HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the 210th time the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team and Carson-Newman University will go head-to-head on the hardwood as the Railsplitters (6-1, 1-0 SAC) take on the Eagles (2-3, 0-0 SAC) Tuesday night in Jefferson City, Tennessee. LMU's second South Atlantic Conference road game of 2019-20 is slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. from inside Holt Fieldhouse. The Lady Railsplitters and Carson-Newman will tussle at 5:30 p.m.
 
How to Follow
Tuesday night's affair will be streamed live via SAC Live on Stretch Internet, while live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting LMURailsplitters.com or CNEagles.com, As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
Last Time Out
Beginning SAC play Saturday at Wingate University in North Carolina, the Railsplitters claimed another dominant victory with a 37-point, 113-76 rout of the Bulldogs. Improving to 11-3 in conference openers since joining the SAC, LMU scored the first 12 points of the game and led from the opening possession. The Railsplitters shot 52.2 percent (36-of-69) for the 40 minutes of play, knocking down 14 three-pointers and going an impressive 27-of-32 (84.4%) at the foul line. In fact, LMU was 23-of-26 at the charity stripe in the first half, owning a 60-31 advantage at the break before shooting 55.3 percent (21-of-38) in the second half. Outscoring the host Bulldogs, who received votes in both national polls earlier in the week, 40-24 in the paint, the Railsplitters got 35 points of the bench and forced 18 turnovers. The 113 points scored were the most in a SAC game for LMU since tallying 115 in a home win over Newberry last season on Jan. 5.
 
Not So Close Margins
After a season-opening overtime setback to top-five ranked West Texas A&M on a neutral floor at the fourth annual Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the Railsplitters have been nothing shy of dominant. In its last six outings, LMU has won by an average margin of 36.2 points and picked apart teams by 50, 47, 40, 37 and 32 points. During their six-game win streak, the closest margin of victory for the Railsplitters was an 83-72 home win over USC Aiken. Four of LMU's six wins in 2019-20 have come against teams either ranked or receiving votes in one of the two national polls. Perhaps most impressive was the Railsplitters' 50-point shellacking of defending Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Davenport, a 98-48 neutral-site triumph. LMU's 29.6 scoring margin thus far this season is the fifth-best in all of NCAA Division II basketball and leads the 12-team SAC. Furthermore, the Railsplitters' 94.9 points per game are 11th-most in the nation while LMU's scoring defense (65.3 PPG) is tops in the SAC and ranks 37th nationally.
 
Whitfield as Player of the Week
For his superb offensive and defensive effort last week redshirt junior Devin Whitfield was tabbed SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week Monday morning. Recording season-highs in each of his last three outings, Whitfield led all scorers in both of LMU's victories last week. The 6-foot-5 guard poured in 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting while collecting four rebounds, handing out a trio of assists and making a season-high five steals and two blocks in the Railsplitters' 47-point (102-55) home non-conference blowout of Johnson University (Tenn.) last Tuesday night. Whitfield followed up that performance by racking up 31 points on 8-for-17 shooting and tallying a season-best seven rebounds Saturday at Wingate. He went 10-for-10 at the free-throw line against the Bulldogs and claimed an assist, steal and block. The Trevecca Nazarene transfer averaged 28 points, 5.5 rebounds, three steals, two assists and 1.5 blocks for the week. Hitting at least four three-pointers in each game, Whitfield averaged 4.5 treys and 8.5 total field goals after shooting 53.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc. He became the first LMU player to garner SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week accolades since Feb. 26, 2018, when Dorian Pinson earned the conference's final weekly award of the 2017-18 season.
 
Offensive and Defensive Efficiency
Led by sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley's 21 points per game and Whitfield's 16.6 points per contest, the Railsplitters' offense has been thrilling to watch and is ranked among the best in the country. LMU is third in the nation in total assists (141), sixth in both three-pointers made (77) and attempted (203), 11th in assists per game (20.1), 15th in free throws made (115), 21st in field-goal percentage (51.3%), 22nd in three-pointers made per game (11.0) and 23rd in free-throw attempts (143). McCauley's 26 made three-pointers are the fourth-most nationally while his 147 total points scored are 12th-most in the nation. He also ranks among national leaders in total field goals made (15th - 49) and treys per game (25th - 3.7). Defensively, the Railsplitters have been just as, if not more impressive. LMU's 34.4 defensive rebounds per game are the fourth-most in the country and its 302 total rebounds are the sixth-most. With 65 steals already, the Railsplitters rank seventh nationally in that category as their 34.7 percent field goal defense is fifth-lowest in the nation and 26.2 percent three-point field goal defense 16th-lowest.
 
The Regional Standard
With the second regular season D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll released Monday morning, LMU finds itself leading the region. The Railsplitters were unanimously picked first in the NCAA Southeast Region with six first-place votes. Top-10 ranked Queens, who had led the region slipped to No. 2 after dropping a regional game to Belmont Abbey Saturday.
 
National Prominence
With the first 2019-20 regular season release of the national polls last week, LMU is ranked No. 10 according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches' (NABC) Top 25 and is No. 12 in the D2SIDA Media Poll. New national polls are scheduled to be released Tuesday.  
 
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 seasons. 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.
 
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 292-65 (.818) record over 12 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, Schertz' career winning percentage (.817) was the fifth-highest of any head coach in college basketball history at any NCAA level. Furthermore, Schertz 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.
 
Carson-Newman | 2019-20 Record: 2-3, 0-0 SAC

• The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the league after going 15-14 in 2018-19 and finishing eighth in the SAC with an 8-12 conference mark.
• Carson-Newman is coming off a six-day break from game action after dropping a narrow, 80-78 decision last Wednesday to Southern Wesleyan in Jefferson City. The Eagles have also suffered setbacks at Lees-McRae (103-101) and at King University (93-74), while picking up home wins over Shorter (113-98) and Tennessee Wesleyan (103-70).
• Averaging 93.8 points per game, the 12th-most nationally, Carson-Newman ranks ninth in the country in offensive rebounds per game (15.4).
• The Eagles feature five double-digit scorers – EJ Bush (14.8 PPG), Reece Anderson (12.6 PPG), junior guard Jaylan McGill (11.8 PPG), senior guard Tripp Davis (11.5 PPG), sophomore guard Luke Brenegan (10.6 PPG) – as junior forward Bush is averaging a near double-double with nine rebounds per game. Senior guard Anderson is averaging a team-high 4.2 assists per game to go along with 6.2 rebounds per contest.  
• Carson-Newman is led by 10th-year head coach Chuck Benson, who owns a 295-205 (.590) record as a head coach and is 106-76 (.582) in SAC games.
• LMU holds a 106-103 all-time record against the Eagles.
• The Railsplitters are 41-60 versus Carson-Newman in Jefferson City but have gone 16-7 against the Eagles since the 2009-10 season. Prior to last season's 79-75 loss inside Holt Fieldhouse, LMU had won five consecutive in the series from January of 2017 to January 30, 2019. The Railsplitters earned a 90-68 victory over visiting Carson-Newman last November and last defeated the Eagles on the road in January of 2018 (108-69).

Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters wrap up their three-game SAC road trip this weekend when they travel to Hartsville, South Carolina, Saturday to face the Cobras of Coker. Tip-off from inside the DeLoach Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. LMU will then return to the friendly confines of B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena for a three-game homestand beginning next weekend with nationally-ranked Queens on Saturday, Dec. 7.
 
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 throughout the 2019-20 season.