The Atlantic Sun Conference struck gold again with a new addition. By now, we probably should’ve expected it.
The names change in the Atlantic Sun. Frequently. Stetson (a member since 1985) and Jacksonville (1998) are the only current schools that were part of the Atlantic Sun in the previous millennium. Even the league name has changed since then-it was known as the Trans America Athletic Conference before adopting its current handle in 2001. The former TAAC has had a turnstile of 36 different schools since its inception in 1978.
And yet, with parts wisdom and sometimes just good fortune, few conferences continue to do a better job of finding new members. Belmont, Central Florida, Gardner-Webb and Georgia State all are Atlantic Sun alumni that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and indeed, the league’s newest addition in 2018-19 came right in and made a huge mark as part of a fantastic two-team conference race.
Liberty came over from the Big South, looking for a new home for its non-football sports after it went down the Football Bowl Subdivision (NCAA Division I-AA) path and the Big South was only interested in the school as an associate member. Expected to be competitive in their first year, the Flames were far more than that.
Liberty defeated UCLA in non-conference play, then went toe-to-toe with heavy preseason favorite Lipscomb throughout conference play, with the two eventually tying for the regular season crown. The teams split their in-season home and home, and both rated high in the NCAA’s NET ratings and even were in the NCAA Tournament at-large conversation until late in the season. The Flames got the last word, winning on the road at Lipscomb in the tourney final in a classic game to become the 20th different school to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
The Flames and Bisons were like water and oil, which only added to the fun of their unexpected-but-outstanding league race. Go-go Lipscomb was one of the highest-scoring teams in the country (83.1 ppg, 9th in Division I). Liberty was one of the best in the country at keeping opponents from scoring (61.4 ppg, 8th in D-I), playing a Virginia-inspired style of halfcourt defense and late shot clock daggers on offense. All three of their meetings were won by the road team.
The best part was, neither was done making noise after their tournament meeting. As a 12 seed, Liberty went to the NCAA Tournament and rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final eight minutes to stun Mississippi State 80-76 for its first-ever win in the Big Dance. It was the Atlantic Sun’s fifth-ever round of 64 win in the NCAAs, and its first since Mercer’s memorable upset of Duke in 2014.
The Flames were knocked out in the second round by Virginia Tech, but Lipscomb would still play on for almost two more weeks. The Bisons made a splendid run through the NIT and became the first school from the league since Arkansas-Little Rock in 1987 to go all the way to New York City, getting there with a memorable quarterfinal win at North Carolina State. At Madison Square Garden, Lipscomb then defeated Wichita State in the semifinals before finally running out of gas in the title game against Texas. By that point, though, the point had been made fully by both Liberty and Lipscomb: these were two excellent teams who compared very favorably on a national level this season.
Final Standings:
| Atlantic Sun | Overall | |
| Lipscomb | 14-2 | 29-8 |
| Liberty | 14-2 | 29-7 |
| North Florida | 9-7 | 16-17 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | 9-7 | 14-18 |
| NJIT | 8-8 | 22-13 |
| North Alabama | 7-9 | 10-22 |
| Jacksonville | 5-11 | 12-20 |
| Kennesaw State | 3-13 | 6-26 |
| Stetson | 3-13 | 7-24 |
Conference Tournament
The 40th Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Tournament was contested with every game played at home sites of higher seeds for the sixth straight year. Lipscomb received the top seed and all-important homecourt advantage throughout thanks to its better NCAA NET ranking (47) than Liberty (63) at the end of the season. With the dominance of those two throughout the conference season, a third meeting was much anticipated and appeared highly likely.
For the third straight year, the opening round of the tourney saw the top three seeds advance by mostly comfortable margins while the road team pulled off a minor upset in the 4-vs.-5 game. Lipscomb cruised past No. 8 Kennesaw State 88-71 and Liberty defeated 7 seed Jacksonville 72-58, while No. 3 North Florida also defeated No. 6 North Alabama 76-66. Fifth-seeded NJIT pulled the lone upset, and it was a very minor one with the Highlanders topping Florida Gulf Coast 83-78.
A semifinal matchup of two 20-game winners had little drama as Lipscomb pulled away in rolling NJIT 78-55, and Liberty led the whole way but didn’t put away North Florida until the final minute in a 71-63 win. That set up an outstanding championship game between the Bisons and Flames at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena in front of a more-than sellout crowd of 5,687.
It would be hard to find a better conference tournament game this year than this one where the teams swapped the lead 23 times. It was a single-possession game almost the entire second half, and even the final margin was a deceiving final descriptor for a classic. Liberty trailed by a point in the final minute before a basket by Scottie James, and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz delivered the dagger with a three-pointer from the corner at the end of the shot clock with 14.8 seconds left for a four-point lead. Liberty prevailed 74-68 for an ultra-satisfying road win and its first Atlantic Sun tourney title in its first year in the league, with James (17 points, eight rebounds) taking tournament MVP honors.
Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Garrison Mathews, G, Sr., Lipscomb
Defensive Player of the Year: Wajid Aminu, F, Jr., North Florida
Freshman of the Year: Jamari Blackmon, G, North Alabama
Newcomer of the Year: Schadrac Casimir, G, Sr., Florida Gulf Coast
Coach of the Year: Casey Alexander, Lipscomb
All-Conference Team
Caleb Homesley, G, Jr., Liberty
Scottie James, F, Jr., Liberty
Abdul Lewis, F, Sr., NJIT
Rob Marberry, F, Sr., Lipscomb
Garrison Mathews, G, Sr., Lipscomb
Season Highlights
- Liberty exploded onto the Atlantic Sun scene with the most successful season in school history. The Flames won 28 games, tied for the regular season title in their first year in the league, won the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and then recorded their first-ever win in the tourney, toppling Mississippi State of the SEC.
- Lipscomb also won an NCAA Division I-program record 29 games and advanced all the way to the NIT final, defeating Davidson, UNC Greensboro, North Carolina State and Wichita State before finally falling to Texas in the title game.
- NJIT joined Liberty and Lipscomb in giving the Atlantic Sun three teams with 22 wins or more, and the Highlanders won a game in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament before being knocked out in the quarterfinals.
- Lipscomb ranked fifth in NCAA Division I in total assists (654) and seventh nationally in assists per game (17.7). Jacksonville also came in eighth in the country in blocked shots/game (5.2).
What we expected, and it happened: Lipscomb was a heavy favorite in the league coming into the season with essentially six starters returning-five from the year before plus Nathan Moran, a 2016-17 starter returning from injury. Indeed, the Bisons proved to be a legit top 50 team, winning at SMU and TCU and later going on a long run in the NIT.
What we expected, and it didn’t happen: Even with a team with a number of seniors and high-profile transfers, Florida Gulf Coast slipped not just in its overall record, but also to the middle of the Atlantic Sun. That was hard to imagine for a program that has always seemed to be at a different level talent-wise than most of the league.
What we didn’t expect, and it happened: Everyone knew Liberty was a solid addition from the Big South, but no one would’ve expected the Flames and Lipscomb going side-to-side in a terrific two-team drag race all season. Also, who knew how North Alabama would do in its first season in Division I, but the Atlantic Sun’s golden touch for new members struck even with a school moving up from NCAA Division II as the Lions were a respectable 7-9 in conference.
Team on the rise: Liberty. So long as everyone returns, the Flames will be expected to be every bit as good next year. College basketball media who shamed themselves and their profession by openly rooting against Liberty in this year’s NCAA Tournament may have to get used to this team’s presence in March.
Team on the decline: Florida Gulf Coast. After years as arguably the Atlantic Sun’s premier program, the Eagles slipped to a barely above .500 in league and a losing record overall. Few will expect FGCU to stay down.
2019-20 Atlantic Sun Outlook
It will be hard for the conference to duplicate this year’s battle at the top. In some ways that could be a positive, for after the top two the rest of the league was far off the pace. Five games separated the top two from the rest of the pack, and only NJIT joined Liberty and Lipscomb with winning overall records.
The downside of that scenario is there likely is not the quality at the top to recreate last season. Barring changes in the summer, Liberty will be a substantial favorite to win the Atlantic Sun and at least come close to its 29-win total. The Flames will miss veteran Lovell Cabbil and still will likely be undersized, but four starters should return. Caleb Homesley, Scottie James and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz form a dynamite core, athletic 5-foot-9 guard Darius McGhee should only be better as a sophomore, and wide-body Myo Baxter-Bell showed in the NCAA Tournament to be a money time player despite modest numbers.
It appears to be a canyon between the Flames and everyone else. Lipscomb loses four starters, five of its top six scorers and also its coach. Young post player Ahsan Asadullah is a good player to build around, but the Bisons will be a much different team under new coach Lennie Acuff, formerly at NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville. North Florida is the best candidate to give Liberty some problems. The three-point launching Ospreys are slated to return four starters and three double-digit scorers, though leading scorer and rebounder Noah Horchler jumped on the transfer merry-go-round. UNF did defeat Liberty once this year and was competitive in all three matchups.
Elsewhere, NJIT should bring back pint-sized sniper Zach Cooks, though it also loses post horse Abdul Lewis. Jacksonville could be improved after losing a number of close games this year. Florida Gulf Coast is in serious transition, between senior departures and transfers. North Alabama might be in the first division sooner than anyone expected; the Lions surprised with a young team featuring just two seniors this year. Stetson and Kennesaw State are wild cards after coaching changes, but both were young teams this past season who could surprise if all goes right.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
