Friday, September 08, 2006

Who will be the next team to cut down the nets in Johnson City? Belmont captured their first A-Sun Championship title last season in a thrilling overtime win over regular season co-champ Lipscomb. As the A-Sun cast of teams continue to strengthen on the hardwood, this season's race for the title should be no let down for a league that has featured one of the NCAA's closest regular season finishes each of the last two years.

Selected Preseason News & Notes
HIGH-FLYING BASKETBALL
Three of the NCAA’s top eight scoring men’s basketball teams reside in the A-Sun: Campbell (2nd - 82.8); ETSU (6th - 81.6); Belmont (8th - 80.6). The A-Sun joins the ACC as the only conferences to have three teams rank among the top-30 in scoring nationally.

PILING UP THE WINS
A-Sun men’s basketball teams have posted 11 20-win seasons in the last five years. Only the Missouri Valley Conference and Colonial Athletic Association can boast more 20-win seasons from their members among NCAA I-AAA conferences.

BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD STAGE CENTER
The long-time rivalry between Belmont and Lipscomb, dubbed the Battle of the Boulevard, took center stage last March as the league’s regular season co-champs met in one of the most dramatic tournament title games in league history. The Bisons and Bruins battled into overtime with second-seeded Belmont escaping with a 72-67 victory at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tenn., to claim their first NCAA Tournament bid. Both Music City teams reached the postseason as the Bisons secured their first NIT appearance. As if the rivalry were not hot enough, since Lipscomb joined the A-Sun in 2003-04, three of the seven games have been decided in overtime.

GREAT BALANCE
The Atlantic Sun Conference features a great balance between competition and academics. For the third straight year, over half of the league’s student-athletes earned A-Sun All-Academic honors for posting a grade point average of 3.0 or better. At the same time, the A-Sun has sent multiple teams to the postseason in golf, basketball and baseball while 26 student-athletes have been named Academic All-American since 2003.

BISONS BRING BACK STARS
With senior Brian Fisk and junior Eddie Ard, Lipscomb features the only two returning first team All-Atlantic Sun selections. The talented perimeter players are both frontrunners for A-Sun Player of the Year honors as both ranked in the top-10 in scoring (Ard - 16.2/6th & Fisk - 16.0 - 8th). The only other returning all-conference players are a pair of second team Bruins: junior Justin Hare and senior Boomer Herndon.

TIGHT RACES
The Atlantic Sun Conference has displayed some of the tightest regular season races in the league’s 28-year history over the last two seasons. In 2004-05, the A-Sun featured the nation’s best race as nine teams finished the year within three games of the league leader, and last season, five teams were within three games of capturing the regular season crown.

CAMELS RESURGENCE
Only one other school among 334 NCAA Division I members boasted a greater jump in conference victories from the 2004-05 season as Campbell went from zero league wins to nine in 2005-06. Coach Robbie Laing’s 2005-06 high-octane offense powered the resurgence as the team ended the year as the country’s second-highest scoring (82.8) team. Along the way, the Camels shattered school records for scoring (82.8), 3-point field goals made (276) and attempted (787) and rebounds (1098), while winning more than twice as many Atlantic Sun Conference games as in the previous three seasons combined. Star guard Eric Smith leads a group of young veterans for the Camels. Smith averaged 16.8 points per game in 2005-06 and is the top returning scorer in the Atlantic Sun.

NEW RIVALRY LIFTS OFF in JAX
The SunTrust River City Rumble is a season-long series between Jacksonville's two Division I institutions - Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida - that was founded in fall 2005. It was officially named and announced on Jan. 23, 2006, at a press conference on the UNF campus. Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida battle annually for the "SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel," which is awarded to the school with the most victories over the other during a school year. The "SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel" will be housed in the winning school's athletic department until the conclusion of the final event of the following year. JU claimed the inaugural title.

MADNESS RETURNS to the MOUNTAINS
For the second straight year, the Atlantic Sun Championship will be played at the Memorial Center on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Last seasons, tournament received tremendous local support, featuring over 20 local sponsors including title sponsor General Shale Brick as well as drawing nearly 15,000 fans to the three-day event. The Bucs hope to become the first host team to win the title on their home court since 2001 while defending champ Belmont looks to be just the fourth team in league history to successfully defend their crown. League members Kennesaw State and UNF continue their reclassification process this year and will not be eligible for the postseason championship until 2009-10 leaving eight teams vying for the A-Sun’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.