HARROGATE, Tenn. – Going for its eighth South Atlantic Conference regular season title in the last 10 seasons, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team heads to nearby Wise, Virginia, for a Wednesday night matchup at first-year league member UVA Wise. Tip-off from inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
At 16-0 in conference play and owning a five-game lead in SAC race with only six games remaining, the Railsplitters (23-1, 16-0) can tie the league's regular season title record (8) with a victory over the host Cavaliers (5-17, 1-15 SAC).
 
How to Follow
Wednesday night's road tilt will be streamed live via SAC Live on the Cavalier Sports Network, while live statistics of the game can be followed by visiting UVAWiseCavs.com. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.

Opening Tip
- At 23 games, LMU holds the longest winning streak in the nation by eight games. It is the most consecutive wins for the Railsplitters since earning a program-best 24-straight victories during LMU's run to the national title game in 2015-16.
- An overtime neutral-site setback to top-five ranked West Tex A&M (99-89) in the season opener at the fourth annual Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Saint Joseph, Missouri, on Nov. 1 was the Railsplitters' first and only loss this season. That is 99 days without enduring a defeat.
- Reaching their 20th-straigtht victory Wednesday, Jan. 29 with an 87-65 home triumph over longtime local rival Carson-Newman, LMU now holds the five-longest winning streaks in conference history. In fact, the Railsplitters are the only program in the 12-team SAC to have won 20 in a row at any point.
- Owning five 20-game win streaks in school history, LMU's four other such streaks all took place in the last 10 years beginning in 2010-11 (22). The Railsplitters also won 20-straight during their 2014-15 campaign while winning 24 in order in 2015-16 and 21 consecutive in 2017-18.
- With a win Wednesday night, LMU would tie its own SAC and school record for consecutive victories (24).
- The Railsplitters' 16-straight league wins are also the most of any team in the nation, while their 23 total wins are tied for the most among all Division II programs.
- Playing a 22-game conference schedule in the 12-team SAC, LMU has defeated every team in the league at least once and have topped Coker, Carson-Newman, Queens University of Charlotte, Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate twice.
- With only six regular season games remaining, the Railsplitters hold a commanding five-game lead atop the SAC standings.
- A win Wednesday at UVA Wise would secure LMU's 12th SAC championship, including four conference tournament titles, since the 2010-11 season.
- The Railsplitters check in at No. 2 in both the National Association of basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 and D2SIDA Media Poll for the third consecutive week and for the second-straight week are receiving multiple first-place vote in the media poll.
- It marks the sixth consecutive week LMU has been ranked in the top five of both national polls. The No. 2 ranking is the highest for the Railsplitters since completing the 2017-18 season as the top team in the land.
- For nine-straight week, LMU is ranked among the top five teams in the country, marking the 50th week in program history.
- No other SAC school is ranked or receiving votes in either of the national polls.
- Since Nov. 25, the Railsplitters have been ranked at the top of the D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll and continues to lead the regional rankings after receiving all six first-place this week. Fellow league members Queens (16-6, 11-5) and Catawba (16-6, 11-5) are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the regional poll with Anderson (14-8, 9-7) checking in at No. 10. UNC Pembroke (18-4) out of the Peach Belt Conference is second in the regional media poll, followed by Conference Carolinas' King (18-5) third and the Peach Belt's Lander (17-5) fourth.
- LMU owns seven wins over teams who were either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two national polls when the Railsplitters defeated them. Four of those are top-25 victories with LMU ousting then 22nd-ranked Davenport (D2SIDA Media Poll) 98-48 on Nov. 2, then 12th-ranked Queens (NABC Top 25) 73-64 on Dec. 7, then 22nd-ranked Catawba (NABC Top 25) 110-85 on Jan. 11 and then 17th-ranked Queens (D2SIDA Media Poll) 103-80 most recently on Feb. 1.
- A remarkable seven different Railsplitters have scored at least 20 points in a game this season with four owning multiple 20-point outings. Sophomore guard Courvoisier McCauley has scored 20 points or more on 13 different occasions while redshirt junior guard Devin Whitfield has reached 20 points 12 times. Senior point guard Anthony Brown has claimed five 20-point games and redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Henry has had three 20-point outings.
- Three different LMU players have turned in 30-point performances in 2019-20 with Whitfield scoring more than 30 three times, McCauley hitting the 30-point mark twice and Henry earning 30 points once.
- Four of the Railsplitters' five starters are averaging double-digit scoring led by McCauley's 20.6 points per game and followed by Whitfield (17.9 PPG), Henry (13.7 PPG) and Brown (12.9 PPG).
- LMU continues to lead all of Division II basketball in two key statistical categories, field goal percentage defense (37.9%) and defensive rebounding (32.4 RPG), while ranking second in the nation in scoring margin (23.4), third in three-point field goal defense (29.3%), fourth in total assists (465), fifth in shooting (52.3%), sixth in both scoring (93.6 PPG) and three-point shooting (41.6%), seventh in assists per game (19.4 APG), eighth in three pointers made (272) and 10th in total rebounds (960).
- Owning a 24-9 all-time record versus UVA Wise, formerly known as Clinch Valley College prior to 1999, the Railsplitters have gone 8-7 against the Cavaliers in Wise. LMU is on a seven-game winning streak in the series with its last loss coming in an overtime road affair in December of 2012 (81-80).
- Head coach Josh Schertz is 8-2 against UVA Wise and won his 300th career game in the Railsplitters' last bout with the Cavaliers on Jan. 8.
 
