Belmont Basketball

Belmont gave Duke all they could handle on Friday night, losing 77-76 in the season opener for both teams.  A three-pointer by Andre Dawkins put Duke up four with just under 20 seconds to go, and kept Belmont from having a final possession with a chance to grab what would have easily been the biggest win in the history of the program.

On Friday night in Durham, Belmont reminded everyone of March 2008, when they nearly knocked off second-seeded Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament, losing 71-70. 

Not too much was expected of Belmont going into this game, except for them to play their role in moving coach Mike Krzyzewski within one win of the all-time Division I-record 902 wins. 

How quickly we can forget—this Belmont team returned four starters from a team that won 30 games last season and made the NCAA tournament as a No. 13 seed.  They are certainly a veteran team, starting three seniors (forward Mick Hedgepath, center Scott Saunders and guard Drew Hanlen) and two juniors (guards Ian Clark and Kerron Johnson) in the opener with Duke. 

An experienced lineup is a large part of the formula that comes with success in March, and Belmont is almost as certain a bet to be in the NCAA’s as Duke is.  Nobody else in the Atlantic Sun is within two levels of where Belmont currently is.

As for Duke, a team who lost longtime team cornerstones in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, a slight drop-off in play early this season wouldn’t be too much of a surprise.  Freshman Austin Rivers should help ensure any drop-off is minimal.

Put the two teams’ situations together, and perhaps this result is about what we should have expected. 

Now Belmont will take the confidence and hunger from their near miss against Duke and head back to Tennessee, for another opportunity against a Top 10 team.  The Bruins will play at No. 9 Memphis in an early game on Tuesday, part of the ESPN 24-hour hoops marathon. 

A game like this could come at a perfect time for Belmont, with the performance against Duke still fresh.  However, that performance should further heighten the attention of Memphis as well.  It will be difficult to sneak up on Coach Josh Pastner’s team at this point.

After the Memphis game, there aren’t any other big opportunities out there for Belmont to get any notable non-conference wins.  Their games against Duke and Memphis are actually part of the preliminary portion of the Maui Invitational.  However, unlike Duke and Memphis, the Bruins will not get the chance to head out to Hawaii to showcase themselves even further.  Instead, they get to play Towson.  That’s not exactly an RPI enhancer.

It’s rather unfortunate.  This team could certainly compete against the likes of Tennessee, Michigan, or UCLA—a few of the other teams who will be part of the eight-team field in Maui.

This all makes the upcoming game against Memphis that much more important for Belmont.  It’s definitely a game worth watching if you’re fortunate enough to have access to a TV at noon on a Tuesday.

As one of the earlier conference tournaments, the Atlantic Sun tournament will open up on Mar. 2. With the first round lasting two days, the three-round tournament will continue through Mar. 5, when it ends with the championship game.

This season in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Belmont has been the story. The Bruins dominated the conference with their only loss coming at fourth-place Lipscomb. The Bruins are the heavy favorite to win this conference tournament and get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Here is a game-by-game preview of the Atlantic Sun tournament to see if Belmont has good chances to prevail as the favored team. All games are hosted by Mercer University. 

Quarterfinals, Mar. 2 and 3

No. 1 Belmont vs. No. 8 Kennesaw State

Belmont has dominated the Atlantic Sun all season long. The Bruins finished the regular season with their only conference loss coming at Lipscomb. The Bruins won 19 Atlantic Sun games with an average margin of victory of 22 points. 

My pick: Belmont by 24

No. 4 Lipscomb vs. No. 5 Mercer

In a rematch of the final game of the regular season, the Lipscomb Bisons match up with the Mercer Bears. Lipscomb won easily in the first meeting when the Bisons hosted, but Mercer got the best of Lipscomb in the return game, winning by one point.

Fortunately for Mercer, this game will be held on the Bears home floor.

After winning the regular season title last year, Lipscomb lost in the Atlantic Sun quarterfinals. This year, the Bisons are hungry to at least make it further into March. 

The Bisons will be better prepared for playing at Mercer for a second time. This time, they will survive and advance with a close win. 

My pick: Lipscomb by five

No. 3 Jacksonville vs. No. 6 North Florida

In the regular season, Jacksonville swept North Florida but only by a total of three points. In a league where almost all teams are competitive with each other, this game will also come down to the wire.

