SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 15th-ranked and three-seeded Railsplitters (29-5) are set to face the six-seeded Chico State Wildcats (26-7) in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. (ET) inside of Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Lincoln Memorial is making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, but that is where the similarities between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 teams end.
The 2015-16 team was loaded with returning talent from the season before and blessed with a mostly injury-free season. That squad accomplished what no other team had done in the history of the LMU men's basketball program, carrying a program-record 24-game winning streak to the first Southeast Region championship and National Championship game appearance in program history. Over that 24-game winning streak, the Railsplitters won just two games by single digits before suffering a 90-81 loss to Augustana in the national title game.
The Railsplitters entered the 2016-17 campaign with lofty expectations with the No. 2 preseason national ranking, but lost two of their first five games and suffered another loss to Newberry in mid-December to fall out of the NABC poll for the first time since December 2010.
Lincoln Memorial faced an uphill climb to make it back to the Elite Eight, as starting power forward
Emanuel Terry (Enterprise, Ala.) missed 10 games, including nine straight from January 4 to February 1. In addition to that, All-SAC second team selection
Dorian Pinson (Greenville, S.C.) has missed 14 of the last 15 games while battling numerous injuries.
The injury bug paired with a lack of experience and continuity seemed like it might spell doom for the Railsplitters' title aspirations. However, instead of being unraveled by adversity, Lincoln Memorial was galvanized by it, winning 19 of its last 20 games to earn a return trip to the biggest stage in NCAA Division II hoops.
The Railsplitters' only loss over that span was a 75-72 setback to No. 6 Queens in the title game of the South Atlantic Conference Championship, but LMU avenged that with an 82-68 win over the Royals in the Southeast Region championship at the Levine Center in Charlotte, North Carolina last Tuesday.
"If you take Dorian off our team, six of our top eight scorers from last year are gone," said head coach
Josh Schertz on the difference between last season and this one. "We've got a younger team with multiple freshmen in the rotation. We knew going in that it was going to be a bumpier ride with more turbulence this season, and there was.
"Things weren't easy for us trying to get a lot of new players to understand what we do and how we do it. Over time, probably as much because of all the adversity, this team grew more connected and evolved. If last year was the most fun season of my coaching career, this year would have to be the most satisfying because of how far this group has come from where we started in September to where we are here at the end of March."
The Railsplitters have shown their resiliency time and time again, particularly in the back half of the season. At Newberry on February 11, Lincoln Memorial rallied from a 23-point, first-half deficit to capture a 92-85 win. Against Queens on February 18, the Railsplitters erased a 10-point deficit with seven minutes to play to pull off a stunning 81-79 win at Tex Turner Arena. Most recently, the Railsplitters climbed out of an eight-point hole with seven minutes to go to beat Limestone in the Southeast Region semifinals.
The Railsplitters are the No. 3 seed in the Elite Eight and will face six-seeded Chico State in the national quarterfinals. The Wildcats, who are making their second Elite Eight appearance and first since 2014, had several mountains to climb as well to make it to Sioux Falls.
Chico State opened the season at 16-2 and was ranked as high as 19th in the country, but dropped four of its last 10 regular-season games, finished third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and bowed out of the CCAA Tournament in the semifinal round.
However, the Wildcats did enough to earn the No. 6 seed in the West Region and promptly rolled through three juggernauts over a four-day window, knocking off No. 12 Western Washington 96-83, No. 4 Hawai'i Pacific 77-74 and No. 19 UC San Diego 95-86 to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight. All three of those teams were conference champions.
Chico State is led by a "core four" of players that have been with the program for at least three years in Isaiah Ellis (6-8, 220), Corey Silverstrom (6-5, 190), Jalen McFerren (5-10, 160) and Robert Duncan (6-3, 190). Ellis, Duncan and McFerren were All-CCAA first team selections, while Silverstrom was an All-CCAA second team member. The Wildcats also placed freshman Justin Briggs (6-9, 225) on the honorable mention squad.
"They have fantastic interior play and a great rotation of bigs," Schertz said of Chico State. "All three are 6-9 and more than capable – athletic, strong, good-looking kids. They are balanced with good perimeter play, too. Their starting five is very solid and they bring Briggs off the bench, who is a freshman that I think is going to be an All-American."
