Complete Game Notes
Exhibition: Lincoln at Saint Louis (1-0)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023
Time: 8:00 p.m. CST
Site: St. Louis, Mo.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=487601
Live Video (ESPN+): https://plus.espn.com/
 
Game #1: Lincoln (17-10 in 2022-23) vs. Harding (8-20 in 2022-23)
Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Fort Smith, Ark.
 
Game #2: Lincoln vs. Ouachita Baptist (12-16 in 2022-23)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023
Time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Site: Fort Smith, Ark.
 
THE TIP OFF:  Following one of the most successful years in recent memory, the Lincoln men's basketball team opens its 2023-24 campaign with a pair of games this weekend. Lincoln officially tips off the season at a neutral site in Fort Smith, Ark., as the Blue Tigers take on Harding on Friday (Nov. 8) at 5:30 p.m. CST. Lincoln will stay in Arkansas to play Ouachita Baptist on Saturday (Nov. 11) in a 6:00 p.m. CST contest. Lincoln enjoyed the second-largest turnaround in NCAA Division II a year ago, improving on its four-win 2021-22 season by going 17-10 in 2022-23. That included 13 wins against MIAA opponents, the most-ever league wins for Lincoln in any conference in program history. Harding is coming off an 8-20 season in 2022-23 while Ouachtia Baptist was 12-16. Before officially opening the season, Lincoln visits St. Louis, Mo. to take on Division I Saint Louis in an 8:00 p.m. CST exhibition game on Wednesday (Nov. 8).
 
FAST BREAKS
- On Friday, Lincoln will play Harding in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
 
- The Blue Tigers will play Ouachita Baptist for just the second time ever on Saturday. The only other time these teams met was in 2015-16, when LU edged OBU, 75-74, in a neutral site game in Bolivar, Mo.
 
- Head coach Jimmy Drew is 1-1 in neutral site games as Lincoln's head coach. He led LU to a 79-64 win against Concordia-St. Paul in Nebraska last season, but fell to Emporia State, 79-70, in the quarterfinals of the MIAA tournament at the end of the year.
 
- LU is 5-3 in its past eight season openers.
 
- Lincoln is playing to start a season 2-0 for the third time in past four seasons.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Lincoln has a strong mix of returners and newcomers on a roster that boasts an average height of 6-5. DJ Richardson is the top-returning scorer, tallying 8.5 points per game in 2022-23, and Sam Rautins averaged 6.8 points while shooting .368 from three-point range. Franck Yetna is also back after averaging 3.7 rebounds and recording 18 blocks last season.
 
HEAD COACH JIMMY DREW:  In his second year as the head coach at Lincoln, Drew led the Blue Tigers to 17 overall wins and 13 conference victories, the latter a program record, in 2022-23. Drew came to LU following a six-year run on the staff at Division I Central Florida, where he helped UCF to a pair of 20-win seasons and a berth in the second round of the NCAA tourney.
 
SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS:  Saint Louis is 1-0 on the season after opening with a 75-63 home win over Southern Indiana on Monday (Nov. 6). Terrence Hargrove, Jr. had a monster game with 27 points and 15 rebounds, while Larry Hughes II added 12 points and three steals. Tim Dalger had seven boards while Gibson Jimerson finished with nine points, four rebounds and five assists.
 
SLU HEAD COACH TRAVIS FORD:  In his eighth year as the head coach of Sain Louis, Ford has led the Billikens to 134 victories. Ford also has had head coaching stints at Oklahoma State, where he led the Cowboys to five appearances in the NCAA tournament, Massachusetts, Eastern Kentucky and Campbellsville. Ford started his playing career at Missouri before transferring to Kentucky.
 
SCOUTING THE BISONS:  Harding returns four starters from a team that went 8-20 overall, but 4-2 in non-conference games in 2022-23. Kevin McBride averaged 10.5 points and 2.7 assists last year while Stetson Smithson had 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. JT Smith led HU in assists (2.8), and Sam Henderson averaged 6.0 points.
 
HU HEAD COACH WESTON JAMESON:  The first-year head coach of the Harding men's team is no stranger to the university, as he served as the school's assistant women's basketball coach from 2015-20. In that span, he helped the Bisons win 106 games, two regular season league titles and qualify for the 2017 NCAA DII tournament. Jameson moved up to Division I in 2020 and was on women's basketball coaching staffs at both Arkansas State and Abilene Christian.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:  Ouachita Baptist has two starters back from a squad that went 12-16 in 2022-23. Tylar Haynes is the top-returning scorer with 12.9 points per game, and he also led OBU in rebounding (7.0) a year ago. Reggie Martin, who averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 boards, is the other returning starter.
 
OBU HEAD COACH DENNIS NUTT:  A former pro player with the Dallas Mavericks, Nutt is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Tigers. Nutt has led Ouachita Baptist to 157 victories and was the Great American Conference's Coach of the Year in 2015. Before coming to OBU, he was the head coach at Texas State from 2000-06.
 
EXHIBITION SEASON:  Lincoln has only one exhibition game scheduled in 2023-24, as the Blue Tigers play at Saint Louis on Wednesday (Nov. 8). The two teams have never met in the regular season, and this game will count for SLU in its season standings. This is the second-straight year that Lincoln has played a Division I opponent in an exhibition before opening the season.
 
TAKING DOWN DIVISION I:  Nearly one full year before playing Saint Louis on Wednesday, the Blue Tigers defeated Missouri-Kansas City, another NCAA Division I team, by a score of 59-56 on Nov. 7, 2022. That game was an exhibition for Lincoln but counted for UMKC, and was LU's first win over a DI opponent since 1978-79, when the Blue Tigers beat Arkansas-Little Rock, 84-60, in Jefferson City.
 
TURN AROUND...:  After posting a 4-23 record in 2021-22, Lincoln opened the 2022-23 season 3-0 and finished the year with a 17-10 record. The 13-victory improvement tied with Young Harris for the second-best increase in wins by a Division II team last season. Only Virginia Wise, which won 15 more games last year than it did in 2021-22, had a better turn around.
 
ON THE REBOUND:  A big key to Lincoln's success last year was its ability to attack the glass. The Blue Tigers had a +8.6 rebound margin in 2022-23, the fifth-best margin in NCAA Division II. Lincoln also was 21st in the nation in offensive rebounding (12.9), 23rd in total rebounding (39.2) and was second in the MIAA in defensive rebounding (26.4).
 
THE POLLS ARE OPEN:  The members of the media who regularly cover the MIAA are expecting another big year for the Blue Tigers, as Lincoln was picked sixth in the league's preseason media poll. The coaches were slightly less enthusiastic about LU's chances, picking Lincoln 12th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS:  Lincoln is partnering up with Hometown Ticketing once again to sell tickets to all of LU's basketball games online in 2023-24. For more information, or to purchase single game or regular season tickets, visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/Tickets.
 
JOIN THE CLUB:  The Blue Tiger Athletics Club is a great way to engage with other LU fans while supporting Lincoln student-athletes. Every dollar raised by the club goes towards scholarships, improving facilities and purchasing equipment. To join the BTAC, or to learn more, 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 14 LU 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:  Lincoln returns to St. Louis, Mo. to play Harris Stowe next Wednesday (Nov. 15) at 7:30 p.m. CST.