CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In one of the much anticipated early-season matchups in Division II men's hoops, Lincoln Memorial (5-2, 2-0 SAC) looks to extend its 36-game South Atlantic Conference winning on Saturday afternoon with a showdown against No. 21/16 Queens (8-2, 2-0 SAC) inside of the Levine Center.
Saturday's rematch of both the 2018 SAC tournament championship and NCAA Division II Southeast Regional championship is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Live stats and video links are available at www.lmurailsplitters.com, while fans can also follow along with live updates on the official LMU athletics Twitter page, @LMURailsplitter.
Notes on Queens
- The Royals opened the 2018-19 campaign ranked No. 7 in NABC/Division II poll after making a run to the national semifinals last season, but stumbled out of the gate, falling 87-74 against Northern State on the first weekend of the season before later taking a 76-55 drubbing against Belmont Abbey on November 24.
- Since that loss, Queens has reeled off three straight impressive wins, including a 76-69 victory over No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne. Most recently, the Royals lashed Virginia Union 92-72 on Monday in Richmond.
- Like Lincoln Memorial, Queens hardly looks the same as it did last season, as the Royals graduated four starters off last season's Southeast Regional championship squad. That quartet includes leading scorer and rebounder Todd Withers, leading three-point shooter Mike Davis and leading assist man Ike Agusi.
- The Royals remain in capable hands despite those departures, as junior guard Daniel Carr and senior forward Shaun Willett have carried the load offensively. Carr is leading the team in scoring and assists with 17.7 points and 5.6 helpers per game while shooting 48 percent from the field. Willett, meanwhile, leads the SAC in rebounding with 10.9 per game to go along with 17.0 points per appearance.
- Transfer guard Van Turner Jr. has contributed 13.7 points per game while burying a SAC-leading 39 three-pointers on a remarkable 52 percent clip.
- Lewis Diankulu is also factoring in double figures with 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Among qualified players, he leads the Royals with a 57.5 field goal percentage.
- The Royals are 32-4 at the Levine Center since the start of the 2016-17 season. The Railsplitters are responsible for two of those losses, including an 82-68 setback in the 2017 Southeast Regional title game.
- Queens is ranked ninth in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage with a 43.6 percent mark and 10th in total three-pointers made with 95.
- The Royals have been solid offensively, ranking 22nd nationally in overall field-goal percentage with a 50.7 percent mark.
- Queens has not been a particularly good rebounding team, as they are outrebounding their opponents by an average of just 4.2 boards per game.
Last Time Out
The Railsplitters pushed their season-long winning streak to four games with a 99-72 dismantling of Coker on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.
After an ice-cold 4-for-18 start from the field, Lincoln Memorial went 28-for-48 over the final 28 minutes and buried 15 three-pointers to improve to 11-0 all-time against the Cobras.
Cornelius Taylor led that effort with a career-high 34 points and became the program's 30th member of the 1,000-point club, while
Anthony Brown contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks without a turnover.
Courvoisier McCauley added a career-high 14 points, while
Julius Brown chipped in 10 off the bench.
The Railsplitters have now won their last four games by double figures with a 10-point win at Virginia-Wise standing as the narrowest margin of victory over that span.
Offense Coming Along
The Railsplitters remain in the second half of the national rankings in terms of overall field-goal percentage, ranking 184th out of 305 Division II teams with a 44 percent mark.
However, Lincoln Memorial has lit it up in SAC play with a 48 percent clip, including a league-leading 42.4 percent effort from three-point range. The Railsplitters have also accounted for at least 87 points in four straight games and lead the SAC in points per game in conference play with 94.5.
Who Has the Edge?
Lincoln Memorial and Queens entered the season ranked No. 3 and 7 in the NABC poll, respectively, and both lost two early-season games. The Railsplitters fell out of the poll entirely, while the Royals remain in the top 25 in both the media and coaches poll. So who has the edge in Saturday's matchup?
Lincoln Memorial has played the more difficult schedule as its opponents have a combined 32-23 record. That record moves up to 31-17 when Paine is taken out of the equation. But Queens has the best win among the two teams with their victory over nationally-ranked and 8-1 Lenoir-Rhyne.
The margins are narrow but rebounding could be a tipping point in the Railsplitters' favor, as LMU leads the nation in defensive rebounds per game and total rebounds per game.
The free-throw line could also be a deciding factor. The Royals have attempted almost 18 free throws per game and the Railsplitters are among the most foul-prone teams in the nation, ranking 273rd with 22 fouls per game.
Series History
- The Lincoln Memorial / Queens rivalry has turned into one of the best in all of Division II basketball in recent years. The two have met in the SAC tournament title game and Southeast Regional championship game in each of the last two seasons. In 2017, Queens won the SAC title but lost to Lincoln Memorial in the region championship, while those outcomes were reversed last season.
- The Railsplitters and Royals have faced off in either the NCAA tournament or SAC tournament in four consecutive seasons. Lincoln Memorial ended Queens' season in 2015, 2016 and 2017, while the Royals returned the favor in 2018.
- Lincoln Memorial owns a 15-4 all-time record against Queens. However, the Royals brought the Railsplitters' 2017-18 season to a close with a 69-57 win at Tex Turner Arena in the Southeast Regional title game. The Royals are also responsible for LMU's last SAC regular-season loss on January 9, 2017 – a 103-101 overtime win in Charlotte.
