HARROGATE, Tenn. – The top dog meets Cinderella on Saturday evening as the sixth-ranked and No. 1 seeded Railsplitters (29-2) tangle with the eighth-seeded North Greenville Crusaders (22-9) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, which is being hosted in its entirety in Harrogate, Tenn. and Tex Turner Arena. Lincoln Memorial tips off its fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament at 5 p.m.
 
After earning a No. 2 seed in three of its first four NCAA Tournament appearances, Lincoln Memorial was finally awarded the top billing and hosting duties for the Southeast Regional after compiling a 29-2 record, winning its third-straight South Atlantic Conference regular season title and setting the league's single-season record for wins.
 
Lincoln Memorial began the transition from NAIA to the NCAA Division II in the late 80s and officially became eligible for postseason play in time for the 1990-91 campaign, but the Railsplitters would not take advantage of that until head coach Josh Schertz ushered in an era of excellence that has made NCAA Tournament appearances a near certainty.
 
Since receiving the program's first postseason bid in 2011, the Railsplitters have made five-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round of the Southeast Regional in each of the past three seasons. Lincoln Memorial aims to take the next step in this year's tournament and break into the region final for the first time in program history. Hopes are sky high with the road to the Elite Eight traveling through Tex Turner Arena, where the Railsplitters are 97-11 since the 2008-09 season.
 
Sunday was a bittersweet day for the Railsplitters, as they learned that the Southeast Regional would be making its way to Harrogate just hours after suffering a stunning loss to the Carson-Newman Eagles in the title game of the SAC Championship. In undoubtedly the worst performance of the season, Lincoln Memorial shot 35 percent, missed its first 13 field-goal attempts and was outrebounded by 20 for the first time since Lenoir-Rhyne accomplished that in 2007. Keenan Peterson (College Park, Ga.) was the lone Railsplitter in double figures, tallying 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
Fatigue seemed to overtake the Railsplitters in the final week of the season and the SAC Championship - a stretch with seven games in 16 days - as the offense went into an absolute tailspin. Since pounding Carson-Newman by 30 points on February 25, the Railsplitters shot a season-worst 34.4 percent in a narrow win at Catawba (60-57), scored just 71 points against Brevard's league-worst defense, shot 44 percent in a last-second win over Queens and went dormant in that loss to the Eagles.
 
The individual struggles of All-SAC first team selection Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) have been a microcosm of the team's overall dry spell. Choice is 9-for-46 from the field and 3-for-23 from three in his last four appearances. SAC Player of the Year Lorenza Ross (Savannah, Ga.) has also hit a minor bump in the road, scoring eight points total in the semifinal and final rounds of the SAC Championship.
 
Still yet, the Railsplitters are ranked 19th in the nation in offensive efficiency with a 49.5 field-goal percentage. Lincoln Memorial's three-point field-goal percentage has been on a steep decline, but it still sits at 40.8 percent and ranked 16th in the nation. Lincoln Memorial continues to lead the nation in field-goal percentage defense (37.4 percent) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (27 percent).
 
While the Railsplitters have become well acquainted with postseason play in recent years, North Greenville is preparing for its first-ever NCAA Tournament after completing a magical run through the Conference Carolinas Championship on Sunday. After losing in the first round of the league tournament in each of the past three seasons, the Crusaders dismissed the second-seeded King Tornado and the top-seeded and No. 9 nationally-ranked Mount Olive Trojans on back-to-back days to punch their ticket to the "Big Dance".
 
The Crusaders are one of six teams in the entire field making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with Western Oregon, University of the Sciences, Mercyhurst, Colorado Springs and Azusa Pacific also earning that distinction.
 
North Greenville - winners of six-straight games - is one of the most balanced teams in the nation statistically, ranking eighth in Division II in field-goal percentage offense (50.5 percent) and 18th in field-goal percentage defense (40.1). A good portion of NGU's offense comes from the free throw line, where they rank in the top 40 nationally in free throws made and attempted with a 520-for-735 mark for the season. The Crusaders are turnover prone, though, committing 15.7 turnovers per contest.
 
The Crusaders score 78.4 points per game, and their starting five accounts for 63.7 of those. All five starters average at least 30 minutes per game as well, as North Greenville's bench is rarely called into action.
 
Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Spencer Reaves leads the Crusaders with 17.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. The 6-3 guard is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from three. Korval McElroy is filling out the stat sheet with 12 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game on 51.8 percent shooting. Micah Parker is contributing 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Lashawn Alexander is pitching in 11.5 points and 6.1 boards each appearance. All-Conference Carolinas second team pick Phillip Brown is kicking in 11.4 points and hauling in 7.4 rebounds per game.
 
North Greenville has blocked 127 shots this season and Brown leads the way in that category with 41 stonewalls. Alexander has turned away 38 shots.
 
Saturday marks the first meeting between Lincoln Memorial and North Greenville since January 30, 2008, when the Railsplitters throttled the Crusaders 90-76 in Tigerville, S.C. In the last meeting at Tex Turner Arena on December 6, 2007, the Railsplitters rolled in a 61-42 victory. LMU leads North Greenville 5-2 in the all-time series with a 2-1 mark in Harrogate.
 
The Railsplitters are looking to become the first team in SAC history and the second team in program history to win 30 games in a single season. It hasn't been done at Lincoln Memorial since the 1976-77 squad went 30-5 and won the VSAC Championship.
 
Admission to Saturday's contest is $8 for adults and $4 for seniors (62 and older), students (17 and under) and college students with a valid ID. Children ages 2 and under will be admitted free of charge.
 
Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena, with the winner advancing to Sunday's semifinal contest to play the winner of No. 4 Mount Olive and No. 5 GRU Augusta.
 
For complete information regarding the NCAA Division II  Southeast Regional,  including the live stat, radio and video links, check out the tournament central page at www.LMURailsplitters.com.