Ellis leads the team with 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and has also added 31 three-pointers, while Silverstrom is contributing 13 points per game. McFerren has buried a team-leading 84 three-pointers on a 44.9 percent clip, while Duncan is chipping in 12 points and 4.4 rebounds per game to go along with a team-best 64 steals. Briggs has blocked 64 shots while averaging 9.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are a so-so offensive team that is averaging 75.7 points per game on 46 percent shooting and a 36.4 percent mark from three.
However, Chico State hangs its hat on the defensive end, where they are allowing the ninth-fewest points per game in the nation with 64.8. The Wildcats are also 12th in the country in rebounding margin with a plus-7.5 edge and 42nd in field-goal percentage defense by allowing 42.2 percent shooting. Chico State also creates a ton of second-chance opportunities by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds per game.
"We are going to have to match their physicality – the way they throw the ball inside, go after offensive rebounds and the intensity and physical way they play," Schertz said. "If you lose physicality, they are going to beat you to death.
"Our post defense, defensive rebounding and pick-and-roll coverage will have to be unbelievably sound."
Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Chico State, two schools that are separated by nearly 2,500 miles. In fact, Chico State represents the most western-based team the Railsplitters have faced since playing California Baptist in 1976 in the second round of the NAIA Tournament.
"When you get to this stage, everybody is good. Everybody just won three games in their region," Schertz said. "You've got 300-some teams done and eight playing here in Sioux Falls, so everybody is feeling good and confident. "
The winner between Lincoln Memorial and Chico State will advance to the national semifinals to face either Northwest Missouri State or St. Thomas Aquinas at 9:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday. The semifinals will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network, while Saturday's National Championship game will be on CBS.
"When you're playing games like this that are roll-the-dice games, it comes down to having guys step up and play the best basketball they are capable of, and you hope that's enough," said Schertz. "You have to be at your best in terms of concentration and execution."
Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday inside Sanford Pentagon. Video, live stats, and audio links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
NCAA Championship Elite Eight Schedule (all times Eastern)
Sioux Falls, S.D. – Sanford Pentagon
Wednesday, March 22 (All games streamed on NCAA.com)
1:00 p.m. – #8 Rollins (24-10) vs. #1 Fairmont State (32-2)
3:30 p.m. – #5 Colorado School of Mines (30-4) vs. #4 Bellarmine (31-3)
7:00 p.m. – #7 St. Thomas Aquinas (28-5) vs. #2 Northwest Missouri State (32-1)
9:30 p.m. – #6 Chico State (26-7) vs. #3 Lincoln Memorial (29-5)
Thursday, March 23 (Both games on CBS Sports Network. No streaming option)
7:00 p.m. – Rollins/Fairmont State winner vs. Colorado School of Mines/Bellarmine winner
9:30 p.m. – Chico State/Lincoln Memorial winner vs. St. Thomas Aquinas/Northwest Missouri State winner
Saturday, March 25 (Broadcast on CBS. No streaming option)
3:00 p.m. – Championship Game
Five things to watch against Chico State:
1. A win on Wednesday would give the Railsplitters their third straight 30-win season. Lincoln Memorial won a program-record 34 games on its path to the National Championship game last season, and posted a 30-3 record in 2014-15. Prior to this stretch, the LMU men's basketball program had accounted for just one 30-win season – a 30-5 record during the 1976-77 campaign.
2. Terry was outstanding in the Southeast Region tournament, putting up 25 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes against Pfeiffer before notching 15 points and six rebounds in the win over Queens. Terry, who is shooting 72.7 percent for the season, went 17-for-20 from the field in his three appearances in the region tourney.
3. Ellis scored a career-high 34 points – the most by a Wildcat since 2008 – and added 14 rebounds in Chico State's win over UC San Diego in the West Region championship game. Silverstrom added 21 points, scoring 19 of those in the second half, while chipping in five assists, five rebounds and two steals.
4. Lincoln Memorial - the only returning team from last season's Elite Eight - is making its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, while Chico State is in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season, the longest streak in the West Region.
5.
Luquon Choice (Laurens, S.C.) and
Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) were both named to the NABC All-District first team for the Southeast Region on Monday, while Choice was tabbed as a D2CCA All-American that same day. Choice (18.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game) and Perry (18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds per game) are combining for more than 36 points per game for the Railsplitters.
