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LAKELAND, Fla. – The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team is set to begin its 2022-23 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic hosted by Florida Southern this weekend.
 
The Railsplitters meet Valdosta State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for their season opener before taking on No. 24 Alabama Huntsville on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the second day of a back-to-back.
 
Lincoln Memorial opens the season ranked No. 6 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll after a 2021-22 season when it went 26-5 (21-3 South Atlantic Conference) to claim a share of the SAC regular season championship and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
RAILSPLITTER STRIKES

• Along with being ranked No. 6 in the NABC Preseason Poll, the Railsplitters were picked to win the SAC with 143 point including 11 first place votes.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Me'Kell Burries, senior forward Jordan Guest and graduate guard Chase Rankin were all selected to the preseason All-SAC First Team.
• Lincoln Memorial led all of NCAA Division II in defensive rebounds per game (32.13) a season ago while leading the SAC in scoring margin (16.2, No. 4 in D2) and scoring offense (87.8, No. 9) among other statistical categories.
• Rankin's two triple doubles were the most in NCAA Division II in 2021-22, while his 5.9 assists per game (No. 11 in D2) and 2.75 assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 17) both led the SAC).

 
SCOUTING VALDOSTA STATE: The Blazers posted a record of 11-16 (7-13 Gulf South Conference) in 2021-22. They had the second-best scoring offense in the league at 79.3 points per game while also ranking No. 2 in the conference in blocked shots (3.6) and offensive rebounds (12.22) per game.
 
Valdosta State is led by a veteran backcourt in Cam Hamilton, who finished second in the Gulf South in steals per game (2.26) in 2021-22, and Jacolbey Owens, whose 4.0 assists per game last season were third in the conference.
 
SCOUTING ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE: The Chargers went 23-11 (12-8 Gulf South) last season while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That team led the conference in scoring offense (81.1 points per game) and average scoring margin (9.7) along with multiple other statistical categories.
 
Individually, Luke Burnett led the league and ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II in 3-pointers made with 102 as just a freshman, while CJ Williamson led the Gulf South in both field goals made (221) and rebounds (224).
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters will be playing Clayton State on Nov. 11 and USC Aiken on Nov. 12 in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge at Tusculum.