September 30, 2021

Defending SAC tournament champs C-N releases 2021-22 schedule

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman will play 16 times inside the friendly confines of Holt Fieldhouse when the defending SAC Tournament Titlists return to the floor in 2021-22.

The Eagles open the year inside Holt Fieldhouse with a conference challenge. The Eagles will take on Lees-McRae and King Nov. 13 and 14 while also playing host to UVA Wise in the four-team event.

"This is the second year in our challenge," Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "They have been great representatives for Conference Carolinas and our region. They'll be ready and give us their best shot. We need to make the most of the opportunity to open at home. We want the best chance to compete and perform at a level to get a season-opening win."

The Eagles dropped decisions to the Bobcats and Tornado in the same formatted classic to open the 2019-20 season in Banner Elk, N.C.

Carson-Newman is home heavy to open the year. Six of the Eagles' first seven games will be inside Holt. C-N is at home for virtually the entire month of November. The lone exception is Carson-Newman's conference opener.

With a 24-game league slate, conference play gets underway in game three with a Nov. 17 trip to Tusculum. The Eagles will open up league play with the team they defeated by one in the SAC semifinals and lost to by one in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in 2021. The difficulty level stays ramped up on Nov. 20 when Queens comes to Mossy Creek. The Eagles defeated the Royals on their home floor to capture the 2021 SAC tournament title crown.

"On so many levels, I and others would prefer this caliber of game later in the year when teams have had a chance to iron out some early season wrinkles," Benson said. "The schedule is what it is though and we get the exact two teams to start the year that we finished it with last year. They both will among the best in the region. We hopefully, with having a veteran team, will be able to do what we've done and that will give us some comfortability heading into those types of games."

Carson-Newman hops out of league play on Nov. 23 to welcome Trevecca Nazarene to Mossy Creek. Trevecca and Carson-Newman haven't played since Nov. 16, 2013 when the Eagles took a wire-to-wire 82-68 win from the Trojans. C-N leads the all-time ledger between the two schools 7-2.

C-N will play its final non-conference game on the first day of 2022. Erskine visits Mossy Creek to kick off the calendar year with a 2 p.m. tip. The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Flying Fleet 4-2. It's the first meeting between the two schools since a 2011 matchup in Chuck Benson's second year as head coach that C-N took 73-70.

"Both Trevecca and Erskine have had coaching changes since we last faced them," Benson said. "Trevecca will be good. They are a methodical offensive team that controls the ball and shoots it well from all five positions on the floor. We haven't played Erskine in ages. We're excited to have them here on New Year's Day."

After Carson-Newman's home-heavy November, Carson-Newman spends much of December on the road. After concluding the initial home stand on Dec. 1 with Lenoir-Rhyne. C-N plays four of their next five outside the state of Tennessee. Trips to Anderson, UVA Wise, Newberry and Limestone headlining the month of December with one game inside Holt on Dec. 15 against Mars Hill.

The see-saw nature of the schedule only continues once 2022 kicks off. The Eagles start the calendar with three straight at home (Erskine, Coker and Anderson) before playing four straight road games (Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate and Lincoln Memorial).

"The focus has to be our conference games," Benson said. "We don't take anything for granted, but 24 conference games, goodness gracious, that's a lot. That's what we are tied up with the most in our focus, that mass conference slate."

Starting Jan. 29 against Newberry, Carson-Newman concludes the year with six out of nine games at home.

All of Carson-Newman's contest will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

ATE	OPPONENT	STATUS
Nov. 13, 2021	Lees-McRae	7:00 PM
Nov. 14, 2021	King (tenn.)	4:00 PM
Nov. 17, 2021	at Tusculum *	7:30 PM
Nov. 20, 2021	Queens (N.C.) *	4:00 PM
Nov. 23, 2021	Trevecca Nazarene	5:30 PM
Nov. 27, 2021	Wingate *	4:00 PM
Dec. 01, 2021	Lenoir-Rhyne *	7:30 PM
Dec. 04, 2021	at Anderson (S.C.) *	4:00 PM
Dec. 08, 2021	at Virginia-Wise *	7:30 PM
Dec. 11, 2021	at Newberry *	4:00 PM
Dec. 15, 2021	Mars Hill *	7:30 PM
Dec. 18, 2021	at Limestone *	4:00 PM
Jan. 01, 2022	Erskine	2:00 PM
Jan. 05, 2022	Coker *	7:30 PM
Jan. 08, 2022	Anderson (S.C.) *	4:00 PM
Jan. 12, 2022	at Catawba *	7:30 PM
Jan. 15, 2022	at Lenoir-Rhyne *	4:00 PM
Jan. 22, 2022	at Wingate *	4:00 PM
Jan. 26, 2022	at Lincoln Memorial *	7:30 PM
Jan. 29, 2022	Newberry *	4:00 PM
Feb. 02, 2022	Tusculum *	7:30 PM
Feb. 05, 2022	at Queens (N.C.) *	4:00 PM
Feb. 09, 2022	Virginia-Wise *	7:30 PM
Feb. 12, 2022	Catawba *	4:00 PM
Feb. 16, 2022	at Mars Hill *	7:30 PM
Feb. 19, 2022	Limestone *	4:00 PM
Feb. 23, 2022	Lincoln Memorial *	7:30 PM
Feb. 26, 2022	at Coker *	4:00 PM