EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Making its third NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance in school history, the fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team is set to take on fifth-seeded Colorado School of Mines Wednesday afternoon in the opening national quarterfinal. Tip-off from inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
 
The 13th-ranked Railsplitters, who captured their third NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship title in six years last Tuesday night in Harrogate, are 2-0 in Elite Eight games and are attempting to reach their third Division II Final Four since 2016.
 
LMU began its 2020-21 NCAA postseason quest with a dominant 80-66 victory over No. 6 regional seed Tusculum University Sunday, March 14, before walloping No. 4 regional seed Emmanuel College (Ga.) 103-67 in the Division II Southeast Regional Championship title game. The Railsplitters received a quarterfinal bye in the NCAA regional championship as the No. 2 seed.
 
How to Follow
Wednesday afternoon's Elite Eight matchup will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Live statistics of the national quarterfinal can be followed on NCAA.com as well. As usual, in-game updates will be available on LMU Railsplitter athletics' official Twitter account, @LMURailsplitter.
 
NCAA Championship History
Having reached back-to-back Final Fours in 2016 and 2017, LMU is 17-8 all-time in NCAA Championship games. Making their first NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship in 2010-11, the Railsplitters have advanced to four Southeast Regional Championship finals and made three Elite Eight appearances. Including its run to the 2016 national championship game, LMU is 13-3 in NCAA Championship games since the 2015-16 season.
 
NCAA Elite Eight History
Owning a 3-2 record all-time in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, the Railsplitters are 1-1 in Final Four games and 0-1 in their lone national championship tilt. LMU was the No. 1 seed at the 2016 Division II Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas, its first Elite Eight appearance, and was seeded third at the 2017 Division II Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The top-seeded Railsplitters defeated eighth-seeded Barry University 93-75 in their first Elite Eight outing before reaching the 2016 NCAA title game with a thrilling 103-102 win over West Liberty in the Final Four. Second-seeded Augustana University defeated LMU 90-81 for the 2016 national championship. The Railsplitters took out sixth-seeded Chico State 74-61 in the 2017 Division II Elite Eight before falling 79-67 to No. 2 seed and eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State in that year's Final Four.
 
NCAA Southeast Regional Championship History
With a 3-1 record in NCAA regional championship title games, LMU won the 2016 Division II Southeast Regional Championship with a 103-80 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne inside B. Frank "Tex" Turner Arena and was also triumphant at the 2017 Division II Southeast Regional Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, the following year, ousting top-seeded and host Queens University of Charlotte, 82-68. The Railsplitters' lone Division II Southeast Regional Championship title tilt loss came in 2018 when LMU was defeated 69-57 by seventh-ranked and second-seeded Queens. Last Tuesday night, the Railsplitters cruised to an impressive 103-67 home win over visiting Emmanuel for their third Division II Southeast Regional Championship. Holding a 14-6 record in NCAA regional championships, LMU has posted a remarkable 10-1 mark over its last four Division II Southeast Regional Championship appearances. With their regional championship semifinal win over Tusculum last Sunday, the Railsplitters moved to 8-1 in NCAA regional championship openers and have won eight straight dating back to its first Division II Southeast Regional Championship appearance in 2011.
 
Inside the Ford Center
LMU will be playing inside the Ford Center in Evansville for the second time in program history after competing inside the venue at the inaugural Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic in November of 2016. During that stay, the Railsplitters claimed an 88-72 victory over then receiving-votes Kentucky Wesleyan before suffering a 91-67 setback against then fifth-ranked The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
 
A Ninth Top-Two NCAA Southeast Regional Championship Seed
For the ninth time in program history LMU was a top-two seed in the Division II Southeast Regional Championship. Making eight consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2011-18, the Railsplitter have earned 10 regional championship berths in 11 seasons. Claiming its second-straight Division II Southeast Reginal Championship bid, LMU was the No. 1 seed for the 2020 NCAA Southeast Regional Championship a year ago prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic shutting everything down. The only year the Railsplitters were not selected as a top-two seed in the Division II Southeast Regional Championship out of their 10 berths was in 2012 at People's Bank and Trust Arena in Montevallo, Alabama.
 
Hosting Again
The NCAA Division II Championships Committee chose predetermined regional sites for the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championships and for the fifth time in seven years Tex Turner Arena was selected to host the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Southeast Regional Championship. Due to the health and safety protocols surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic, it was deemed necessary to conduct all NCAA championship competition at predetermined sites. It marked the fourth time in seven years the Division II Southeast Regional Championship took place in Harrogate after last season's regional championship was canceled just two days before tip-off.
 
