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The Lincoln Memorial men's basketball team travels to South Carolina on Saturday for a 4 p.m. road contest at Anderson. This will be the first game against a Piedmont Division foe for the Railsplitters this season. The Railsplitters are 20-7 all-time against the Trojans including 9-2 in road games, with Lincoln Memorial having won the last 18 games in a row between the two programs.
 
Lincoln Memorial (16-1, 6-0 South Atlantic Conference) increased its winning streak to 15 games with a 115-70 triumph over Salem on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena in its last nonconference game of the regular season. Lincoln Memorial cruised to victory behind 20 points from Matthew Sells and 19 by Quay Kennedy.
 
The host Trojans enter the matchup with a 4-11 overall record (1-4 SAC) having lost their two games on the 2023 calendar at Coker (89-78) on Jan. 7 and at Wingate (78-75) on Jan. 11. Their only SAC win of the season was on Dec. 17 vs Lenoir Rhyne (77-68).
 
Lincoln Memorial was ranked No. 5 in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and D2SIDA polls released on Jan. 10, which is the team's highest ranking in both polls this season.
 
RAILSPLITTER STRIKES (through games played Jan. 11)

• Lincoln Memorial leads the SAC in assists per game (20.4, fourth in Division II), field goal percentage (52.9, fifth), rebounding margin (+10.9, fourth), scoring margin (+21.2, third) and scoring offense (91.9 points per game, fifth) so far this season.
• Chase Rankin ranks second in the conference and fifth in Division II in total assists at 101, while his 6.3 assists per game rank 11^th nationally. The graduate guard's 2.66 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the SAC.
• Martez Brown's 143 total rebounds are second in the league and rank No. 20 in the country.
• Matthew Sells has made 46 3-pointers this season, good for fourth in the conference and 19^th in Division II. The sophomore guard's 45.1 percent shooting from distance ranks second in the league and No. 22 nationally.
• Along with being ranked No. 6 in the NABC Preseason Poll, the Railsplitters were picked to win the SAC with 143 points including 11 first place votes.
• Redshirt sophomore guard Me'Kell Burries, senior forward Jordan Guest and Rankin were all selected to the preseason All-SAC First Team.

SCOUTING ANDERSON: The Trojans are tied for last in the Piedmont Division but hold a 3-3 record (1-1 SAC) at home. Anderson leads the league in 3-point attempts per game at 28.5, ranking 11^th in Division II, while making the third-most 3-pointers per game in the SAC (10.0, 24^th).
 
Sophomore guard Myles Jenkins knows how to get to the free throw line, leading the SAC with 97 attempts, good for 21^st in Division II. Freshman guard Luke Denbow has taken 123 3-pointers, the second-most attempts in the conference and the ninth-most nationally.
 
SAC Men's Basketball Standings (as of Jan. 13)
 
Mountain Division                Overall           Conference
Lincoln Memorial                  16-1                 6-0
Tusculum                                 9-5                   5-2
Carson-Newman                     10-6                 4-2
Emory & Henry                       10-5                 2-4
UVA Wise                                9-6                   2-4
Limestone                               6-8                   2-4
Mars Hill                                 3-11                 0-6
 
Piedmont Division                Overall           Conference
Catawba                                  10-4                 5-1
Wingate                                   10-5                 5-1
Coker                                       10-7                 4-3
Lenoir-Rhyne                            7-7                   2-4
Newberry                                  8-7                   1-4
Anderson                                 4-11                 1-4
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters travel to Mars Hill on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for their second game against the Lions this season. Lincoln Memorial defeated Mars Hill 80-56 on Nov. 26 in the SAC opener at Tex Turner Arena.