JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (18-6, 11-5 South Atlantic Conference) plays its penultimate home game of the year when it welcomes Anderson (13-10, 8-7 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse for a 4 p.m. tip Saturday.
The Eagles picked up a 94-81 win over Anderson in the first meeting between the teams back on Dec. 16. Carson-Newman enters the contest fresh off its second home loss of the year, an 84-81 decision to Tusculum. Meanwhile, the Trojans have won six of their last eight and come in off an 84-75 triumph over Limestone.
"It's not about what's happened in the past, it's about what's going to happen next," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We know that Anderson is a threatening opponent. They are a really threatening team offensively and they are a good defensive team. I've liked our team's resilience when we have encountered a loss previously."
Carson-Newman has avoided back-to-back losses this season. C-N has responded to four of its five previous defeats with a double-digit win.
C-N is going for a season sweep of the Trojans. The teams only met once last season, with the Trojans taking a 15-point win in Holt. Carson-Newman has swept the season series from AU the last two seasons the teams played in a double round robin format.
Nick Brenegan's 4.09 made triples per game are the most in the country. He has buried 94 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 season. There have been 11 triple-digit three-point seasons in SAC history. He also ranks fifth nationally and third in the SAC in percentage at 49.5 percent for the season.
Nick Brenegan and John Zhao are both top 10 in Division II among active players in career three-point field goal percentage. Brenegan is fourth amoing active players at 45.5 percent. Zhao is eighth at 44.6 percent.
John Zhao has produced a quartet of 30-point games this season. He has tied Charles Clark for the second-most in the NCAA-era for a single season. Clark had 14, 30-point games in his career, including five in his senior season in 2017-18. He had four as a sophomore, three as a junior and two as a freshman. Since being held to eight against Wingate on Jan. 20, Zhao averaged 27.33 points per game over a crazy six-game stretch. That came with some stupefying efficiency. He had a 67.9/61.3/84.4 slash line. He was 27-of-44 from deep in that stretch, an average of 4.5 threes per game.
Carson-Newman has been on another level offensively at home. C-N has topped triple digits in eight of its 13 home games. The Eagles average 100.7 points at home, while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from three. Carson-Newman has scored at least 90 in all 11 of its home victories this season. It has been kept below 90 in its two home losses to Limestone and Tusculum.
This iteration of the Eagles has the most 100-point performances since moving to NCAA Division II with 10. There have been just five seasons in Carson-Newman men's basketball history with double-digit 100-point games in a season. The last was in 1987-88 when a fourth straight Chris Jones-coached team accomplished it with 11. The 1970-71 team holds the record with 12 such games.
Carson-Newman is second in the country in rebounding margin, averaging an 10.5 rebound advantage per game. Carson-Newman has outrebounded 16 of 24 opponents this year by double digits. Tusculum is the only team this season to outrebound Carson-Newman. C-N has outrebounded four teams this year by 20 or more. Eight teams this season have grabbed six or fewer offensive rebounds against the Eagles.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Trojans is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloMBB.
