atlantic sun – Rush The Court

Bracket Prep: Coastal Carolina, Northern Iowa & North Florida

Tommy Lemoine — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:45:20 +0000

As we move through Championship Week, we’ll continue to bring you short reviews of each of the automatic qualifiers to help you fill out your bracket next week. Here’s what you need to know about the most recent bid winners:

Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina is going dancing for the second-straight season. (Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports)

Big South Champion (22-10, 11-5) RPI/Pomeroy/Sagarin = #144/#147/#151 Adjusted Scoring Margin = +2.4 Likely NCAA Seed: #16

Strength: Coastal does not have great size but it does have an excellent guard quartet which accounts for two-thirds of the team’s scoring. Josh Cameron, Warren Gillis, Elijah Wilson and Shivaughn Wiggins – a Mount [...]

Circle of March: Vol. III

rtmsf — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 17:01:33 +0000

Championship Fortnight got under way last night as the Atlantic Sun, Horizon League and Patriot League tipped off their postseason tournaments. Seven more teams were eliminated from contention for the 2015 National Championship, with Army, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Loyola (Maryland), Stetson, Wright State and Youngstown State riding off into the basketball sunset. Those three conferences will take a break tonight, but the starts of the America East, Big South, Northeast and Ohio Valley Tournaments will keep us engaged as another group of eliminations are scheduled. As of this morning, there are still 320 schools eligible for the ring. Note that [...]

Conference Tourney Primers: Atlantic Sun

Tommy Lemoine — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:31:43 +0000

It’s the start of Championship Fortnight, so let’s gear up for the next 13 days of games by breaking down each of the Other 26’s conference tournaments as they get under way – starting with tonight’s action.

Atlantic Sun Tournament

Dates: March 3, 5, 8

Site: Campus sites (higher-seeded teams host)

(cbssports.com)

What to expect: Can the Atlantic Sun create another year of NCAA Tournament magic? After Dunk City’s run in 2013 and Mercer’s upset over Duke last season, North Florida hopes to become the league’s next March darling. The Ospreys, which beat Purdue in December, won the league outright – sweeping preseason favorite [...]

Northern Iowa vs. Wichita State Headlines Set of Decisive O26 Weekend Games

Tommy Lemoine — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 14:31:13 +0000

We’re just days away from the postseason, yet several leagues with imminent conference tournaments remain up for grabs heading into this weekend. Let’s take a look at the most crucial match-ups on tap – games that will decide top seeds — highlighted by the de facto Missouri Valley championship game on Saturday.

Atlantic Sun

Stetson (9-20, 3-10) at North Florida (19-11, 11-2) – 7:00 PM ET, ESPN3, Saturday. North Florida completed a sweep of Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday and can clinch the No. 1 seed – and home court advantage in the A-Sun Tournament – by beating Stetson on Saturday. KenPom gives [...]

Atlantic Sun Race Interesting Even Without Cinderella

Tommy Lemoine — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 15:31:53 +0000

Dunk City’s Sweet Sixteen run, Mercer’s post-victory Nae Nae dance… I don’t have to explain – you already know the Atlantic Sun’s recent March achievements. The conference has produced arguably the NCAA Tournament’s most iconic moments for each of the past two seasons, enormous upsets featuring even larger personalities. Yet it’s also endured some serious change since the Bears knocked off Duke last spring, and almost none of it has been good. Both Mercer and East Tennessee State, traditionally two of the league’s best programs, bolted for the Southern Conference and no other team has stepped in to fill the void. [...]

Revisiting the Wildly Upsetting Weekend: Yale, Green Bay, NJIT, USC Upstate & North Florida

Tommy Lemoine — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 15:31:32 +0000

It looked like the upset of the weekend on Friday night: 3.5 seconds on the clock, Yale down two to Connecticut; junior guard Jack Montague slipped to the far corner in front of his own bench, caught the baseline inbounds-pass and drilled a game-winning three-pointer to knock off the defending champions in their own building. The loss was the Huskies’ first in 68 games against intrastate opponents, and the shot – complete with frenzied, ecstatic hugging and hands-on-head dejection – was something of an iconic early season moment: six-foot-nothing Ivy League guard with a Shakespearean last name hits clutch shot [...]

Top of the O26 Class: A-10, A-Sun, Big South, Colonial, MEAC & SoCon

Tommy Lemoine — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 15:01:49 +0000

Leading up to the season, this microsite will preview the best of the Other 26 conferences, region by region. In this installment, we examine the leagues that have a traditional footprint in the Mid-Atlantic/Southeastern region of the U.S: the Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Colonial, MEAC and Southern Conference. Previous installments include the Northeast region leagues and the Midwest region conferences.

Top Units

Which mid-major will make the most noise this season? in Rush the Court's Polls on LockerDome

Atlantic 10

VCU – 2013-14 record: 26-9 (12-4). Shaka Smart has led VCU to four straight NCAA Tournaments including a Final Four run in 2011, and yet this might be his [...]

