j.j.mann – Rush The Court

Conference Tournament Primer: Ohio Valley Conference

Adam Stillman — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 18:31:51 +0000

It’s day three of Championship Fortnight and with three more conferences tipping off today, 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. Today, the Big South, NEC and OVC get started.

Dates: March 5-8 Site: Nashville Municipal Auditorium

What to expect: A battle royale between top-seeded Belmont and second-seeded Murray State. Belmont earned the OVC’s automatic bid in the Bruins’ inaugural season in the league last year, while Murray State took those honors the year before. They look to be on a title-game collision course, and either could be [...]

New Year, Same Story for Belmont

David Changas — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:15:09 +0000

David Changas is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after last night’s game between Lipscomb and Belmont in Nashville.

When he lost his three leading scorers to graduation, including standout guards Kerron Johnson and Ian Clark, many assumed that Belmont coach Rick Byrd would see his team take a step back from last year’s OVC championship squad. But this is Rick Byrd, and rebuilding at this point in the program’s existence is no longer a concern. As evidenced by Sunday’s win over North Carolina in Chapel Hill, his latest group is once again likely the team to beat in the [...]

North Carolina’s Collapse Against Belmont Exposes Lineup Problems

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 18:01:13 +0000

Brad Jenkins is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after Sunday afternoon’s North Carolina vs. Belmont game from Chapel Hill.

Normally when a small school like Belmont wins a road game against a traditional power like North Carolina, it is deemed a major upset. But the Bruins’ 83-80 victory in Chapel Hill Sunday afternoon did not look like a big surprise. This statement has more to do with North Carolina’s team right now than it does with Belmont. After a lackluster win over a lightly-regarded Holy Cross on Friday night, RTC ACC microsite columnist Lathan Wells pointed out that North Carolina was [...]