This game will be decided by defense.

Both teams are solid on defense, and defense is likely what this game will come down to. But in two defensive-minded games these two teams played during the regular season, North Florida seemed to have Jacksonville's number.

North Florida upset Jacksonville at home, and then came a last-second shot away from defeating the Dolphins on the road.

In this rubber match, expect North Florida to pull off the first-round upset.

My pick: North Florida by two

  

No. 2 East Tennessee State vs. No. 7 Campbell

East Tennessee State had to live in the shadow of Belmont this year. The Bucs lost two of their four league games to the Bruins, and their other two losses came by one point each on the road.

More importantly, the Bucs are an experienced team. Not only are there 10 upperclassmen on this squad, but this team has also won back-to-back Atlantic Sun tournaments.

My pick: ETSU by 13  

Semifinals, Mar. 4

No. 1 Belmont vs. No. 4 Lipscomb

There is no doubt in my mind that Lipscomb will give Belmont a good fight. The Bisons were the one team to beat Belmont this season, but they also got blown out when playing at Belmont.

I expect this to be a higher-scoring game since both teams have scored in their big-time, pressure games this year. It has been in the less important games that these teams have had scoring troubles. They will not have those troubles in a semifinal game with an NCAA tournament bid on the line.

To have any chance, Lipscomb will need this to be a high-scoring game. The lower-scoring games have resulted in ugly losses for the Bisons this season.

Also, Lipscomb will have to limit its turnovers. Belmont is a strong defensive team and forces 10 steals per game. Lipscomb is not great with the ball, turning it over 16 times per game.

Ultimately, it is too unrealistic for Lipscomb to both control the pace and the ball in a way that would give the Bisons a chance to beat Belmont.   

My pick: Belmont by four

 

No. 2 East Tennessee State vs. No. 6 North Florida

When East Tennessee State played North Florida on Feb. 13, the game was owned by the Bucs. They defeated the Ospreys 80-57 on their home floor. Again, this is a team with loads of experience, and it is looking for its third straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Plus, the Bucs have simply had North Florida's number so far this year.

My pick: ETSU by 11

Finals, Mar. 5, ESPN2

No. 1 Belmont vs. No. 2 East Tennessee State

This will make for a great championship game. East Tennessee State has won back-to-back Atlantic Sun tournaments, and the Bucs will be matching up against the best team in the conference. 

However, despite the good story behind the game, Belmont has played very well against East Tennessee State this year, winning by 10 points in each meeting with the Bucs. 

East Tennessee State's flaw is its three-point defense. In two games, the Bucs allowed Belmont to make 20 three-pointers. When Belmont makes a lot of three-pointers, opponents basically stand no chance.

My pick: Belmont by eight

Follow Jesse Kramer on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer for more college basketball news and information.

Yesterday marked the official start of the postseason as the Big South and Horizon League kicked off their conference tournaments.

Today things get a bit more interesting as two of the more underrated "mid mid-major" conferences tip-off in the Ohio Valley and Atlantic Sun conferences.

ATLANTIC SUN PREVIEW

Bubble- None

Bracket- http://www.atlanticsun.org/media/2010-11/pdf/MBB%20Bracket%20-%202011.pdf

PROJECTED  CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

1. Belmont 27-4 (19-1) vs 2. East Tennessee State 21-10 (16-4)

This is going to be an interesting tournament.  Belmont has the great record, but any of the top four seeds (Belmont, ETSU, Jacksonville, Lipscomb and Mercer) can win this thing.

Belmont has now won four A-Sun regular season titles since 2006.  Belmont and ETSU have prior NCAA tournament experience over recent years.  Jacksonville lost in back-to-back Atlantic Sun Championship Game appearances in 2008 and 2009.  Lipscomb has a dominant big man in Adnan Hodzic, and Mercer gets to play on their home floor.

PREDICTION- Belmont, they've been the most consistent team all season long.

Projected Tournament Seed- Belmont (13)

Player to Watch- Adnan Hodzic (Lipscomb)- The 2010 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year is seven points shy of becoming the fifth player in league history to reach 2,000 points.

