The ASUN Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off Tuesday, and, as tip-off gets closer, here’s a quick preview of each team entering the tournament this week:
#1 Liberty (27-4, 13-3)
Liberty entered the season as the big favorite, and the Flames promptly opened the year 14-0. Liberty looked like it might run away with the ASUN regular season title early, until the Flames slipped up in Florida losing to North Florida and Stetson in consecutive games. That seemed to serve as a bit of a wake up call for head coach Ritchie McKay and his Flames, who have gone on to win 8 straight at the end of the season before falling to hot shooting Lipscomb entering the ASUN Tournament, giving the Flames the outright regular season title and the 1-seed. If Liberty takes care of business Tuesday night against NJIT, and on Thursday night, the Flames will host a conference tournament championship game for the first time since 2004 in what will be the last ever game in the Vines Center. Talk about storylines.
KenPom has Liberty as the overwhelming favorite, giving the Flames a 74.1% chance at winning the tournament.
#2 North Florida (20-11, 13-3)
While the Ospreys didn’t have the sexy non-conference record as they lost to six top 50 teams, they have proved during conference play they are every bit as formidable as Liberty. UNF is the only team to beat the Flames more than once over the past two seasons since Liberty joined the ASUN. Behind a talented group of seniors, Matt Driscoll leads a North Florida team who will be looking to get some redemption from last year’s semifinal loss to Liberty in Lynchburg. If it weren’t for the new ASUN tiebreaker rules, UNF would have the 1-seed due to a 2-0 record against Stetson compared to Liberty’s 1-1 mark.
KenPom gives North Florida an 18.1% chance at winning the tournament.
#3 Lipscomb (14-15, 9-7)
The Bisons are one of the hottest teams in the league and have made their claim at being considered the 3rd best team in the conference as they were the only team to beat both Liberty and North Florida this season. Behind Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb has won 7 out of 9 games after starting ASUN play at 2-5 to force a tie for 3rd place with Stetson. The Bisons get the tie-breaker due to a higher NET ranking.
KenPom gives Lipscomb a 3.3% chance at winning the championship.
#4 Stetson (15-16, 9-7)
The Hatters were the surprise of the ASUN season behind first-year head coach Donnie Jones. They were picked to finish last in the conference, but jumped out to a 9-3 ASUN record entering the home stretch. Their win at home over Liberty in late January was the first time the rest of the league started paying attention to what was going in DeLand this year. They’ve hit a bit of a skid as they enter the tournament riding a 4 game losing streak. Can the star-studded freshmen class led by Mahamadou Diawara and Rob Perry right the ship before it’s too late?
KenPom gives Stetson a 1.3% chance at winning the championship.
#5 North Alabama (13-16, 8-8)
North Alabama has been a streaky team during conference play. They have two different win streaks of three games a piece, including their current run. Those win streaks sandwiched a 5 game losing streak in league play. The Lions are in the dreaded 4-5 matchup on the road facing Stetson Tuesday night. UNA was 0-2 against the Hatters this season, including an 11 point loss on the road a few weeks ago.
KenPom gives North Alabama a 1.2% chance at winning the championship.
#6 FGCU (10-21, 7-9)
The Eagles could have gotten the 5-seed, but they fell at home in overtime to North Alabama on the final day of the regular season. Facing a struggling Stetson team instead of a surging Lipscomb team in the first round is a big difference. FGCU did split with the Bisons in the regular season, they had won 3 out of 4 games before losing to UNA.
KenPom gives FGCU a 0.5% chance at winning the championship.
#7 Jacksonville (14-17, 7-9)
The Dolphins are one of the better 7-seeds you will find in most one-bid leagues. They have top 4 potential, but came up just short on several occasions as they have 5 conference losses by 6 points or less. Daunting task to take on 2-seed North Florida in the quarters Tuesday night. Jacksonville was 0-2 against the Ospreys this season including an 81-66 loss on the road a couple weeks ago.
KenPom gives Jacksonville a 1.3% chance at winning the championship.
#8 NJIT (9-20, 6-10)
The Highlanders have the ASUN’s leading scorer in Zach Cooks and own a win over co-regular season champ North Florida. They will come into Lynchburg Tuesday night believing they can pull the shocker. NJIT lost at home to Liberty, 65-38, early in conference play and also fell to the Flames in Lynchburg, 62-49, just a couple weeks ago.
KenPom gives NJIT a 0.3% chance at winning the championship.
