-of-26 from long range inside the Abney Center.
The Trojans are the league's top free-throw shooting team at 81.7 percent.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Trojans is set for 2 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on The Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