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Bubble- None

Bracket- http://www.ovcsports.com//pdf8/742573.pdf?SPSID=31039&SPID=2443&DB_OEM_ID=6200

PROJECTED  CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

1. Murray State 23-7 (14-4) vs 2. Morehead State 22-9 (13-5)

Murray State and Morehead State are destined to meet in the Championship Game this coming Saturday.  It's been the game that everyone's projected since the beginning of the season.

PREDICTION- Morehead State, but the Championship Game should be a classic.

Projected Tournament Seed- Morehead State (14)

Player to Watch- Kenneth Faried (Morehead State)- I first set eyes on Faried two seasons ago in 2009 as Morehead State went on to win the OVC Title.  Faried controlled everything on the floor without scoring.  He's a fantastic interior defender, rebounder and shotblocker.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PREVIEW

Bubble- None

Bracket- http://www.ovcsports.com//pdf8/742573.pdf?SPSID=31039&SPID=2443&DB_OEM_ID=6200

PROJECTED  CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

2. American 21-8 (11-3) vs 4. Lehigh 15-14 (6-8)

I'm looking at a possible semifinal clash between Bucknell and Lehigh.  Lehigh's the reigning Patriot League champ and if C.J. McCollum can get on a roll, there's no reason why he can't lead the Mountain Hawks to another Patriot League Title.  He's that talented.

As for Bucknell, they do have the Player of the Year in Mike Muscala.  With Muscala and McCollum as only sophomores, these two could take the Patriot League to a new level in the upcoming years.

PREDICTION- Lehigh, my man crush for McCollum is clearly evident.

Projected Tournament Seed- Lehigh (16)

Player to Watch- C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)- McCollum averaged 21.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during the regular season.  He changes speeds and is silky smooth with the ball in his hands. 

As we continue our run through college basketball's conference leaders, today we take an inside look at the Atlantic Sun leading Belmont Bruins.  After posting a record of 20-4, the Bruins have raced out to the front of the conference with a record of 12-1 in Atlantic Sun play. 

With the regular season almost three quarters of the way done, the Bruins have proven to be a dominant force in the Atlantic Sun with key wins over East Tennessee State, Jacksonville and Lipscomb, who are respectively second, third and fourth in the conference standings.

Belmont is led by a trio of double digit scorers.  Sophomore Ian Clark paces the Bruins with 11.2 points per game.  The Bruins have also established a strong game in the paint, with juniors Scott Saunders and Mick Hedgepeth averaging 10.5 and 10.4 points per game.  As a team, Belmont has one of the most electrifying offenses in college basketball with 81.6 points per game.  This paces the Bruins to be the 11th best offense in the nation.  

The Bruins road to it's fourth NCAA Tournament berth is anything but a sure thing.  They are currently clinging to a one game lead in the conference standings, with key games against East Tennessee State and Jacksonville to come.  Just over a week ago, they showed that they are vulnerable in conference play by losing to Lipscomb on the road 73-64.

Should Belmont make the NCAA tournament, they certainly would be a fun team to watch.  Back in 2008, the Bruins entered the tournament as a 15 seed and nearly beat out second seeded Duke in a 71-70 dogfight.   Jordan Campbell and Jon House are the only surviving members of that squad.  Campbell put up seven points in 22 minutes of action and House added four points in 12 minutes in their freshman appearance in the Big Dance.  Both players are looking to play even bigger roles this season in their senior campaigns.  

Up Next: Big 12: Texas Longhorns 19-3

Boxscore

James Madison bounced back on Tuesday night by beating the Belmont Bruins 81-64 in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic.

In the opening round game against UTEP, the Dukes struggled to match the three-point shooting of the Miners. Randy Culpepper set a school record with eight daggers from downtown and paced UTEP with 30 points. JMU, on the other hand, shot only 4 of 16 from long range. The Miners went on to beat JMU 79-66.

It was a different story last night, as the Dukes shot 10 of 20 from deep and dominated the second half on their way to a very convincing win.

Kyle Swanston shook off a poor performance against UTEP and scored 23 points while Pierre Curtis ended his early season slump with his best game of the season, scoring 16 points.

Curtis scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half to keep the Dukes close in a period that was often sloppy and turnover-plagued. JMU had 14 turnovers and the Bruins turned the ball over 11 times. Belmont also controlled the offensive glass in the half, pulling down 14 offensive rebounds.

However, the Dukes settled down in the second half, committing only four turnovers and converting several Belmont miscues into scores.

