2009 Atlantic Sun Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions

Written March 3, 2009 by Jason Lowry

atlantic sun basketball The Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball tournament is about to get underway, with the tournament set to start on March 4-5 with first round action, and to finish up on Saturday, March 7. There are 11 teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but only 7 of them make it to the conference tournament. The top seed, which is Jacksonville, is the only team that gets a first round bye. Here is a look at the 3 favorites to win the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament this week, plus a sleeper I think could surprise some teams and steal the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bet the Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.com.

1. Jacksonville Dolphins (17-12, 15-5 Atlantic Sun)

The Dolphins get an automatic bid into the NIT if they are unable to win their conference tournament, but it is every schools dream to play in the NCAA Tournament, so you know Jacksonville will compete at a high level throughout the conference bracket. The Dolphins secured the Atlantic Sun regular season title with an 84-82 overtime win on the road against Belmont last week, and now they are the team to beat this weekend. The Dolphins are led by Ben Smith and his 16.7 points and 4 assists per game, but also have three other players scoring in double figures this season.

2. Belmont Bruins (18-11, 14-6 Atlantic Sun)

The Bruins were close to grabbing the top spot in the conference and in the tournament, but suffered an overtime loss to Jacksonville. While it might not seem like that big of deal when it comes to tournament play, with a league that is top heavy with 3 really good teams, it means they now are likely to face both East Tennessee St and Jacksonville, not to mention open against a very scary Mercer team. The Bruins have a lot of work ahead of them, but this team has what it takes to win this tournament. To come out on top, they will need a strong 3 games from Alex Renfroe, who leads the taem with 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.9 assist a game.

3. East Tennessee St. Buccaneers (20-10, 14-6 Atlantic Sun)

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers had a great start to conference play by winning 9 of their first 10 games, but things quickly turned as the Buccaneers played .500 ball for the remainder of the season. They are coming into tournament play off of two huge wins, first blowing out Kennesaw State 81-46 last Thursday, and then coming back on Saturday and beat Mercer 103-81. They also have wins over both Belmont and Jacksonville this season, but both of those wins came early in the season when they were playing much better basketball.

Sleeper: Mercer Bears (17-14, 11-9 Atlantic Sun)

The Bears have lost 3 of their final 4 games including that embarrassing loss to the East Tennessee State last Saturday, but this team had won 5 straight before their latest slump, and they have one of the best scorers in the conference in James Florence, who averages a solid 20.7 points a game. If he gets going, he could carry this team to the title.

Prediction: Belmont Bruins

For those of you looking for a little NCAA basketball betting advice, check out our expert NCAA basketball picks and get the very latest college basketball lines for all the tournament games at Betfirms.

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