Nine Times as Nice
No other South Atlantic Conference men's basketball program has won more regular season crowns than LMU as the Railsplitters captured their league record ninth title in 11 years in late February, surpassing Lenoir-Rhyne. Now with 14 combined, regular season and conference tournament, SAC championships since 2011, LMU is tied for the league record (Catawba) for total SAC titles. The Railsplitters finished their conference slate at 14-3, securing the most victories and highest winning percentage (.824) in the 13-team league. Per the SAC's men's basketball policies, the team with the highest winning percentage based on games against conference opponents shall be declared the conference champion. Finishing a half game ahead of league runner-up Queens (13-3, .813), LMU was able to win the SAC despite having its final two regular season games, along with the Railsplitters' home contest against Coker (Feb. 6), canceled due to complexities with COVID-19 contact tracing.
 
A Top-10 Staple
Entering NCAA postseason play, LMU is ranked among the nation's top 15 in both national polls. In the final National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 poll of 2020-21 announced Tuesday, March 9, the Railsplitters are No. 13. LMU is 15th in the ninth D2SIDA Media Poll of 2021, which was also released Tuesday, March 9. The Railsplitters have spent a program record 31-straight weeks ranked in the top 15 dating back to Nov. 19, 2019. LMU has appeared in the national polls a total of 150 weeks since December of 2010. The 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight features seven nationally-ranked programs, including second-seeded No. 4/3 Northwest Missouri State as the highest ranked team in the eight-team national championship field. Top-seeded West Texas A&M is ranked fifth in the coaches poll and sixth in the media poll, while third-seeded Flagler is ranked No. 8 in both national polls and the fourth-seeded Railsplitters No. 13/15. Fifth-seeded Colorado School of Mines is No. 6/9, sixth-seeded Truman State No. 7/4 and seventh-seeded West Liberty University No. 18/12. Eighth-seeded Daemen College is receiving votes in the D2SIDA Media Poll.
 
Among National Leaders
Continually striving to be elite on both ends of the floor, LMU leads the nation or is near the top in several offensive and defensive statistical categories including ranking:

• First in scoring margin (22.8)
• First in assists per game (22.6)
• First in total assists (474)
• First in defensive rebounds per game (32.6)
• Second in field-goal percentage (52.7 percent)
• Third in three-point field goals per-game (12.0)
• Third in total three-point field goals made (253)
• Fifth in scoring offense (92.8)
• Fifth in rebound margin (8.8)
• Fifth in three-point field goal percentage (41.2)
• Fifth in three-point field goal attempts (614)
• Sixth in field-goal percentage defense (39.4)
• Sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.57)
• Ninth in total rebounds (862)
• 11th in total rebounds per game (41.05)

Turning Up the Defense
In their two NCAA postseason games, the Railsplitters have been elite defensively. LMU gave up just 66 points to Tusculum in the Division II Southeast Regional Championship semifinals and allowed only 67 points against Emmanuel in the regional championship title game. Holding the Pioneers and Lions to combined 39.1 percent shooting, the Railsplitters limited Tusculum and Emmanuel to combined 23.8 percent shooting from outside. Over the two games LMU forced 33 turnovers and made 15 steals, in addition to outrebounding its opponents by a combined 16 boards including owning a plus-14 margin on the defensive glass.
 
All-American Whitfield
Earning his second consecutive NABC All-Southeast District First Team honor Monday morning, redshirt senior guard Devin Whitfield became the 15th Railsplitter to be named an All-American Tuesday morning. For the second-straight year LMU was represented on the NABC Coaches' Division II All-America team with Whitfield selected to the 16-member list, which is made up of the most outstanding basketball players across the country in NCAA Division II. Whitfield also garnered All-America honorable mention recognition from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) later Tuesday.
 
Ranked 10th in the country in three pointers made (63), Whitfield's 380 points scored in 2020-21 are the 25th-most among all Division II men's basketball players. The Lipscomb, Alabama (McAdory HS), native is averaging 3.2 made threes a game, the 19th-most nationally, and ranks 29th in the land in made field goals (136), 30th in three-point field goal percentage (43.2) and 18th in three-point attempts (146). Averaging a team-high 19 points per game, Whitfield led the 13-team SAC in shooting during the regular season and is 56 percent from the field on 243 attempts. He is tied for third on the team in rebounding (4.9 RPG) and is averaging 2.0 assists per contest. Scoring in double figures in all but three games he has competed in after missing the season opener and playing a limited role in the second game of the year at Coker University (Nov. 24), Whitfield put together an astonishing run of 10-straight 20-point showings from Dec. 13 to Jan. 23. The 6-foot-5 wing has a pair of 30-point outings under his belt this season, scoring 32 in 28 minutes against Campbellsville University Harrodsburg (Dec. 19) and 31 in 27 minutes against The University of Virginia's College at Wise (Jan. 18). 
 
