NCAA tournament rematch opens SAC play for C-N
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-1) starts off South Atlantic Conference play with the same foe it eliminated from last year’s SAC tournament and the same team that eliminated the Eagles from the NCAA tournament – the Tusculum Pioneers (0-2).
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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32 | 37 | 69 |
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34 | 39 | 73 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-1) starts off South Atlantic Conference play with the same foe it eliminated from last year's SAC tournament and the same team that eliminated the Eagles from the NCAA tournament – the Tusculum Pioneers (0-2).
The Eagles and Pioneers renew their rivalry Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. from Pioneer Arena.
For a fifth consecutive time, Carson-Newman faces Tusculum someplace other than Holt Fieldhouse. The Pioneers haven't visited the Eagles since a 72-68 win for Carson-Newman on Jan. 15, 2020. Carson-Newman is 1-3 since, dropping back-to-back regular season meetings by 10 in Pioneer Arena. The Eagles won in the SAC semifinals last season before Tusculum took an overtime win, 65-63, from C-N in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
TU head coach J.T. Burton returns nine lettermen, including four starters from last year's 14-6 squad who advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinal for a second straight year before punching its ticket for the NCAA Division II postseason for the third time in school history and first postseason bid since 2009. The Pioneers recorded their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory and advanced to the semifinal round of the Southeast Regional for the first time in program history.
However, Tusculum has played a different brand of basketball thus far in 2021. One of the top rebounding teams in the country a year ago, Tusculum has only grabbed 30 rebounds per game through a small sample size of contests in 2021.
"I attribute some of their differences to something most teams go through," head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "And that's that what you have done previously has no bearing on what you do currently. You have to work your way back through a selected, chosen process for that year. The history of what Tusculum has done is what it is, but they are different at this point in the year. The same thing applies to us as we try to figure out the most current version of ourselves."
Tusculum is off to an 0-2 start for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Pioneers were without the services of reigning SAC Player of the Year Trenton Gibson for the opening weekend. In his stead, Virginia State transfer William Vedder stepped up to score 17.5 points per game in the opening weekend. Vedder had 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from three in an 83-79 loss to Clayton State in the second game of the season for TU.
"I would safely assume that Trent's absence in the first two games of the year was a mighty adjustment to have to make," Benson said. "He was a guy a year ago who was their leader in scoring, rebounds and assists. His handprints are on everything. It would be akin to if we lost a Charles Clark a couple years back."
Tusculum was 8-1 in games played in Greeneville, Tenn. last year. The only loss was to Carson-Newman in the SAC semifinals.
The Eagles will be looking to right the ship from a 77-66 defeat to King on Sunday. Carson-Newman hasn't suffered back-to-back losses since losing to Newberry 70-67 on Dec. 2, 2020 and Tusculum 82-72 on Jan. 6, 2021 - a month-long spell impacted by a CoVID pause during the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 regular season.
Carson-Newman has returned to its shot-stopping form from last year. The Eagles lead the SAC with nine blocks through two games and rank 31st in the country in total blocks.
Both teams loved the long ball in the opening weekend of the season. Tusculum made 12.5 threes per game on a 49 percent clip in its two contests, while the Eagles hit 10.5 threes per game at a 50 percent clip. Both the Eagles and the Pioneers are in the top 20 nationally in threes made per game and three-point percentage from the small sample size of the opening games of the year.
"It's a very early snapshot of where we were on two separate days in a 24-hour window," Benson said. "We prepare and strategize and plan to win. It still goes back to our ability to execute that plan. That was one of the biggest differences in the win and our loss – our inability to execute our plan effectively. I think we will be locked in based on our previous experience."
Tipoff between the Eagles and Pioneers is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
Team Stats
Tusculum
| Game Statistics | RV Carson-Newman | Tusculum |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-53) | (23-57) |
| Field Goal % | 45.3% | 40.4% |
| Rebounds | 35 | 43 |
| Assists | 9 | 14 |
| Turnovers | 18 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 18 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 40 | 24 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 8 | 5 |
| Bench Pts | 7 | 40 |