JMU was helped by the return of Andrey Semenov, who sat out Monday with the flu. He scored six points and grabbed five rebounds. Julius Wells had 10 points and five rebounds, and Juwann James chipped in nine points, all of which came in the second half.

Belmont was led by Shane Dansby with 16 points, and the Bruins fell to 5-6. The Dukes improved to 8-5 on the season.

Santa Clara won the Cable Car Classic championship by beating UTEP 89-88 in a wild overtime game. Stefon Jackson scored 44 points to become UTEP's all-time leading scorer.

Every day, I will give a new reason to be pumped for the upcoming college basketball season. Here's the 71st reason to be excited for college basketball season.

Every year, there's a team that exceeds all expectations and becomes one of the premier teams in the country. 

Drake did it in 2008. They went 17-15 in 2007 and then 28-5 in 2008. They were widely considered one of the worst teams in the Missouri Valley and then promptly won the conference.

In 2007, Butler was coming off a solid 20-win season, but to start the 2007 season, the Bulldogs went on one of the most ridiculous runs. They took down power-conference team after power-conference team on the way to a preseason NIT title.

And, of course, in 2006, George Mason made probably the most unexpected run by a Cinderella in all of NCAA history, until Fresno State's recent College World Series title.

So, in 2008, who's going to take the title of the unknown Cinderella? Who will take the title for mid-major program that 90 percent of America can't identify its location on a map?

There are several candidates out there, some with experience in March, while some will truly come out of nowhere.

The Belmont Bruins jump out as a team that could make some noise during the regular season and potentially in the first round of the tournament. They've made three NCAA tournaments in the last seven years and bring back four starters that played key roles in the Bruins' last-second loss to Duke in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Belmont loses its leading scorer, but brings back its next four best players. Two new freshmen, Brandon Baker and Drew Hanlen, will also improve the Bruins.

What Belmont doesn't have going for them is the low RPI they are destined to have after playing a full conference schedule in the Atlantic Sun conference. They are almost guaranteed to get a 15 or 16 seed, no matter what they do, unless the Bruins knock off a top-tier team during the non-conference slate.

Utah, once basked in glory during the 1990s, a run that ended in a national-title game loss to Kentucky in 1998.

In 2008, the Utes finished 18-15 and under .500 in the conference, but what Utah does have going for them is the return of all five starters. Utah has those wonderful buzzwords: senior leadership. Shaun Green and Lawrence Borha both started throughout the 2008 season and return for 2009 as seniors.

Coach Jim Boylen also has one of the best players in the conference, as well as the tallest in 7'1'' center Luke Nevill. He could be one of those unknown players the country falls in love with come March. Nevill also projects to potentially be a first-round pick in the 2009 draft.

The University of Alabama-Birmingham could finally challenge Memphis for Conference USA supremacy. UAB features a trio of very dangerous players that could give the Tigers fits.

When Robert Vaden pulled his name out of the draft, UAB got one of the most explosive players in the country. He repeatedly took over games and sent teams scurrying out of the gym with devastating losses (go ask Kentucky what they think of Vaden).

On top of Vaden, UAB features Paul Delaney, who returns for a fifth and final season after blowing out his knee four games into the 2008 campaign. He averaged 15.5 points in 2007 and will be a very nice compliment to Vaden.

The wild card to UAB's success will be a player I watched tear my alma mater apart in high school. Terrence Roderick reportedly barely graduated from William Allen High School in 2006 and fell off the national basketball radar when he went to a year of prep school before transferring to UAB.

Long story short, he got his grades up and is now a member of the Blazers. He's a great talent (11th best prep-school recruit) and could contribute immediately.

So, reason number 71 to be pumped for the College Basketball season is the emergence of a new Cinderella that will capture the hearts of millions in March.

First off, let me just say that I give the Belmont Bruins all the credit in the world.  They played their hearts out and were the better team.  That said, the score at the end did not favor them, and they will now spend the rest of the lives wondering, "What if?"

Belmont played the Duke Blue Devils for 40 minutes.  Whenever Duke went on a run, the Bruins maintained their composure and hit the Devils back with a run of their own.  

Alex Renfroe had his way with each Duke defender, consistently blowing by his man and finishing at the rim.  Renfroe finished with 15 points on 7-11 shooting.

