JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fourth-seeded Carson-Newman (21-7) opens up play in the South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball tournament against fifth-seeded Tusculum (14-12) Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
"We have our processes, and since we are on spring break, we have plenty of time to prepare for this," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "We head to South Carolina on Tuesday and play our opponent on Wednesday. We're excited that we have earned the right to be in this tournament. This year we left no doubt that we would be in this event. We're excited about the opportunity and I know that our guys will be excited to play in postseason."
Carson-Newman enters the 2024 South Atlantic Conference tournament as the four seed. This is the Eagles' fifth trip to the SAC tournament as a four seed. C-N is 5-4 as a four seed, and is 4-0 in the quarterfinal round in four-five matchups. C-N made the SAC title game as a four seed in 1999 before falling to third-seeded Catawba 75-72 in overtime.
C-N is 3-1 in SAC tournament games against Tusculum. The Eagles downed the Pioneers in the SAC semifinals in Greeneville in the 2021 tournament 60-59 on a game-winning goal tend on a Tripp Davis layup. C-N would go on to claim the 2021 title with an 88-79 win over Queens. The Pioneers lone win over C-N came in the 2005 quarterfinals when fourth-seeded Tusculum prevailed 93-75 en route to its only SAC tournament title.
The Eagles have been highly efficient offensively this season. C-N stands poised to set the program record for scoring average for a season. The 2007-08 team holds that record, averaging 90.8 points per game. C-N has scored 2,603 points this season, which sits fifth all-time. The four seasons in front of this one all needed 31 or more games to get where they got. The 1973-74 team holds the record with 2,922 points in 33 games.
With 311 made threes, this year's team already holds the single-season record for most threes made in a season, and with a 43.1 shooting percentage from long range, stands poised to break that offensive record as well.
This year's team all is in position to go down as one of the five-best rebounding teams in program history, and the best since 1976-77.
Nick Brenegan's 3.97 made triples per game are the most in the country. He has buried 107 this season. 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 two 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.
This iteration of the Eagles has the most 100-point performances since moving to NCAA Division II with 12. 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. This year's team is tied with the 1970-71 team for the most triple-digit performances in a single season with 12.
Carson-Newman is second in the country in rebounding margin, averaging an 10.9 rebound advantage per game. Carson-Newman has outrebounded 20 of 28 opponents this year by double digits, including four straight. 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 Pioneers is slated for 5 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 4:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