How Duke Advances in the Bracket of Death

Chris Kehoe — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:25:41 +0000

Upon first glance, Duke had to be happy about not landing out West in Arizona’s bracket, where Duke has traditionally struggled to win. But after that initial glance, Duke found themselves in what pundits have dubbed the ‘Bracket of Death’ along with underseeded Louisville, undefeated Wichita State, and Big Ten champions Michigan. Duke will have their work cut out for them in this bracket, with three teams who were in last year’s Final Four in the same region. But Duke shouldn’t look past their first round opponent, the Mercer Bears, champions of the Atlantic Sun, who knocked off last year’s [...]

Bracket Prep: Coastal Carolina, Wichita State, Mercer

Bennet Hayes — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 15:31:16 +0000

As we move through Championship Week, we’ll continue to bring you short reviews of each of the automatic qualifiers to help you fill out your bracket next week. Three more teams — one well known, the other two less so — punched their tickets on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know about the most recent bid winners.

Coastal Carolina

Cliff Ellis And Coastal Carolina Are Your Big South Champions — Finally. Welcome To The Big Dance Chanticleers!

Big South Champion (21-12, 14-5) RPI/Pomeroy/Sagarin = #228/#226/#239 Adjusted Scoring Margin = -1.3 Likely NCAA Seed: #16 (First Four)

Three Bruce Pearls of Wisdom.

Seven Big South teams won 10 conference [...]

O26 Superlatives, Part I: AmEast, ASun, Big South, Horizon, MAAC, NEC, OVC & Patriot…

Tommy Lemoine — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 22:24:08 +0000

In Part I of our three-part series, we pass out 2013-14 superlatives to the best teams, performers and performances from eight different O26 conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Horizon, MAAC, NEC, OVC, and Patriot. In alphabetical order:

America East

Brian Voelkel and the Catamounts led the way in the America East. (Photo/burlingtonfreepress.com)

Team of the Year – Vermont (21-9, 15-1). After starting the season 4-8, the Catamounts won 17 of their final 18 games, walloping nearly everyone in the league and capturing the America East title. The veteran team now looks poised to reach the NCAA Tournament, where it will be [...]

Conference Tournament Primer: Atlantic Sun Conference

Adam Stillman — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 19:31:38 +0000

Championship Fortnight is under way, and what better way to get you through the next two weeks of games than to break down each of the Other 26′s conference tournaments as they get started. Today, the Horizon League and Atlantic Sun tip things off.

Dates: March 4, 6, 9 Sites: Campus sites (higher-seeded team hosts)

What to expect: Can Dunk City recapture the magic from last season? Florida Gulf Coast won the Atlantic Sun Tournament as the No. 2 seed last year — beating top-seeded Mercer — before becoming the first No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The scenario’s a little [...]

O26 Weekly Awards: Saint Joseph’s, Tyler Haws, Eddie Payne and CCSU

Tommy Lemoine — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 01:55:11 +0000

Last week was incredibly entertaining all across the spectrum of college hoops, featuring numerous upsets and several finishes that made our jaws drop. Let’s pass out a few accolades to those O26 teams, players and coaches who got the job done amid all the craziness.

Langston Galloway’s big shot helped spark a big week for Saint Joseph’s. (SJU Athletic Communications)

O26 Team of the Week

Saint Joseph’s. This current week might actually have larger implications for Saint Joseph’s, what with home games against Saint Louis and VCU, but the Hawks’ effort last week — winning on the road at Dayton and handling UMass [...]

Bracket Prep: UNC-Asheville, Murray State & Belmont

rtmsf — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:34:12 +0000

The first three NCAA Tournament bids were earned on Saturday afternoon, so as each of the 31 automatic qualifiers plays their way into the Dance over the next week, we’ll take some time to give you an analytical snapshot of each team that you can refer back to when you’re picking your brackets next weekend.

UNC Asheville

UNCA Was the First Team to Dance This Year (E. Brethauer/Citizen-Times)

Big South Champion (24-9, 19-2) RPI/Pomeroy/Sagarin = #108/#123/#128 Adjusted Scoring Margin = +4.7 Likely NCAA Seed: #16 (First Four)

Three Bruce Pearls of Wisdom.

UNC-Asheville is one of the smallest teams in America, sporting a starting lineup that [...]

ATB: Friday Night Lights With Jack Cooley, Harvard, and Plenty of Conference Tourney Action…

rtmsf — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:38:39 +0000

Tonight’s Lede. Friday night is usually reserved for the likes of the Ivy League and the MAAC, but that’s not the case during Championship Fortnight. With eight mid-major conference tournaments in action and 22 more teams eliminated from national title contention tonight, there were plenty of reasons to stay interested. Furthermore, we were treated with some compelling Ivy action as well as another look at one of the surprise teams of not only the Big East but also the entire country this year. Let’s jump into it…

Your Watercooler Moment. Cooley Than You.

Jack Cooley Is One of the Big [...]

Checking In On… the Atlantic Sun Conference

rtmsf — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:31:51 +0000

Eric Moyer is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Reader’s Take

Take Our Poll

Looking Back

After each school opened league play in December, the A-Sun’s conference season resumed on Monday. Belmont and Mercer each scored a pair of impressive victories. The Bruins own the only unblemished A-Sun mark at 4-0, while the Bears sport a 3-1 mark – with that lone loss coming at Belmont. Both have positioned themselves inside of CollegeRPI.com’s top 100. For the Bruins, this start only builds off their dominating championship season of a year ago. Over their last 27 games against A-Sun foes, the Bruins own a [...]