HARROGATE, Tenn. -- As a part of a month-long preview of the upcoming Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball season, below is an in-depth look at the 2015-16 schedule.
 
The Railsplitters' regular-season schedule features 28 games, with 14 set to be hosted at Tex Turner Arena, 13 true road tests and one neutral-site game. Only six of those games will be played against a nonconference opponent though, as home and road games against all 11 South Atlantic Conference opponents consume the biggest chunk of Lincoln Memorial's slate.  
 
Challenging nonconference docket
 
Each of the Railsplitters' six nonconference contests are sure to provide a variety of challenges, but none will be more arduous then the out-of-conference finale on January 2 when they head to Louisville, Ky. for a showdown against the Bellarmine Knights. In game one of a four-season scheduling agreement, Lincoln Memorial and Bellarmine clash at Knights Hall in a meeting of the teams with the second- and third-best winning percentages in Division II since the start 2010-11 season. The Knights are ranked fifth in the Division II Bulletin preseason national poll, while the Railsplitters are slotted at No. 7. The Knights have been to the Final Four in three of the last five seasons.
 
Well before worlds collide in Louisville, the Railsplitters begin the season against King and Lees-McRae - two of the nation's most prolific offensive units last season - in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge, which will be hosted in Bristol, Tenn. Lincoln Memorial faces the Tornado on November 11 in the season opener before closing the weekend against the Bobcats.
 
King went 24-6 last season and 17-3 in Conference Carolinas play, and likely missed out on an NCAA tournament bid only after North Greenville snuck up and won the Conference Carolinas tournament to steal the league's automatic bid. The Tornado ranked 23rd in the nation in scoring by averaging 82.9 points per game last season, and they return five of their top six scorers from that squad. They did, however, graduate leading scorer Logan Lyle. The Railsplitters haven't lost to King since 2006, winning the last 10 meetings.
 
Lees-McRae compiled a 15-13 mark last season and put together the nation's 26th-ranked scoring offense (82.3 points/game). The Bobcats graduated their three leading scorers, but brought in Presbyterian transfer Austin Anderson to compensate for that. Lincoln Memorial and Lees-McRae met for the first time since 2011 last season, and the Railsplitters won 96-72 in Tex Turner Arena.
 
Sandwiched around the highly-anticipated South Atlantic Conference opener against Carson-Newman, the Railsplitters play two opponents they have historically dominated, as Hiwassee comes to Harrogate for the Tex Turner Arena opener on November 19, and then Virginia-Wise pays a visit on November 28. The Railsplitters are 8-0 all-time against Hiwassee with an average margin of victory of 49 points in the seven games since 2009. LMU has won the last three home meetings against the UVA-Wise Cavaliers by an average of more than 25 points.
 
The Railsplitters also host Bluefield College, an NAIA program stationed in Bluefield, Va., in the first meeting between the two programs since 1994.
 
The grueling South Atlantic Conference schedule
 
The LMU faithful were forced to wait until early February to see the Railsplitters clash with Carson-Newman last season, but that won't be the case this year, as those two arch nemeses open South Atlantic Conference play in Tex Turner Arena on November 24. In what will be the 200th meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman, a series in which C-N holds a narrow 100-99 edge, the Railsplitters will look to avenge a 63-48 loss to the Eagles in the 2015 SAC Championship title game. Last year's regular season was played to a draw though, as Carson-Newman ended the Railsplitters' unblemished record with an 87-72 win in Harrogate before Lincoln Memorial returned the favor with a 91-61 shellacking in Jefferson City. The Railsplitters travel to Carson-Newman to close out the regular-season series on January 27.
 
Before the calendar shifts to 2016, the Railsplitters go to Lenoir-Rhyne on December 2, host Coker on December 5, and pay visits to Brevard (December 14) and Newberry (December 19) around a home match-up against Wingate (December 16).
 
Lenoir-Rhyne is looking to rebound from an 8-18 record last season. The Bears are under the direction of a new head coach for the first time in 30 years as Ryan Odom stepped in to replace John Lentz in May. The Railsplitters have defeated L-R 10 straight times since January, 2010.
 
Coker tied for sixth in the South Atlantic Conference standings last season with a 12-15 overall record that included wins over Carson-Newman and Queens. The Cobras, who the Railsplitters are 4-0 against all-time, lost three of their top four scorers from last season's team, including standout guard Errick Bethel.
 
Brevard qualified for the SAC Championship last season after compiling a 10-12 league mark, but the Railsplitters ended their season in the quarterfinals of that event with a 71-56 win in Tex Turner Arena. The Tornados - ranked eighth in the SAC in scoring with right at 70 points per game in 2014-15 - lost 33 combined points with the departure of Darius Moose (graduation) and Trevon Shaw (St. Helena Island, S.C.), who opted to transfer to Lincoln Memorial in the offseason.
 
The Wingate Bulldogs were up and down last season, finishing fifth in the league with a 15-14 overall mark, but they return a wealth of talent. Despite graduating leading scorer Ryan Daye, the Bulldogs bring back five of their top six scorers. The Railsplitters have not lost to Wingate at home since 2008, winning the last eight games at Tex Turner. Lincoln Memorial has won five straight in the series overall.
 
