JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (20-6, 13-5 South Atlantic Conference) wraps up the road portion of its 2023-24 schedule with a visit to the Timken Center as the guest for Limestone's (11-14, 7-10 SAC) Senior Day Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Eagles have back-to-back games and four of their last five, while Limestone enters the game having dropped five of their last six. However, the Saints are 7-4 at home this season and have won two of their last three games in the Timken Center. Most of the Saints current swoon has come on the road.
The Saints won the first meeting this season between the teams 85-77 in Holt Fieldhouse. The Saints held the Eagles to their lowest scoring output at home, while Sirr Hughes and Ayden Hickman combined to got 13-of-14 from deep for en route to 43 points between the two sharpshooters.
"We have got to get hydrated and healthy," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "At this point in the year, it's not about practice, it's about trying to be healthy and put your best foot forward. This is the first time this season (against UVA Wise) that we looked like we were playing in mud. We can't look like that come Saturday against Limestone."
Carson-Newman has clinched a top four seed in the South Atlantic Conference tournament. The Eagles are still mathematically in the hunt for a SAC title, but would need Wingate and Lincoln Memorial to both lose twice, and Catawba to lose once in their final three games.
Limestone meanwhile, is on the outside looking in for the league tournament. The Saints are a half game back of Lenoir-Rhyne for the final spot in the conference tournament. The road forward is not easy for Limestone. Aside from the contest with C-N, the Saints have roadtrips to Coker (fifth place) and Lincoln Memorial (second place) ahead. Meanwhile, Lenoir-Rhyne wraps up the regular season with contests at Emory & Henry and at home against Wingate.
Nick Brenegan's 4.12 made triples per game are the most in the country. He has buried 103 this season, which is also first nationally among all divisions by pure volume. Brenegan is the first C-N player to hit 100 threes in a season, breaking Ish Sanders' 12-year-old single-season record of 99. Brenegan is the 12th player in South Atlantic Conference history with a 100-three-point season. Brenegan currently sits in ninth in league history. He is six threes away from Newberry's Rob Valentine (2017-18) and eighth place. He also ranks fifth nationally and third in the SAC in percentage at 49.3 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 nine of its 14 home games. The Eagles average 100.9 points at home, while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from three. Carson-Newman has scored at least 90 in all 12 of its home victories this season. It has been kept below 90 in its two home losses to Limestone and Tusculum. C-N's offensive numbers drop on the road. The Eagles average 83.5 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three.
This iteration of the Eagles has the most 100-point performances since moving to NCAA Division II with 11. 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 can tie that team with its next 100-point performance.
Carson-Newman is second in the country in rebounding margin, averaging an 10.8 rebound advantage per game. Carson-Newman has outrebounded 18 of 26 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. Nine teams this season have grabbed six or fewer offensive rebounds against the Eagles.
Tipoff between the Eagles and Saints is slated 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.
