Complete Game Notes | Ticket Policy
Game #1: Central Missouri (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) at Lincoln (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020
Time: 1:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jason Gym (1,538) in Jefferson City, Mo.
Tickets: Available on a Limited Basis at http://www.LUBlueTigers.com/Tickets
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers/
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/

THE TIP OFF:  Basketball returns to Jason Gym this weekend as the Lincoln men host Central Missouri on Saturday (Nov. 21) for a 1:30 p.m. CST contest. The Blue Tigers are tipping off a slate of 22 conference games, as the MIAA becomes one of the first NCAA leagues at any division to open the 2020-21 basketball slate. Last year, LU qualified for the playoffs for the fifth-straight season, earning a 78-69 win over Central Oklahoma in the first round of the 2020 MIAA tournament. The Blue Tigers have won a postseason game in four of the past five years, and have posted double-digit victory totals in each of the last five seasons. Central Missouri just missed the postseason with a 10-18 record a year ago.

FAST BREAKS
- This will be the 97th meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Mules, with Central Missouri leading the series, 60-36.

- Lincoln and Central Missouri have met twice in each of the past four years, splitting the season series each time. The home team is 6-0 over the past three seasons.

- LU lost its last game against Central Missouri, 69-62, in Warrensburg on Feb. 18. The teams last played in Jason Gym on Jan. 11, with Lincoln claiming an 88-84 victory.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  The 2020-21 Blue Tigers boast five returners, led by Cameron Potts, who averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a year ago. Lamont Ballard, Jr. averaged 5.4 points last season, while Jordan Notch started 12 games in 2019-20, averaging 5.0 points and 2.1 boards. DaMani Jarrett played in 21 games last year while the other returner is Ni'Sean Rigmaiden, who gave LU 10.9 points, 5.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2018-19 before missing last season with a preseason injury.

HEAD COACH JOHN MOSELEY:  Now in his seventh season as the head coach of the Blue Tigers, Moseley has led Lincoln to five-straight postseason appearances, and guided the team to four-consecutive winning seasons between 2015-16 and 2018-19. In 2015-16, he became the first coach to take Lincoln to the postseason since 1986-87 and led LU to its first winning campaign since the 2001-02 season.

LAST TIME OUT:  This will be the first Lincoln basketball game since March 5, when the Blue Tigers fell to Northwest Missouri in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals. LU earned the No. 10 seed in the tourney and advanced to face the Bearcats after defeating Central Oklahoma, 78-69, in the opening round.

SCOUTING THE MULES:  This will be nearly a brand new Central Missouri squad, with just two of UCM's top-eight scorers returning from 2019-20. Gaven Pinkley averaged a team-high 13.2 points and 5.3 rebounds last year, starting 26 games and shooting .511 from the floor. Garrett Luinstra also returns after averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 boards last season. Shae Wyatt, who had 4.4 points per game through 17 contests a year ago, also returns for the Mules.

UCM HEAD COACH DOUG KARLESKINT:  In his seventh season as the head coach of the Mules, Karleskint has directed Central Missouri to more than 90 wins and a trip to the NCAA Division II tournament. Karleskint came to UCM after a four-year career at Arkansas Tech in which he won 89 games and qualified for the NCAA tournament every year.

GAME DAY, FINALLY!:  With COVID wreaking havoc on collegiate sports throughout the nation, this will be the first Lincoln sporting event since hosting a softball double-header on March 11. With the spring season being cut short and the fall season canceled, this is the first LU sporting event in 255 days.

ALL-MIAA, ALL-YEAR:  For the first time in team history, Lincoln will play a schedule that comprises entirely of MIAA opponents. LU will play 22 league games, its most in a season since 2010-11, with 11 home contests and 11 on the road. This will mark the first time Lincoln has opened a year against a current MIAA opponent since 2007-08, when LU opened with a neutral site contest against Washburn.

IT STARTS AT HOME:  On Saturday, Lincoln will open a season on its home court for the first time since 2008-09, when the Blue Tigers opened their campaign with a 93-69 victory over Harris Stowe in Jason Gym. Under the direction of head coach John Moseley, Lincoln is 3-3 in its first home game of the season. Only once in that span has the first home game of a year been against an MIAA opponent; last year, when Lincoln dropped an 87-53 decision to No. 1 Northwest Missouri.

WELCOME BACK:  After missing last season with a preseason injury, Ni'Sean Rigmaiden is back in 2020-21 to give Lincoln a boost on both sides of the court. In 2018-19, Rigmaiden was third in the MIAA in assists (5.0) and fourth in steals (1.4), and he shot .458 from the field with 10.9 points per game. Rigmaiden also averaged 4.6 rebounds while helping Lincoln achieve an 18-12 record.

CHIEF THIEF:  Lincoln should be able to create turnovers this year; in addition to bringing back Ni'Sean Rigmaiden, LU also returns Cameron Potts, who led LU and finished seventh in the MIAA in steals in 2019-20. Potts had 14 multiple steal performances last year.

ALL-AROUND ASSET:  Beyond taking the ball away, Cameron Potts was one of Lincoln's top players in nearly every statistic last year. Potts averaged 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds, ranking second on the team in both categories. Potts also averaged a team-high 3.8 assists.

THE HOME FRONT:  Lincoln's first two games will be played in Jason Gym, and LU will be home for six of its eight games in January. December and February, on the other hand, will see the Blue Tigers playing just three of their 12 games in those months in Jefferson City.

GOOD ON THE COURT:  For the fifth-straight season, the Blue Tigers qualified for the MIAA tournament. With LU's win over Central Oklahoma in the first round, Lincoln has now won a playoff game in four of those five postseasons, highlighted by a trip to the semifinals of the 2019 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship.

...AND GOOD IN THE CLASSROOM:  LU also excelled in the classroom in 2019-20, earning one of the prestigious NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards. Nine players had a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, with four 4.0 students, as LU had a combined team GPA higher than 3.0.

GOING DIGITAL:  Lincoln is partnering with Hometown Ticketing to sell all tickets to LU basketball games online in 2020-21. There will be no on-site ticket sales, as fans will either need to pull up their ticket on their phone or print them off in advance to be scanned at the gate. Due to MIAA regulations, tickets to Blue Tiger games will be sold on a limited basis, and members of the Blue Tiger Athletics Club will be given priority. For more information, visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/Tickets.

JOIN THE CLUB:  Members who joined the Blue Tiger Athletics Club at the Coaches level of above will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets in 2020-21. Members at the Blue Tiger level will have the next chance. To join the BTAC, or to learn more about the club, please visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/BTAC.

WATCH LIVE:  Fans who are unable to attend a game in person will still be able to cheer on the Blue Tigers to victory via The MIAA Network. All 11 Lincoln home games will be broadcast through a new multi-camera system and can be seen at www.TheMIAANetwork.com/LUBlueTigers.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Lincoln fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.

NEXT UP:  The Blue Tigers are back in Jason Gym next Saturday (Nov. 28) to play Missouri Southern in a 3:00 p.m. CST contest.