Newberry caps that rather brutal stretch and concludes the 2015 portion of the schedule, as the Wolves enter the season after tying for second place in the SAC last season and finishing 20-10 overall. The Wolves generated 90.1 points per game last season, ranking third in the country in that category, but they lost the services of Demarkus Smith (16.7 points/game) and Dondray Walker (13 points/game) to graduation. Lincoln Memorial has won 10 of the last 11 games in the series.
 
The Railsplitters will wrap up most of those series by early February: at Coker (January 23), home vs. Lenoir-Rhyne (January 30), home vs. Brevard (February 3), at Wingate (February 6) and home vs. Newberry (February 13).
 
After a brief holiday reprieve and the nonconference finale at Bellarmine, Lincoln Memorial travels to Mars Hill (January 6), hosts Queens (January 9) and Anderson (January 13), visits Catawba (January 16), and returns to Tex Turner to take on Tusculum (January 20).
 
The Railsplitters haven't lost to Mars Hill since the 2009-10 season, winning the last 12 meetings since then. The Lions finished tied for 10th in the SAC standings last season and missed out on the league tournament with an 11-17 overall record.
 
Lincoln Memorial has had similar success, albeit over a smaller sample size, against Queens, winning all five contests since the Royals joined the South Atlantic Conference before the 2013-14 season, but three of those five games have been decided by five points or less. The Railsplitters narrowly avoided a loss to Queens in the semifinals of the 2015 SAC Championship thanks to a game-winning three-pointer for Gerel Simmons (Accokeek, Md.). Queens, who went 13-9 in SAC play last season, returns its top three scorers.
 
Anderson compiled a disappointing 14-14 record last season and just barely squeaked into the SAC Championship field. The Trojans' success against the Railsplitters is well documented, as they won six of the first seven meetings after joining the SAC in 2010. That burden seems to have lifted though, as Lincoln Memorial has won the last four head-to-head match-ups. Head coach Jason Taylor resigned in August and was quickly replaced by former Spartanburg Methodist coach Jeff Brookman.
 
Catawba made a tremendous leap in year one of the Rob Perron era, going from 7-19 the season before to 14-15 last season. The up-tempo Indians, who averaged 77.2 points per game, should be expected to make another jump this season as they essentially return their entire team, bringing back four players that averaged at least 10 points per game a season ago. LMU has won the last five games against Catawba, but escaped Salisbury with a three-point win last season.
 
2014-15 was a trying season for Tusculum, as the Pioneers finished with a 7-21 record, which included a 10-game losing streak. Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum have played 167 times in the two programs' histories, and the Railsplitters have won the last 15 games since their last loss to the Pioneers on February 4, 2009.
 
Those five opponents compose the bulk of the last month of the regular season, as the last half of February looks like this: at Tusculum (February 10), home vs. Mars Hill (February 17), at Queens (February 20), at Anderson (February 24), home vs. Catawba (February 27). 
 
Postseason play
 
The South Atlantic Conference Championship commences on March 2 with quarterfinal round action. The top eight teams in the final SAC standings earn bids to the league tournament, while the top four teams host their respective quarterfinal round game. The semifinal and title games will be held at Furman University's Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. March 5-6. The winner of the SAC Championship earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
The NCAA Southeast Regional, which was hosted by Lincoln Memorial last season, will be held March 12-15 at the site of the No. 1 team in the final Southeast Region rankings as determined by an NCAA committee. The winner of the regional moves on the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
Nov. 13	King	Bristol, Tenn.	8 p.m.
Nov. 14	Lees-McRae	Bristol, Tenn.	12 p.m.
Nov. 19	Hiwassee	Tex Turner	7 p.m.
Nov. 24	Carson-Newman	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Nov. 28	UVa.-Wise	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Dec. 2	Lenoir-Rhyne	Hickory, N.C.	6 p.m.
Dec. 5	Coker	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Dec. 9	Bluefield (Va.)	Tex Turner	7:30 p.m.
Dec. 14	Brevard	Brevard, N.C.	4 p.m.
Dec. 16	Wingate	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Dec. 19	Newberry	Newberry, S.C.	4 p.m.
Jan. 2	Bellarmine	Louisville, Ky.	3 p.m.
Jan. 6	Mars Hill	Mars Hill, N.C.	8 p.m.
Jan. 9	Queens	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Jan. 13	Anderson	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Jan. 16	Catawba	Salisbury, N.C.	4 p.m.
Jan. 20	Tusculum	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Jan. 23	Coker	Hartsville, S.C.	4 p.m.
Jan. 27	Carson-Newman	Jefferson City, Tenn.	8 p.m.
Jan. 30	Lenoir-Rhyne	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Feb. 3	Brevard	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Feb. 6	Wingate	Wingate, N.C.	4 p.m.
Feb. 10	Tusculum	Greeneville, Tenn.	8 p.m.
Feb. 13	Newberry	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Feb. 17	Mars Hill	Tex Turner	8 p.m.
Feb. 20	Queens	Charlotte, N.C.	4 p.m.
Feb. 24	Anderson	Anderson, S.C.	8 p.m.
Feb. 27	Catawba	Tex Turner	4 p.m.
Mar. 2-6	SAC Championship	Higher Seed, Greenville, S.C.	TBA
Mar. 12-15	NCAA Southeast Regiona	TBA	TBA
TBA	NCAA Elite Eight	Ford Center, Frisco, Texas	TBA