All-SAC Recognition for Whitfield and Henry
Two of the best guards in the nation, Whitfield and redshirt junior Cameron Henry, landed All-SAC accolades to begin the month of March. Whitfield picked up his second-straight All-SAC First Team honor, while Henry was selected to the All-SAC Second Team for the second consecutive season. The preseason All-American and 2020 all-region duo has put together another outstanding campaign this season, accounting for 35.5 percent of the Railsplitters' scoring. Representing the team's top two scorers, Whitfield is averaging 19 points in 20 outings and Henry 14.9 points in 21 games.
 
Perhaps LMU's most dynamic playmaker on both ends of the floor, Henry's 43 steals this season are the 17th-most in all of Division II men's basketball. He ranks 33rd in the nation in steals per game (2.1) while among the top 70 players in the land in both total assists (90) and assists per game (4.3). Averaging the second-most rebounds of any Railsplitter (6.0 RPG), Henry leads LMU in blocks (13) and is shooting at 51.8 percent from the floor. A native of Chesterfield, Virginia (Lloyd C. Bird HS), Henry has posted double-figure scoring in 16 different games this season and reached 20 points on five occasions. With a trio of double-doubles, Henry has reached double-digit rebounding three times and came just one rebound shy of a triple-double in the 78-57 victory at Coker on Nov. 24.
 
1K Scorers
With a driving layup early in the second half of the Railsplitters' Division II Southeast Regional Championship semifinal win over Tusculum, Whitfield became LMU's 32nd 1,000-point scorer. Reaching the coveted scoring mark in only 52 games donning the Blue and Gray, Whitfield needs just 79 more points to get to 2,000 for his career. Of his 1,921 career points, 907 came during Whitfield's two seasons at fellow Division II Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. Henry became the program's 31st 1,000-point scorer with a first-half three pointer at Tusculum on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and has scored 1,039 points in his Railsplitter career. Senior guard Alex Dahling (768) and junior point guard Julius Brown (640) are also within reach of the momentous 1,000-point mark for their LMU careers.
 
Be My Guest; A Third NCAA Regional Championship
Led by a career-high 37 points on 10-for-14 three-point shooting from junior 6-foot-9 forward Jordan Guest, the Railsplitters never trailed against Emmanuel in the Division II Southeast Regional Championship title game. Guest's 10 made threes were just one shy of tying the single-game program record (Trevon Shaw versus Mars hill on Dec. 11, 2017). LMU knocked down 18 three pointers and shot 58.7 percent from the field. Scoring 60 second-half points on 68.8 percent shooting, the Railsplitters held the visiting Lions (17-7) to 6-for-21 from outside after Emmanuel made 27 threes in its first two Division II Southeast Regional Championship contests. Going 8-for-15 from deep in the first half and 10-for-18 from long range in the second half, LMU combined its superb shooting from distance with a strong interior presence. The Railsplitters scored 38 points in the paint and held a plus-10 margin on the glass. Reaching the century mark (103-67) for the 10th time of the season, LMU showcased its high-octane brand of basketball with excellent passing. Assisting on 27 of their 37 made field goals and committing just 10 turnovers, the Railsplitters scored 19 points on the fast break and got 25 points off the bench. Keeping Conference Carolinas member Emmanuel out of rhythm offensively, LMU scored 18 points off of turnovers, collected seven steals and made five blocks. Extending their home win streak to 30 with the Division II Southeast Regional Championship title win, the Railsplitters completed their 11th undefeated season at home, including four in the last 11 years. Guest scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half on 10-for-14 shooting. Henry finished with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Dahling recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Xavier Bledson was once again phenomenal off the bench, tallying 12 points and a game-high six assists in 20 minutes. Playing 25 valuable minutes off the bench, sophomore point guard Jeremiah Keene scored nine points on 4-for-8 shooting and distributed five assists. For his remarkable performance in the title game, Guest was named Division II Southeast Regional Championship Most Outstanding Player. The forward's 37 points represented the most scored in a game by an LMU player since former guard Courvoisier McCauley reached 44 points against Lenoir-Rhyne in December of 2019. Averaging 17.5 points on 63.6 percent shooting, six rebounds and 3.5 assists in the Railsplitters' two regional championship games, Henry was selected to the 2021 Division II Southeast Regional Championship All-Tournament Team.
 
