Belmont Bruins men's basketball

Belmont Bruins
Belmont Bruins
	2020–21 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
University	Belmont University
Head coach	Casey Alexander (2nd season)
Conference	Ohio Valley
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
Arena	Curb Event Center ; (Capacity: 5,085)
Nickname	Bruins
Colors	Navy, white, and red;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA Tournament Appearances
	2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019
NIT Quarterfinals
	2014
NIT Second Round
	2014, 2017
NIT Tournament Appearances
	2004, 2014, 2016, 2017
Conference tournament champions
	2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020
Conference regular season champions
	2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
Conference division season champions
	2003, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

The Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont joined the Ohio Valley Conference in July 2012, having previously competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Bruins play their home games at the Curb Event Center under head coach Casey Alexander. The Bruins made their eighth appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2019.

Coaching staff[]

Casey Alexander – Head Coach
Brian Ayers – Associate Head Coach
Tyler Holloway – Assistant Coach
Sean Rutigliano – Assistant Coach
Mick Hedgepeth – Director of Basketball Operations

Rivalry[]

The Battle of the Boulevard, also referred to as the Belmont–Lipscomb basketball rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between the Belmont University Bruins and the Lipscomb University Bisons. Its nickname was established because of both school's close placement in Nashville, Tennessee– about three miles apart on the same road.

Awards[]

All-Americans^[2]

Robert Barnes – 1956*
Adam Sonn – 2003*
Alex Renfroe – 2009*
Ian Clark – 2013*
J.J. Mann – 2014*
Evan Bradds – 2016*, 2017*

(*) Denotes Honorable Mention

Academic All-Americans^[3]

Wes Burtner – 2001***, 2002*
Adam Mark – 2002**, 2003*, 2004*
Justin Hare – 2007**, 2008*
Andy Wicke – 2009***
Scott Saunders – 2011***, 2012*
J.J. Mann – 2014*
Craig Bradshaw – 2015***, 2016**
Evan Bradds – 2016***, 2017**
Dylan Windler – 2018**, 2019**
Luke Smith – 2021***

(*) Denotes 1st team
(**) Denotes 2nd team
(***) Denotes 3rd team

Ohio Valley/Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year

Adam Sonn – 2003
Alex Renfroe – 2009
Ian Clark – 2013
J.J. Mann – 2014
Evan Bradds – 2016, 2017

Ohio Valley/Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year

Rick Byrd – 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019

Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award

Rick Byrd – 2011

NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award^[4]

Rick Byrd – 2012

NACDA Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Adam Mark – 2004
Justin Hare – 2008
Mick Hedgepeth – 2011
Craig Bradshaw – 2015

NAIA National Coach of the Year

Rick Byrd – 1995

NAIA National Player of the Year

Joe Behling – 1989

NAIA All-Americans

Joe Behling – 1988*, 1989*, 1990*
Kerry West – 1995*
Al Allen – 1995**
DaQuinn Goff – 1996*

(*) Denotes 1st team
(**) Denotes 2nd team

Record by year[]