Last Time vs. UVA Wise
Behind a 45-point second half, LMU overcame uncharacteristic cool shooting and 13 first-half turnovers to defeat visiting UVA Wise 76-64 in a gritty matchup inside Tex Turner Arena. In the first-ever SAC meeting between the two programs, the Railsplitters shot 50 percent from the field in the second 20 minutes of play and scored 46 points in the paint. Collecting 25 points off of 20 Cavalier turnovers, LMU scored 27 fastbreak points and overcame a five-point deficit in the second half. Closing the game on a 30-13 run over the final 11-and-a-half minutes of action, the Railsplitters got a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds from McCauley, 16 points from Whitfield, 12 from Anthony Brown and 11 points, eight boards and four assists from Henry.
 
Last Time Out
Remaining unblemished in league play, at home and in 2020, LMU earned its 16th 20-point win of the season this past Saturday in Harrogate by shooting lights out in the second half and knocking down 17 threes to complete the regular season series sweep of Wingate, 104-80. The Railsplitters reached the century mark for the seventh time of 2019-20 and held nearly a 20-rebound advantage on the glass (45-27). Shooting an impressive 65.4 percent in the second half, LMU racked up 60 points in the second 20 minutes of action after going 10-for-17 from three-point range. Limiting the visiting Bulldogs to 38.1 percent shooting, including 35.5 percent in the second half, the Railsplitters scored 16 fastbreak points and added 28 points in the paint. A trio of LMU players reached 20 points with Whitfield notching his second 30-point outing against Wingate this season. He went 7-for-11 from the field, 5-for-8 from deep and 11-for-17 at the free-throw line en route to being named SAC AstroTurf Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time of 2019-20 on Monday.
 
Southeast Region Supremacy
Sitting atop the Division II Southeast Region, the Railsplitters have already won three battles between SAC and regional leaders this season. Both of LMU's wins over Queens, on Dec. 7 (73-64) and Feb. 1 (103-80), came when the two teams were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the league and Southeast Region. Furthermore, when the Railsplitters defeated then 22nd-ranked Catawba 110-85 in Harrogate on Jan. 11, the Indians entered second in both the conference and the region. LMU also owns an 83-72 home victory over USC Aiken as part of the Railsplitters' SAC vs. Peach Belt Challenge. The Pacers (15-9) are now ranked ninth in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll
 
Distance from the Rest
Sixteen of LMU's 23 victories thus far this season have come in dominant fashion. Owning an astounding seven wins by at least 31 points and 16 by 20 or more, the Railsplitters have outscored their competition by 562 points through 24 games. On Dec. 15, LMU defeated visiting NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan by 60 points (122-62) for its largest margin of victory since pummeling Mars Hill by 87 (156-69) in December of 2017. The Railsplitters have notched wins of 60, 50, 47, 40, 37, 32, 31, 26 (twice), 25, 24, 23, 22 (twice), 21 and 20 points this season. During its 23-game win streak, LMU has defeated its opponents by an impressive average of 24.9 points.
 
Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List Members
On Jan. 15, McCauley and Anthony Brown were both named to the 2020 Bevo Francis Award Top 100 watch list as announced by Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee. Presented annually, the Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is given to the player who has the finest overall season within Small College Basketball (non-Division I). The two guards joined an illustrious list of former LMU players who have been named to the Bevo Francis Award watch list in recent years, including Jalen Steele (2016), Luquon Choice (2016 and 2017), Dorian Pinson (2017 and 2018), Trevon Shaw (2018), Emanuel Terry (2018) and Cornelius Taylor (2019). All-American Terry won the national player of the year award in 2018 after compiling a remarkable 126-14 career record donning the Blue and Gray. It marks the fifth-straight year the Railsplitters have had at least one player named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 watch list.
 
Head Coach Josh Schertz Wins No. 300
The Railsplitters' 76-64 win over UVA Wise on Wednesday, Jan. 8 was head coach Josh Schertz' 300th of his remarkable career. He needed just 365 games as a head coach to reach the career milestone. Coach Schertz now owns an astonishing 309-65 (.826) record in 12 seasons at the helm of the Railsplitter men's basketball program.
 
Decade of Excellence
Closing the books on one of the best decades of basketball among all NCAA levels, LMU achieved unheralded success from 2010 until the start of 2020. Below are some of the Railsplitters' biggest accomplishments.

• 254-50 (.836) overall record
• 148-13 (.919) record inside Tex Turner Arena
• 174-28 (.861) SAC record
• 11 SAC titles, including seven regular season championships (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and four SAC Tournament titles (2011, 2014, 2016, 2018)
• Eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2011-18)
• Two Elite Eight appearances (2016 and 2017)
• Two national semifinal appearances (2016 and 2017)
• One NCAA title game appearance (2016)
• Eight All-Americans (Emanuel Terry, 2018; Dorian Pinson, 2018; Chris Perry, 2017; Luquon Choice, 2017; Gerel Simmons, 2016; Lorenza Ross, 2015; Vincent Bailey, 2014; Desmond Johnson, 2011)
• 37 All-SAC selections with 18 first-team picks

 
Standard of Success
LMU has finished within the top two of the final SAC standings each of 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 only four Division II programs to have posted 20 wins or more for 11 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 Railsplitter men's basketball program in March of 2008, head coach Josh Schertz has amassed a remarkable 309-65 (.826) record over 12 seasons. Entering the 2019-20 season, Schertz' career winning percentage (.817) was the fifth-highest of all head coaches 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 (.846) and Mark Few, Gonzaga (.828) - and owns the second-highest winning percentage among Division II leaders.
 
Looking Ahead
The Railsplitters can clinch the SAC regular season title outright Saturday when they host Newberry in a 4 p.m. tip-off from inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena. Saturday's men's and women's doubleheader with the visiting Wolves is presented by Sleep Inn & Suites, Holiday Inn Express and Econo Lodge.
 
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.