CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – This weekend, Campbellsville seeks to play host to Indiana University Southeast and Marian University in the midst of the Lou Cunningham Classic.
 
Tune in as the voice of Tiger basketball, Matt Payton will be on the call at campbellsvilletigers.com/watch and WLCU-TV.
 
THE CLASSIC

• Through the Lou Cunningham Classic, IU Southeast, Marian, and Lindsey Wilson will come to visit the Powell Athletic Center.
• On Friday, Marian and Lindsey Wilson will get the action started, meeting at 6 p.m. ET, with the Tigers and IU Southeast to follow at 8 p.m. ET.
• For Saturday's matchups, the Tigers and Blue Raiders will switch opponents as LWC plays IU Southeast to open the day at 2 p.m. ET and CU will follow to meet Marian at 4 p.m. ET.

HISTORY IN THE CLASSIC

• Since Coach Vernon took the helm in 2016, the Tigers have held a 5-1 record hosting the Lou Cunningham Classic.
• Last season, Campbellsville hosted Oakwood and Philander Smith College as they were able to take, 86-60 and 104-82 wins on the weekend.
• IU Southeast is no stranger to the Classic as they handed the Tigers their lone loss in the Brent Vernon era, defeating CU 85-80 in 2017.

LAST TIME OUT

• The last time CU took the court, was Monday, when they visited the highly touted WKU Hilltoppers for an exhibition.
• The Tigers fell 109-66 in the exhibition match after hanging with the Tops for a majority of the first half.
• David Simmons, Richie Mitchell, and Justin Tucker all scored double figures led by Simmons' 13 points.

SCOUTING IU SOUTHEAST

• Entering the weekend, the Grenadiers hold a 6-1 record with a win over MSC opponent U. of the Cumberlands, 77-65 to open their season.
• In their last game, they fell to Georgetown College, 111-90.
• IU Southeast, a NAIA Division II team, currently ranks atop the DII in assists per game (22.2), assist/turnover ratio (1.98), and turnover margin (11.2).
• The Grenadiers also hold top 10 rankings shooting 53 percent from the field, scoring 97.2 points per game, averaging 11.2 steals per game, and making 12.2 3-pt. baskets a game.
• IU Southeast has been led by David Burton in the top three statistical categories as he leads the team with 16 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, and four assists per game.
• Outside the arc, Tamaje Blackwell has helped IU Southeast shooting 68 percent from three ranking fourth.

SCOUTING MARIAN UNIVERSITY

• Marian is also one of the top NAIA Division II teams as they entered the season ranked 14^thin NAIA DII.
• The Knights boast a record of 3-1, but are coming off a 78-76 loss by Thomas More.
• As a team, Marian leads DII in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 47 percent on the year.
• They also rank second in field goal percentage (0.554), assists per game (21.75), total defensive rebounds (26), and assist/turnover ratio (1.93).
• The Knights also sit in the top 10 in three point field goals made per game (11.75), steals per game (11.5), turnover margin (8.25), and scoring margin (30.0).
• Individually, Christian Harvey has proven to be most effective from the field, ranking in the top 10 in both field goal (0.714) and 3-point (0.667) percentages.
• Marian has been led by Cameron Wolter on the glass and in the scoring column as he averages 7.75 boards and 17 points per contest.

 
HISTORY VS IU SOUTHEAST

• Campbellsville has matched up with the Grenadiers 18 times since 1982, taking a record of 14-4 into the game.
• Their last game was in the 2017 Lou Cunningham Classic as CU hosted IU Southeast and fell 85-80, as the Grenadiers had two players scoring 22 points.
• In this matchup, CU was led by Andrew Smith who had 22 of his own.

HISTORY (OR LACK THEREOF) VS. MARIAN

• This will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Knights.

STRONG STARTS

• In each of their games, the Tigers have entered the halftime break leading, scoring a high of 62 points in their season opener against Ohio State-Mansfield.
• CU has dropped three of those games after second half struggles have haunted CU.

POWELL IS THE PLACE TO BE

• The Tigers are return the Powell after three games and an exhibition away from Campbellsville.
• On the season, the Powell Athletic Center will host 17 games for the Tigers, where head coach Brent Vernon has found tremendous success.
• Throughout his tenure, the Tigers have boasted a 36-13 home record, including a 14-2 record at home last season.
• However, the Tigers have gone 2-2 thus far at home after dropping both games in the MSC/SSAC Challenge.

TIGERS RANK 21^STENTERING THE YEAR

• As the NAIA released its Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday, Campbellsville earned 76 voting points to be ranked 21^stoverall in the poll.
• CU was given this ranking after a 22-10 record and an appearance at the NAIA National Tournament had them ending last season in the receiving votes category of the poll.
• The Tigers will seek to continue to move up the rankings with a hot start to the season, after an 11-0 start last year propelled them as high as fifth in the poll.
• The next poll is set to be released on Nov. 27^th.

DEPTH OF THE MID-SOUTH CONFERENCE

• After a 7-7 conference record last season, the Tigers were selected to finish fourth in the Mid-South Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll.
• Campbellsville was also selected as the fourth Mid-South Conference team in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll as the conference featured five teams mentioned in the poll.
• Following a national championship last season, Georgetown enters the year earning the overall spot in the national poll, closely followed by Pikeville who was ranked fifth.
• The University of the Cumberlands was also mentioned ahead of Campbellsville in the poll as they earned the 16^thspot in the rankings.
• Trailing Campbellsville in the poll is Life University who sits outside of the rankings in the receiving votes category.

CU SPORTS NETWORK

• All Tiger home games will be streamed on the CU Sports Network on campbellsvilletigers.com, as well as the home Mid-South Conference games scheduled to be aired on WLCU-TV.
• Campbellsvilletigers.com allows anyone not able to make it to the Powell Athletic Center for home games to view games for free.

MSC ACTION THUS FAR

• The Mid-South Conference has four teams undefeated nearly one month into the season as Pikeville leads the way with an 8-0 record.
• Each team in the MSC boasts a winning record.
• Campbellsville currently sits in the back of the pack with an overall winning percentage of .571.

UPCOMING FOR THE TIGERS

• After the Lou Cunningham Classic, the Tigers will them play host to the Campbellsville University Classic on Thanksgiving weekend, where they will host Oakland City and Philander Smith College.