Statistics overview
Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Belmont Rebels^[5] (VSAC) (1953–1986)
1953–56	Larry Striplin	58–42 (.580)			1955 NAIA Playoff
1957–62	George Kelley	58–71 (.450)			1960 NAIA District 24 Tournament
1962–64	Ken Sidwell	14–23 (.378)
1964–66	Wayne Dobbs	35–19 (.648)	4–4
1966–67	Jack Young	9–16 (.360)	3–5
1967–72	Dewey Jones	69–76 (.476)	17–25
1972–74	Ken Sidwell	22–30 (.423)	5–12
1974–78	Dick Campbell	48–68 (.414)	14–28
1978–86	Don Purdy	116–138 (.457)	54–62		1982 & '83 NAIA District 24 Tournaments
First 8 Coaches:		429–483 (.478)	97–136
Belmont Rebels/Bruins^[5] (Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference)(NAIA) (1986–1996)
1986–87	Rick Byrd	15–15	7–9
1987–88	Rick Byrd	22–9	15–1		NAIA District 24 Playoff
1988–89	Rick Byrd	25–10	12–4		NAIA National Championships 1st Round
1989–90	Rick Byrd	27–7	14–2		NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1990–91	Rick Byrd	23–9	11–5		NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1991–92	Rick Byrd	22–10	12–4		NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1992–93	Rick Byrd	30–6	12–4		NAIA Sweet Sixteen
1993–94	Rick Byrd	30–7	14–2	1st	NAIA Quarterfinals
1994–95	Rick Byrd	37–2	18–0	1st	NAIA Semifinals
1995–96	Rick Byrd	29–11	13–5		NAIA Semifinals
Belmont Bruins^[5] (NCAA Independent) (1996–2001)
1996–97	Rick Byrd	15–11
1997–98	Rick Byrd	9–18
1998–99	Rick Byrd	14–13
1999–2000	Rick Byrd	7–21
2000–01	Rick Byrd	13–15
Belmont Bruins (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2001–2012)
2001–02	Rick Byrd	11–17	8–12	T–7th
2002–03	Rick Byrd	17–12	12–4	1st (North)
2003–04	Rick Byrd	21–9	15–5	3rd	NIT Opening Round
2004–05	Rick Byrd	14–16	12–8	3rd
2005–06	Rick Byrd	20–11	15–5	T–1st	NCAA Round of 64
2006–07	Rick Byrd	23–10	14–4	2nd	NCAA Round of 64
2007–08	Rick Byrd	25–9	14–2	1st	NCAA Round of 64
2008–09	Rick Byrd	20–13	14–6	T–2nd	CIT Quarterfinals
2009–10	Rick Byrd	19–12	14–6	T–1st
2010–11	Rick Byrd	30–5	19–1	1st	NCAA Round of 64
2011–12	Rick Byrd	27–8	16–2	1st	NCAA Round of 64
Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley Conference) (2012–present)
2012–13	Rick Byrd	26–7	14–2	1st (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2013–14	Rick Byrd	26–10	14–2	1st (East)	NIT Quarterfinals
2014–15	Rick Byrd	22–11	11–5	T–1st (East)	NCAA Round of 64
2015–16	Rick Byrd	20–12	12–4	1st (East)	NIT First Round
2016–17	Rick Byrd	23–7	15–1	1st (East)	NIT Second Round
2017–18	Rick Byrd	24–9	15–3	2nd
2018–19	Rick Byrd	27–6	16–2	T-1st	NCAA Round of 64
Rick Byrd:		713–346 (.673)	378–110 (.790)
Casey Alexander (Ohio Valley Conference) (2019–present)
2019–20	Casey Alexander	26–7	15–3	T-1st	Postseason not held (qualified prior to cancelation)
2020–21	Casey Alexander	26–4	18–2	1st
Casey Alexander:		52–11 (.825)	33–5 (.868)
Total:		1211–842 (.590)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Postseason results[]

They have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–8. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) four times with a combined record of 3–4. They have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) once with a record of 1–1. Prior to joining NCAA Division I, they participated in five NAIA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–5.

NCAA Tournament Results[]

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2006	#15	First Round	UCLA	L 44–78
2007	#15	First Round	Georgetown	L 55–80
2008	#15	First Round	Duke	L 70–71
2011	#13	First Round	Wisconsin	L 58–72
2012	#14	First Round	Georgetown	L 59–74
2013	#11	First Round	Arizona	L 64–81
2015	#15	First Round	Virginia	L 67–79
2019	#11	First Four First Round	Temple Maryland	W 81–70 L 77–79
2020	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

In the 2008 tournament, the #15 seeded Bruins, playing in the West Region, played an exciting, hard-fought first-round game with a perennial powerhouse, the #2 seeded Duke Blue Devils. The Bruins came up one point short of the upset, losing the game 70–71 after Justin Hare's desperation three point attempt barely went wide left of the net. The Bruins rallied from 9 point and 7 point deficits in the second half to take a 70–69 lead late in the game, before Duke scored what proved to be the game's final basket with under a minute left to play.