All LMU Does is Win
Coming off its best season in terms of winning percentage (.970), LMU has gone 50-4 over the past two years. The Railsplitters' 39-straight victories from Nov. 2, 2019 – Jan. 6, 2021 set both a program and SAC record for consecutive wins. Having won 36 of its last 39 conference outings, LMU went an unblemished 22-0 in SAC play in 2019-20 for its third undefeated league season in the last five years. Finishing 32-1 overall last season, the Railsplitters have dropped only four games in the last 748 days. LMU has not lost to a non-conference opponent in 508 days, its last non-conference setback coming against the Buffs of West Texas A&M (99-89, OT) in the 2019 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. West Texas A&M is the No. 1 seed in the 2021 Division II Elite Eight in Evansville.
 
Versus the Orediggers
Wednesday afternoon's Division II Elite Eight matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.
 
About LMU Basketball
The second-winningest Division II program of the 2010's (.845), the Railsplitters have won 14 total SAC titles since 2011. Selected as the top seed of the Division II Men's Basketball Southeast Regional Championship four of the last seven years, LMU has ended the season ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 three times in the last six seasons. The only school in Division II to have reached 30 wins in five of the last seven years, the Railsplitters are one of only four Division II programs to have recorded 20 wins or more for 11-straight seasons. LMU has notched at least 25 wins nine of the last 11 seasons. Inside Tex Turner Arena the Railsplitters have registered the second-highest home court winning percentage in Division II basketball since 2010-11, going an impressive 165-11 (.938). The 165 home victories are the most among Division II programs in the last 11 years as LMU has posted four perfect seasons in Harrogate during that time.
 
About Coach Schertz
Since taking over the Railsplitter basketball program, coach Schertz has amassed an astonishing 336-68 record over 13 seasons. Only three wins shy of becoming LMU's winningest coach, Schertz is just two victories from tying Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame member Dean Bailey's school record 338 wins (1948-75). Schertz' career winning percentage of .832 is the third-highest of any head coach in men's college basketball history at any NCAA level (minimum 10 seasons). He is just behind Gonzaga head coach Mark Few (.835) and Nova Southeastern leader Jim Crutchfield (.841) among active head coaches with at least 10 years at the helm. On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, coach Schertz reached his 300th career victory with a 76-64 conference home win over UVA Wise. Reaching the 300-win milestone in only 365 games as a head coach, the seven-time SAC Coach of the Year owns the second-most SAC victories with a phenomenal 214-39 (.846) league record. On Wednesday, March 17, Division I Missouri Valley Conference member Indiana Sate announced Schertz as the Sycamores' 26th head coach. Schertz will take over the Indiana State program at the conclusion of the Railsplitters' 2020-21 campaign.
 
About Colorado School of Mines
Led by 20th-year head coach Pryor Orser, the Orediggers (18-2) spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the land after a 13-0 start. Mines' two losses came to top-10 ranked Colorado Mesa, falling 64-58 to the then seventh-ranked Mavericks on Feb. 20 before suffering a narrow, 75-74 overtime loss to then fourth-ranked Colorado Mesa in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament title game on March 6. Finishing second in the RMAC during the regular season, the Orediggers went 14-1 in league play. Although Mines has not defeated a nationally-ranked team in 2020-21, its conference nemesis Colorado Mesa finished the regular season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The Orediggers and the Mavericks did not meet in the Division II West Regional Championship due to Northwest Nazarene upsetting Colorado Mesa 74-54. Mines handily routed Northwest Nazarene 84-52 for the Division II West Regional Championship, punching its ticket to the Elite Eight in Evansville. Priding themselves on stingy defense, the Orediggers rank third nationally in points allowed per game (60.5) and are ninth in field-goal percentage defense (39.8). Mines features NABC and D2CCA All-American Brendan Sullivan, a 6-foot-6 junior guard/forward who averages 18 points, four rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range.
 
Looking Ahead
With an Elite Eight victory Wednesday afternoon, LMU would play the winner of top-seeded West Texas A&M and No. 8 seed Daemen in the 2021 Division II Final Four Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT. The national championship game is slated for Saturday, March 27 at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT.
 
Stay Up to Date
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 2020-21 postseason.