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College notebook: Conference basketball previews for Belmont, Lipscomb, TSU




Lipscomb center Ahsan Asadullah scored 30 points in an 84-74 win over North Alabama on Tuesday night.Courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics

Lipscomb center Ahsan Asadullah scored 30 points in an 84-74 win over North Alabama on Tuesday night.Courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics

The New Year has rolled around, which means it’s time for conference play to begin in college basketball. Let’s check in on where the Nashville teams stand and what the rest of the season looks like.

Belmont

The Bruins men’s squad enters Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play in as the top team in the league. Belmont picked up impressive wins over Drake, Iona, and Chattanooga in non-conference play, sporting a 10-3 record with losses at Ohio and LSU and a neutral-site defeat to Dayton. After having their first two OVC games postponed, the Bruins will begin league play against SEMO on Thursday at the Curb Event Center. Belmont currently sits at 34th in the NET rankings, which is at-large NCAA bid territory.

The women’s squad owns a not-as-impressive 6-5 record, but that’s only because of the difficulty of their non-conference lineup. The Bruins have played five Power conference opponents, earning a win at Ole Miss and losing to Georgia Tech, Louisville, Auburn and Arkansas. The tough slate seems to be paying off as they have started OVC play 2-0.

 

 

Lipscomb

It has been a back-and-forth start for the Bisons men’s team. Despite missing star big man Ahsan Asadullah for much of the non-conference, Lipscomb sports a 9-8 record. The Bisons earned a huge win at Dayton and lost on the road to Power conference opponents Miami, Florida State and LSU. But they are 0-2 vs Nashville rivals Belmont and TSU. Lipscomb began ASUN play with an 84-74 win over North Alabama on Tuesday in Allen Arena.

The Lipscomb women begin their ASUN journey at Bellarmine on Jan. 15 after their original opener was postponed. After non-conference play, the Bisons sit at 5-8 with losses at BYU, Utah, Colorado State and Arizona State for one of the program’s toughest opening slates ever. However, they currently only have one DI win after losing to both Belmont and TSU in December.

Tennessee State

TSU’s men’s program has had a tough start to the season, posting a 5-7 record that includes many close losses, including a six-point deficit at Nebraska. But winning four of their last five games (with the one loss coming in overtime) has propelled the Tigers into a good position for OVC play, which begins on Saturday against UT Martin at the Gentry Center following two postponements.

The Tiger women opened up OVC play with a bang as freshman Gia Adams nailed a half-court buzzer-beater to defeat Tennessee Tech 96-93 in overtime at the Gentry Center. TSU has begun conference play 2-0 and currently sits at 7-6 overall following non-conference wins over Lipscomb and Fisk and a loss at Kansas.

Belmont softball announces spring slate

The Bruins softball program released its 2022 schedule on Wednesday, with 51 games set for the spring season. Belmont opens the season at the FGCU Invite, where they will face the host FGCU along with Boston College and Memphis.

The Bruins’ first home outing will take place on March 11 as part of the Belmont tournament where they will host North Alabama, Akron and Bradley. Belmont and TSU are set to face off at E.S. Rose Park on March 30 and at Tiger Field on April 27.

Lipscomb’s Gulden named Academic All-American

Lipscomb star defender Noah Gulden added one more honor to his prolific trophy case in December as he was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American Second Team. The two-time reigning ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 2021 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year helped lead the Bisons to an ASUN title and their third NCAA Tournament appearance.

TSU’s Starling recognized as one FCS’s top sophomores

Following a successful season in the Tennessee State backfield, running back Devon Starling was named to the HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American team. The former Cane Ridge High standout was named to the group’s Freshman All-American team in 2020.

Mathews inks full contract with NBA’s Houston Rockets

Earlier this season, former Lipscomb University and Franklin High star Garrison Mathews carved out a role in the Houston Rockets starting lineup despite being on a two-way contract. After helping lead the team to its longest winning streak of the season with his hot shooting (14.5 points per game since entering the starting five), Mathews was offered a four-year contract worth $8 million, his first fully guaranteed deal since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

Logan Butts writes the weekly Music City College Sports Notebook for Main Street Nashville. Email him at loganbutts0@gmail.com.

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