In 2011 Belmont University won the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship and the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Bruins finished 30–4 overall (marking their first 30 win season in the NCAA era) and 19–1 in conference play. By doing this they received their highest seed in their history, a #13. They faced the perennial powerhouse the #4 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the second round of the Southeast Region, where they lost 58–72.

NIT results[]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2004	First Round	Austin Peay	L 59–65
2014	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Green Bay Robert Morris Clemson	W 80–65 W 82–71 L 68–73
2016	First Round	Georgia	L 84–93
2017	First Round Second Round	Georgia Georgia Tech	W 78–69 L 57–71

CIT Results[]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2009	First Round Quarterfinals	Evansville Old Dominion	W 92–76 L 62–70

NAIA Division I Tournament[]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1989	First Round	Hastings	L 76–89
1993	First Round Second Round	Findlay Minnesota Morris	W 87–73 L 59–66
1994	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Hawaii–Hilo Pfeiffer Oklahoma Baptist	W 91–83 W 99–80 L 76–89
1995	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Spring Arbor Geneva The Master’s Birmingham–Southern	W 94–75 W 85–65 W 91–72 L 80–90
1996	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Westminster (PA) Life Cumberland (KY) Oklahoma City	W 57–54 W 74–73 W 65–60 L 77–80

Bruins in professional leagues[]

Current[]

Alex Renfroe, CB Miraflores (Spain)
Ian Clark, Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China)
Kerron Johnson, BC Enisey (Russia)
J.J. Mann, Okapi Aalst (Belgium)
Amanze Egekeze, P.A.O.K. BC (Greece)
Austin Luke, Yoast United (Netherlands)
Dylan Windler, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin McClain, Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)

Current roster[]

2020–21 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
C	0	Even Brauns	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Fr	Iowa City West High School	Iowa City, Iowa
G	1	Mitch Listau	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Waunakee High School	Waunakee, Wisconsin
G	2	Grayson Murphy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Independence High School	Thompson's Station, Tennessee
G	3	Luke Smith (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Knoxville Catholic High School	Knoxville, Tennessee
F	10	Caleb Hollander	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Jr	Nashville Central Christian School	Nashville, Tennessee
F	11	Michael Shanks	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Fr	Bentonville High School	Bentonville, Arkansas
G	12	EJ Bellinger	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Fort Zumwalt High School	St. Peters, Missouri
G	20	Tate Pierson (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Brentwood Academy	Brentwood, Tennessee
F	21	Derk Sabin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS So	Slinger High School	Slinger, Wisconsin
G	22	Ben Sheppard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Greater Atlanta Christian School	Atlanta, Georgia
G	24	JaCobi Wood	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Cleveland High School	Cleveland, Tennessee
F	25	Frank Jakubicek	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	Cary-Grove High School	Cary, Illinois
C	33	Nick Muszynski	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS Jr	St. Charles Prep	Pickerington, Ohio
F	42	Rilee Epley (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Harrison High School	Newburgh, Indiana

Head coach

Casey Alexander (Belmont)

Assistant coach(es)

Brian Ayers (Lipscomb)
Sean Rutigliano (Cortland State)
Tyler Holloway (Murray State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 14, 2020

Record book[]

Retired jerseys[]

No.	Player	Pos.	Career
Belmont Bruins Retired Jerseys^[2]
15	Robert Barnes	C	1953–56
54	Joe Behling	SG	1986–90

Individual career records[]

References[]

^ Belmont University Brand Book. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Belmont Bruins History & Tradition .Retrieved October 11, 2020
^ Belmont: List of Academic All-Americans
^ NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award Archived December 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c 2016-17 Media Guide

[1] Belmont University Brand Book. Retrieved June 26, 2019.

[tradition-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Belmont Bruins History & Tradition .Retrieved October 11, 2020

[3] Belmont: List of Academic All-Americans

[4] NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award Archived December 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[coaches-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c 2016-17 Media Guide

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]