Radio: ESPN Charlotte (97.5 FM & 730 AM)
Phil Constantino (pxp)

Live Video: SACLive

Live Stats: TheSAC.com
 

GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the third time in four years, the No. 23/T-25 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (24-6, 17-5 SAC) will face No. 2/2 Lincoln Memorial University (31-1, 22-0 SAC) in the South Atlantic Conference Championship Game on Sunday. Opening tipoff from Timmons Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Royals earned the No. 2 seed in the SAC Tournament after finishing in sole possession of second place in the conference standings. Queens beat seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University, 106-96, on Wednesday night to earn its sixth consecutive trip to the SAC semifinals. The Royals followed with a 104-95 win over third-seeded Catawba College in the semis on Saturday night.

Lincoln Memorial claimed the SAC Regular Season Championship to earn the No. 1 seed in conference tournament. The Railsplitters defeated eighth-seeded Mars Hill, 101-65, in the quarterfinals, followed by a semifinal win over fourth-seeded Tusculum University, 67-46.

The winner of Sunday's Championship Game will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. The NCAA Tournament field will be revealed on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Sunday marks the 24th all-time meeting between the two schools. Lincoln Memorial leads the all-time series, 17-6, having won both regular season meetings this year. However, Queens had previously won three straight in the series and, since the start of the 2016-2017 season, LMU holds a slight 7-5 edge.

In each of the last five seasons, Queens and Lincoln Memorial have finished first and second in the South Atlantic Conference's final standings, with Queens claiming one outright title (2018-2019), LMU claiming three outright titles (2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019-2020) and the two sides splitting the regular-season conference crown once (2016-2017).

The two sides have also combined to win the last four Southeast Region titles, as the Railsplitters claimed back-to-back crowns during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons. The Royals followed with back-to-back region titles in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.

Sunday's Championship Game will be broadcast on Twitter (@NCAADII) and Facebook Live as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, an online broadcast through the NCAA Division II Showcase Hybrid Model and the SAC Live Digital Network.
 

Quick Facts
No. 23/T-25 Queens Royals (24-6, 17-5 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-A win on Saturday, Feb. 22, versus Carson-Newman University gave the Royals their 20th win of the season. Queens has won 20 games or more 14 times in program history, including each of the last five seasons. This season is also the ninth 20-win season in Bart Lundy's 18 years as a collegiate head coach.

-With one more win, the Royals will clinch a 25-win season for the fifth consecutive year and the ninth time in program history. Seven of the program's previous eight 25-win campaigns have been led by Coach Lundy.

-After beating Catawba on Saturday night, Queens has won a season-best 10 consecutive games. The Royals have compiled a winning streak of 10 games or more in five straight seasons. In 2015-2016, Queens started the season 12-0, a then-program record for best start to a season and longest winning streak. The Royals then eclipsed both records the following two seasons, opening 16-0 in both the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 campaigns. Last season, after starting 5-2, Queens rattled off 14 consecutive wins before losing another game.

-In the third and final official NCAA rankings of the season, released by the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee on Wednesday, Mar. 4, Queens held at No. 3 in the Southeast Region. The two-time reigning regional champions remain slotted behind only conference rival Lincoln Memorial and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

-The Royals have reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons and 12 times in program history. The region's top-eight teams (three automatic qualifiers and five at-large selections) will qualify for the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is revealed on Sunday, Mar. 8, at 10:30 p.m. ET.

-On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Queens returned to the national rankings after a brief hiatus. The Royals are currently ranked No. 23 nationally in the D2SIDA Media Poll and tied for 25th in the NABC Coaches' Poll. Previously, the Royals spent more than four full seasons ranked in both major national polls, which included a streak of 65 consecutive weeks in the national coaches' poll. The streak, which began on Nov. 24, 2015, the first poll of the 2015-2016 season, lasted 1,498 days (4 years, 1 month and 7 days), before Queens dropped out of the poll earlier this season, on Dec. 31, 2019.

-With a 28-point performance on Wednesday versus Lenoir-Rhyne, Daniel Carr moved into fifth-place all-time on the Queens career scoring list, passing former All-American and Queens Hall of Famer Chuck Wittman, who scored 1,462 points in 113 games from 1993-1997. Currently, Carr has scored 1,497 career points (134 games) and is 105 points shy of tying Chris Benson for fourth place (1,602 points).

-Four members of the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team received all-conference accolades, the South Atlantic Conference announced on Thursday. Carr was named a first-team all-conference selection for the second time in his career. Jamari Smith and Van Turner Jr. were named honorable mention all-conference selections, and Gavin Rains was named to the All-Freshman Team.

-Over the previous three seasons, the Royals have 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).
 

No. 2/2 Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (31-1, 22-0 SAC)

-Lincoln Memorial has won 31 consecutive games, the longest active winning streak in all levels of NCAA basketball. LMU's last loss came on Nov. 1 in its season opener versus two-time reigning South Central Region Champion and currently third-ranked West Texas A&M University, 99-89, in overtime.

-The Railsplitters finished the year with a 22-0 conference record. LMU completed its conference slate with an unbeaten record for the third time in five seasons and remains the only program in SAC men's basketball history to accomplish the feat.

-Lincoln Memorial is currently ranked No. 2 in both major national polls. The Splitters are ranked only behind reigning National Champion Northwest Missouri State University.

-LMU is ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Region in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee's official rankings. The Railsplitters will likely earn the region's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and host the regional for the fourth time in the last six years (2015, 2016, & 2018).

-Lincoln Memorial is making its eighth SAC title game in 10 years. The Railsplitters are 4-3 on Championship Sunday, last claiming the title in 2018, with a 77-75 win over Queens.

-Four Railsplitters received SAC postseason accolades. Courvosier McCauley, the team's leading scorer (19.9 PPG), was named SAC Player of the Year. Cameron Henry (13.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG) was named SAC Defensive Player of Year and a second-team all-conference selection. Devin Whitfield (19.0 PPG) was named a first-team all-conference selection and Anthony Brown (12.2 PPG) was named a second-team all-conference selection.

-Head Coach Josh Schertz was named SAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons. In his 12th season at Lincoln Memorial, Schertz holds an overall record of 317-65 (.830 win pct.). A former assistant coach of Lundy's at Queens and High Point University, Schertz has led LMU to eight SAC Championships, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and four of the program's five 30-win seasons.