Andy Wicke came off the bench to hit five out of seven three pointers, including some huge ones down the stretch.

On the Duke end, Gerald Henderson saved their season, scoring 21 points, including the game winner.

In the end, the upset was not to be. Although some will say the result was a fluke, I don't see it that way.  Now, if the two teams met again tomorrow, I am not saying that Duke wouldn't win that game by 15 points.  They might.

However, in many of the bigger upsets that the NCAA Tournament has seen, the result has been a case of the Cinderella playing way above their heads while the favorite was having an off night.

That didn't happen on Thursday night.  Both teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field, and Wicke aside, no player on the court was on target from beyond the arc.  Duke actually out-rebounded Belmont by eight, and had 13 offensive rebounds. 

Belmont continuously hurt themselves with ill-advised shots in transition, and a reluctance to bomb away from the three when their offense did not get anything going quickly.  After Kyle Singler picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, the Bruins never really attacked him while he was in the game.

Duke certainly didn't play it's finest basketball of the season, but played far from it's worst.  They only shot 6-21 from the three, but they have had plenty of other games this season with similar numbers.

The fact of the matter is that this Duke team just isn't very good.  Last night was not a fluke or an aberration.  Coach Krzyzewski is going to do his very best to keep his team from going home early.

West Virginia is a dangerous team that beat many of the Big East's top teams over the course of the season.  Beyond that waits either Xavier or Purdue, who both look capable of beating the Blue Devils.

More importantly, Duke itself has done very little to convince the college basketball world that they are ready to make a deep run in 2008.  

Coach K plays his starters more than most teams, especially at this time of year.  Against Belmont, Duke's bench only played 55 minutes, as opposed to the 83 by the Bruins' substitutes.

After 33 games, fatigue starts to become a factor.  In the last five minutes, Duke's five on the court looked sluggish and tired, while Belmont's five looked to be the better conditioned and fresher squad.

Regardless, the Blue Devils lived to fight another day, and while this game may serve to be the wake-up call they so desperately need, I see it as no more than a temporary reprieve.

In case you missed it, Belmont just lost one of the closest games I've ever seen, 71-70, to the hated Duke Blue Devils.

They hustled as if their lives were on the line, and in the end, one bad pass sealed the deal. I became a Belmont fan in under two minutes after seeing them dive after every loose ball, hustle on every play, fight for position on every missed shot.

Screwed bracket or not, I was almost wishing Belmont to win.

And in the end, it doesn't matter. Duke wins like always, barely avoiding two straight First Round bumps. But the best game so far showed promise, after embarrassing blowouts like No. 13 seeded Winthrop to No. 4 seed Washington State. If a team everyone through aside as an easy win for Duke can nearly pull off a miracle upset, who else can? Let's look at the upcoming games.  

No. 11 St. Josephs vs. No. 6 Oklahoma

Remember Saint Joseph’s? The team that was a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed four years ago. Even made it to the regional final. Well, the Hawks are back—but with an extra “one” in the seed. The Sooner (22-11) and the Hawks (21-12) are ready to duke it out, no pun intended. The game changer here could be Pat Calathes, who's averaged 17.8 PPG and 7.5 RPG while leading St. Josephs. This game reeks of upset-potential.

 No. 12 Villanova vs. No. 5 Clemson

Sure Clemson (24-9) beat a heavily favored Duke team in the ACC semi-finals. Sure Villanova (20-12) was one of the last teams to get an at-large bid. Look at the history though. No program has recorded more upsets in the NCAA tournament than Villanova, which has 12 wins as a lower-seeded team since 1979. Another thing going against Clemson is that this is their first tournament appearance since 1998, which means none of their players have ever experienced the joy of March Madness. Chalk up inexperience as the reason 'Nova pulls off the upset.

 No. 12 West Kentucky vs. No. 5 Drake

Many experts have been picking the Drake Bulldogs to go far in their bracket, but first they'll have a tough test against West Kentucky.In addition to winning the MVC regular season and conference tournament titles, Drake had a 21-game winning streak that propelled the Bulldogs into the Top 25 for the first time since the last three weeks of the 1974-75 season. But Western Kentucky is 27-6, and has a deadly shooter in Courtney Lee, who is averaging 20.4 PPG for the hilltoppers. Watch out for this game.