Defending SAC Tournament Champs picked preseason SAC favorites
ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the fourth time in the last five years, Carson-Newman, the reigning South Atlantic Conference Tournament titleholders, was picked to win the regular season trophy getting seven of the 13 first-place votes in the preseason poll announced by the league on Tuesday.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the fourth time in the last five years, Carson-Newman, the reigning South Atlantic Conference Tournament titleholders, was picked to win the regular season trophy getting seven of the 13 first-place votes in the preseason poll announced by the league on Tuesday.
"I've been pretty happy with where we are at," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We are pretty far along with our preparation. We have four newcomers this year and Tori [Rutherford] is coming back. We are trying to get them gelled together. We have a lot of returning players. Every year is new. I think everyone says the same stuff this time of year. All of that stuff will change getting into November, December and getting into January whether you are winning or losing."
Prior to 2018-19, the first of the recent stretch of top predictions, the program had never been the preseason favorite since voting in the polls began in 2006-07 having been tabbed second on four occasions.
Dancing for the 12th time in program history, 2021-22 was the first time that the school has been to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Carson-Newman had been to the dance in back-to-back seasons once doing so in 2009 and 2010. This year was the sixth time in coach Mike Mincey's 11 seasons at Mossy Creek that the Lady Eagles are in the field. The last time the program made an appearance in at least five postseason national tournaments in a row came from 1989-93 when it went to five consecutive NAIA District 26 Playoffs winning three contests over that stretch.
The Orange and Blue won the SAC's scoring title for the seventh straight season averaging 80.6 points per game, good for fifth in the country. C-N was seventh in Division II in field-goal percentage at 46.5. Carson-Newman led the country in assists per game posting 18.4. Overall, the club recorded 15 games out of 33 with at least 20 assists with six of 25 or more. Three players ranked in the top 11 of the SAC.
The Lady Eagles secured their third SAC Tournament Championship on March 6 crushing Anderson 83-58. The 25-point differential matched the league's largest margin of victory in a title game matching the 25-point spread by Presbyterian in 1998. With 83 points, the club came within two points of the championship game high mark.
Four players scored in double figures as fifth-seeded and No. 22 Carson-Newman secured its largest win in an NCAA Tournament game in history pulling away from fourth-seeded Wingate 81-65 in the opening round. Prior to the contest, the Lady Eagles largest NCAA Tournament win was 14 set the 2005 regional semifinal. The spread was the biggest in a national tournament game since Feb. 23, 1993 when the club routed Belmont Abbey by 28, 94-66, in the NAIA Tournament.
This season, Mincey returns six of the team's top seven scorers and 74 percent total (1,955 of 2,660) of the team's scoring output from a year ago. Of the six players that averaged at least 20 minutes per game, four are back in the fold for the Orange and Blue.
Three-time all-region selection Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) leads the way sitting in third on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,528 for her career. Two-time first-team All-SAC pick Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) has been one of the most efficient players in the country and 2021-22 all-rookie honoree Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) gives the Lady Eagles three returning all-conference players.
Wingate, the 2021-22 regular-season conference champions, took home six first-place votes and were three points behind the Lady Eagles for the top spot. Anderson and Catawba rounded out the top four and the four clubs that received at least 100 points.
In the middle of the pack, Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry made up slots five through eight. Tusculum and UVA Wise tied for ninth with Coker, Mars Hill and Emory & Henry closed out the poll.
The season is slated to start on Nov. 12 versus regional finalist Lander from Aiken, S.C. to open the SAC/Peach Belt Crossover at 3 p.m. with air time starting at 2:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off". All of the games this season can heard on the Eagle Sports Network with video coverage available on FloSports.
|
Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
|
1 |
Carson-Newman (7) |
139 |
|
2 |
Wingate (6) |
136 |
|
3 |
Anderson |
116 |
|
4 |
Catawba |
113 |
|
5 |
Limestone |
93 |
|
6 |
Lincoln Memorial |
79 |
|
7 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
74 |
|
8 |
Newberry |
71 |
|
T-9 |
Tusculum |
60 |
|
T-9 |
UVA Wise |
60 |
|
11 |
Coker |
33 |
|
12 |
Mars Hill |
27 |
|
13 |
Emory & Henry |
13 |
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