Live Audio: Queens Sports Network
Phil Constantino (pxp)

Live Video: LMU Sports Network

Live Stats: LMURailsplitters.com
 

HARROGATE, Tenn. – The No. 11/12 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (7-1, 2-0 SAC) renews its rivalry with Lincoln Memorial University (8-1, 2-0 SAC) on Saturday in a matchup of the top-two ranked teams in the region and two of the highest-ranked teams in the country. Opening tipoff from Tex Turner Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Saturday marks 22nd all-time meeting between Queens and Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters lead the all-time series, 15-6, but the Royals have won each of the last three meetings, including a 78-70 win in the most recent encounter on Feb. 2, 2019.

Queens has also won each of the last two road games at LMU, including a 69-57 victory over then-No. 1 Lincoln Memorial on March 13, 2018, in the Southeast Regional Championship Game. The victory was the program's first-ever over the No. 1-ranked team in the country and the first versus LMU on the road.

Over the previous four seasons, Queens and Lincoln Memorial have finished first and second in the South Atlantic Conference's final standings, with Queens claiming one outright title in that span (2018-2019), LMU claiming two outright titles (2015-2016 & 2017-2018) and the two sides splitting the regular-season conference crown once (2016-2017).

Prior to LMU's short-lived postseason run last season, Queens and Lincoln Memorial met eight times in a two-year span, meeting in both the SAC Tournament Championship Game and the Southeast Regional Championship Game, in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. Since the start of the 2016-2017 season, the series is tied 5-5.

 
Quick Facts
No. 11/12 Queens Royals (7-1, 2-0 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last Saturday at the Levine Center, Queens posted its best defensive performance of the season, holding Lenoir-Rhyne University to 34.8-percent shooting to earn an 82-68 victory. Daniel Carr and Jermaine Patterson led the Royals with 17 points each. Kenny Dye added a season-high 15 points and Gavin Rains recorded his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

-So far this season, Queens has collected notable wins over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (No. 4) and Lees-McRae College (No. T-5), two regionally-ranked teams. The Royals have also beaten Emmanuel College and Lenoir-Rhyne, two 2019 NCAA Tournament participants. Queens' only loss came at the hands of Belmont Abbey College (86-77), a team that is currently ranked No. 3 in the region.

-On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Royals held at No. 12 in the NABC / Division II Rankings, and the placement in the third official poll of the 2019-2020 season marked the 63rd consecutive week in which Queens has been featured in the national coaches' poll. The streak dates back to the first poll of the 2015-2016 season on Nov. 24, 2015.

-The Royals also held at No. 11 in the D2SIDA Media poll. Queens has cracked the top-10 nationally in both polls during each of the last five seasons.

-The two-time reigning regional champions held at No. 2 in the Southeast Region Poll, D2SIDA announced on Monday, Dec. 2. Queens earned 54 points, placing just behind conference rival Lincoln Memorial (8-1) who received all six first-place votes and earned 60 points. The Royals were ranked No. 1 in the region in the preseason.

-The Royals have won 16-straight road games and currently hold the longest active road winning streak in all levels of NCAA basketball. Queens last lost a road game on Feb. 24, 2018, at then No. 1-Lincoln Memorial, 80-65. Queens finished last season 12-0 in road games and has opened 2019-2020 with a 2-0 road record. Reigning Division II National Champion Northwest Missouri State University holds the second-longest road winning streak with 15 consecutive road wins.

-Carr was named South Atlantic Conference AstroTurf Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his week-one performance. In two wins over Young Harris College and Emmanuel, Carr averaged 24 points, four assists, two steals, and two rebounds while shooting 70.6 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from the 3-point line. The weekly honor was Carr's second career Player of the Week nod.

-Queens, the reigning South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Champion, was picked atop the SAC's Preseason Poll, as voted on by the League's coaches. The Royals received eight of 12 first-place votes and 117 points to edge Lincoln Memorial, who was picked second, and Catawba College, who was picked third.

-Over the previous three seasons, Queens has won 93 games, the fourth most of any program at all NCAA levels during that span (Gonzaga 103, Northwest Missouri State 100, Villanova 94).

-The Royals have won 30 games or more in each of the last three seasons and are one of just two programs in all levels of NCAA basketball who have accomplished the feat (Gonzaga).


Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (8-1, 2-0 SAC)
 
-Lincoln Memorial (8-1, 3-0 SAC) enters Saturday on an eight-game winning streak, last defeating Coker University, on the road, 92-61, a week ago.

-LMU's only loss came on opening weekend versus two-time reigning South Central Region Champion and fifth-ranked West Texas A&M University, 99-89, in overtime at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.

-The Railsplitters are currently ranked No. 7 nationally in the media poll, No. 8 nationally in the coaches' poll, and No. 1 in the Southeast Region.

-Lincoln Memorial was picked No. 2 in the SAC Preseason Poll (3 1st-place votes) after finishing last season with a 20-9 overall record and a 14-6 mark in conference play, tying for a second-place finish. LMU dropped its final three games of last season, falling in the SAC Quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Wingate University, 80-78, and missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.

-The Splitters are led by Courvoisier McCauley, who leads the team and ranks fourth in the SAC averaging 20.1 points per game. Devin Whitfield, who was named SAC Player of the Week for week three of the season, averages 16.7 points per game.

-Lincoln Memorial features one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking ninth in Division II in scoring offense (94.3 PPG) and 23rd in field goal percentage (51.0%). The Railsplitters also rank fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.6%).

-Head Coach Josh Schertz is in his 12th season at Lincoln Memorial. A former assistant coach of Bart Lundy's at Queens and High Point University, Schertz holds an overall coaching record of 294-65 (.819 win pct.). He has led LMU to seven SAC Championships, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and four of the program's five 30-win seasons.