SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. – The 2019-20 journey for perennial national power Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball begins this weekend at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in downtown Saint Joseph, Missouri. Making their second appearance at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, the sixth-ranked Railsplitters will have a top-10 matchup right out of the gate as they face seventh-ranked West Texas A&M in the season opener Friday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. EST/3:15 p.m. CST. On Saturday, LMU will face Davenport, who is receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Preseason Poll, at 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. CST.
 
How to Follow
All games will be broadcast live on the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Network. However, there is a fee of $12 per game or $20 to watch the entire Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic (8 games). Live stats for each game can be followed here. In-game updates will be available on LMU athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Tickets
Game tickets may be purchased at the gate at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
 
About the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
The Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic, presented by Hillyard, is the nation's most prestigious in-season event for NCAA Division II men's basketball. The event includes a press conference, a panel discussion with the Hall of Fame Inductees, the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, a social event, and the fantastic games of the Division II Classic, which annually features some of the finest programs within Division II basketball. The event began in 2016, and was played in the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. In 2018, the event moved to Saint Joseph, Missouri, and the games are played inside St. Joseph Civic Arena. The two-day tournament takes place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2 with the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Induction to be held Thursday, Oct. 31 at the Missouri Theatre in downtown St. Joseph. This year's Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic features five nationally-ranked programs with seven of the eight participating teams receiving votes in the NABC Preseason Top 25. Joining the sixth-ranked Railsplitters in Missouri are defending national champion and top-ranked Northwest Missouri State, No. 7 West Texas A&M, ninth-ranked Southern Nazarene, No. 22 Daemen College, receiving votes Davenport University and receiving votes USC Aiken, in addition to Missouri Western.
 
Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Schedule
 
Friday,  Nov. 1
rv Davenport vs.  rv USC Aiken | 2:00 p.m.
No. 7 West Texas A&M vs. No. 6 LMU | 4:15 p.m.
No. 1 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 22 Daemen | 6:30 p.m.
Missouri Western vs. No. 9 Southern Nazarene | 8:45 p.m.
 
Saturday, Nov. 2
rv Davenport vs. No. 6 LMU | 2 p.m.
No. 7 West Texas A&M vs. rv USC Aiken | 4:15 p.m.
No. 1 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 9 Southern Nazarene | 6:30 p.m.
Missouri Western vs. No. 22 Daemen | 8:45 p.m.
 
*All times EST
 
LMU at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
The Railsplitters competed in the inaugural Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in 2016. LMU, who was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time, went 1-1 inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 88-72 and falling 91-67 to then fifth-ranked The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
 
National Prominence
LMU begins its 2019-20 quest as the No. 6 team in the country with the NABC's preseason poll released earlier this week. The Railsplitters also gained national attention from a pair of preseason publications with the Blue and Gray tabbed No. 6 by Division II Bulletin and No. 9 by Street & Smith's.
 
South Atlantic Conference Preseason Accolades
Seven-time regular season champion LMU was chosen second in the 2019-20 SAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll announced Wednesday. The Railsplitters gained a trio of first-place votes and 109 points total in the preseason predicted order of finished. Additionally, Senior guard Anthony Brown and redshirt senior guard/forward Kamaran Calhoun each landed a spot on the preseason All-SAC First Team. Both were All-SAC honorable mention selections at the conclusion of last season.
 
Strength of Schedule
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, four of LMU's first five opponents in 2019-20 are receiving votes in the national coaches poll. After taking on seventh-ranked West Texas A&M and receiving votes Davenport over the opening weekend, the Railsplitters will host receiving votes USC Aiken on Nov. 9 and receiving votes Christian Brothers on Nov. 16.
 
Standard of Success
LMU has finished within the top two of the final SAC standings for the last nine years, spent 95-straight weeks in the national rankings from December 2010 to December 2016 and completed the season as the top team in the country in two of the last four years. The Railsplitters are one of four Division II programs to have posted 20 wins or more for 10 consecutive years. Only West Liberty (15), Bellarmine (11) and Indiana Pa. (11) can say the same. LMU has also reached the NCAA Tournament eight of the last nine seasons.
 
Railsplitters at Home
Inside Tex Turner Arena, LMU has registered a .925 (135-11) winning percentage this decade to rank sixth nationally in all of college basketball. Only West Liberty (.953), Bellarmine (.949), Kansas (.947), Kentucky (.942) and Duke (.929) own a higher home court winning percentage than the Railsplitters since the 2010-11 season.
 
Coach Schertz Among the Elite
Since taking over the LMU men's basketball program in March of 2008, head coach Josh Schertz has amassed a remarkable 286-64 (.817) record over the past 11 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, Schertz' career winning percentage (.817) is the fifth-highest of any head coach in college basketball at any NCAA level. Furthermore, he ranks third among active head coaches with at least 10 years at the helm - Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern (.844) and Mark Few, Gonzaga (.823) - and owns the second-highest winning percentage among Division II leaders.
 
Railsplitters Returning
LMU returns seven of its top eight scorers from 2018-19 and welcomes back four who started at least 18 games, including Anthony Brown (11.8 PPG) and Calhoun (10.9 PPG). Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry (10.4 PPG) and sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley (9.8 PPG), both of whom made the SAC All-Freshman Team last year, are back for the Railsplitters, in addition to junior guard Alex Dahling (8.8 PPG), sophomore guard Julius Brown (8.3 PPG) and redshirt senior forward Rhondi Hackett (5.3 PPG). LMU returns nearly 75 percent of its scoring from last season, over 72 percent of its rebounding and nearly 76 percent of its assists.
 
Fresh Faces
The Railsplitters welcome eight total newcomers this season, including five freshman and three transfers, and will have the services of talented redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield, who had to sit out 2018-19 after transferring to Harrogate from fellow Division II Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 2017-18, scoring 907 points across two seasons as a Trojan.
 
No. 7 West Texas A&M | 2018-19 Record: 34-4, 17-1 Lone Star Conference

• The Buffs have posted 20 wins or more for four-straight seasons and have made back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight, including a national semifinal appearance in 2018.
• West Texas A&M has reached the 25-win mark for three consecutive seasons and has won more than 30 games in each of the last two years.
• The Buffs are 92-17 (.844) over the last three seasons.
• West Texas A&M was picked to win its third-straight Lone Star Conference (LSC) regular title after receiving 27 of the 48 first-place votes.
• The Buffs return six players from last year's team that went 34-4, including 2018-19 LSC Freshman of the Year, guard Qua Grant, and All-LSC Third Team guard, sophomore Joel Murray. Grant averaged 14.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a freshman while Murray led the team in assists (139) and steals (67). 

 
rv Davenport | 2018-19 Record: 27-4, 17-3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

• The Panthers were picked to finish first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division after winning the regular season title in 2018-19.
• Davenport returns five of its top seven scorers from a year ago, including All-GLIAC First Team honoree junior guard Avery Hudson (15.3 PPG), who is a preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team pick.
• The Panthers also return All-GLIAC Second Team member redshirt senior point guard Janeau Joubert (10.5) and GLIAC All-Defensive Team selection redshirt junior point guard Chris Rollins.

 
LMU L-Club
All LMU L-Club members receive basketball season tickets with premium seating available through silver and platinum memberships. Additional membership benefits include discounts at community partner locations, exclusive e-mail communications, VIP basketball parking and Tex Turner Arena hospitality room access. Become an LMU L-Club member today by visiting LMURailsplitters.com.  
 
On Social
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Railsplitter basketball leading up to the 2019-20 season.