Beginning Date: February 26th, 2018

Channel: ESPN3, Also Streaming Online at WatchEspn.Com

2017 Winner: Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU)

Teams/Seeds:

#1: Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) Eagles- 21-10 Overall Record, 12-2 Conference Record

#2: Lipscomb Bison- 20-9 Overall Record, 10-4 Conference Record

#3: Jacksonville Dolphins- 14-17 Overall Record, 8-6 Conference Record

#4: NJIT Highlanders- 14-15 Overall Record, 7-7 Conference Record

#5: North Florida Ospreys- 13-18 Overall Record, 7-7 Conference Record

#6: Kennesaw State Owls- 10-19 Overall Record, 6-8 Conference Record

#7 Stetson Hatters- 12-19 Overall Record, 4-10 Conference Record

#8 USC Upstate Spartans- 7-24 Overall Record, 2-12 Conference Record

The Favorites (Teams Expected to Compete for the Championship):

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles:

Until it is otherwise shown to us, every Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championship is going to go through Florida Gulf Coast University. The Eagles have won the past two Atlantic Sun Tournaments, and three of the past five. Blessed with a raucous student section and elite talent on the floor, FGCU, in 2018, are once again the heavy favorites to take home the Atlantic Sun crown. This year’s version of the team, while still dominant, isn’t quite the complete FGCU team that we are used to seeing. Last season, the team was blessed with two really good post players, Demetrius Morant, and Marc-Eddy Norelia. The 2016-17 version of the team blasted through the Atlantic Sun Tournament en-route to a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Brandon Goodwin, Zach Johnson, and Christian Terrell all returned to form one of the finest backcourts in college basketball, but the departure of the two left a gaping hole at the Power Forward and Center positions. RaySean Scott Jr., Antravious Simmons, and Michael Gilmore have filled in admirably for the departed seniors, but if you’re going to find a weakness on this FGCU team; this is it. Even so, home court advantage throughout the tournament, as well as three very, very good guards, once again make the Eagles a team to fear.

Lipscomb Bison:

Last year was supposed to be the “Year of the Bison” in the Atlantic Sun. Though the Bison had never once won the Atlantic Sun Tournament, it was widely believed that they could challenge the FGCU Eagles in the championship game. Sadly, those dreams disappeared before even beginning, as the #2 seeded Bison fell to the #3 seeded North Florida Ospreys in the semifinals. Now, a year later, we are in practically the same position. FGCU is the #1 seed, and a hungry Lipscomb team is at the #2 seed. The only difference? This Lipscomb team is a year older, and thus, a year wiser. Blessed with an elite offense bolstered by juniors, Garrison Matthews and Rob Marberry, the Bison play fast, aggressive, and very, very smart on the offensive side of the basketball. On top of that, this is a team that always hustles for 50/50 balls and go after rebounds. Though a little undersized, Lipscomb still ranks a jaw-dropping 18th in the country in rebounds per game (39.6). The one knock I have on Lipscomb (besides the suspect defense at times), is their inability to consistently hit three point shots. For this season, the Bison only shoot 32.2% from three point range as a team. Normally, I would say that mark alone would make beating Florida Gulf Coast impossible, but I’ve seen these Bison play; this is a focused, aggressive, and scary group of guys. If Lipscomb and FGCU meet in the championship, it will become a must-watch television event.

The Underdogs (Teams That are Ranked Low But Could Surprise Folks)

Kennesaw State Owls:

Besides Lipscomb, there may be no hotter team in the conference than Kennesaw State. Sure, the Owls have lost two straight, but they are still winners of 4 of their last 6 games, and climbed from last place in the conference all the way to 4th place in the conference in early February. While ending up at 6th place is undoubtedly a disappointment, don’t count these rowdy Owls out. Blessed with their own trio of very good guards (James Scott, Nick Masterson, Tyler Hooker), I was hardly surprised when this team went to Florida Gulf Coast a few weeks back and handed the Eagles their first conference loss of the season. This team actually matches up with the Eagles quite well. Getting to the championship will be another challenge, however. The Owls Tournament will begin with a tough game against Jacksonville, a team that has had a lot of success at home so far this season. If the Owls are able to win that one, they will then have to take on the winner of Lipscomb and Stetson. It doesn’t seem likely, but Kennesaw is a veteran team that can hit threes at a great clip (36.5%), which means, in my book at least, that they can beat anyone.

Stetson Hatters:

Am I a little biased? Yeah, probably. But, how can I call myself a Hatter without adding my Stetson team to this list? In all seriousness, this Stetson team is far better than their questionable record (12-19) would indicate. Of all their conference losses, only 4 have been by double figures, and even two of those (at USC Upstate, at Kennesaw State) were close games halfway through the second half. Even in the Hatters’ most recent loss to FGCU, it was a one-possession game early in the second half. Really, Stetson does a lot of things well, but nothing outstanding. The guard play is strong with seniors Divine Myles, Angel Rivera, and Luke Doyle leading the way. Abayomi Iyiola and Larry Dennis are formidable offensive and defensive pieces down low, and Leo Goodman, Luke Doyle, Christiaan Jones, Kenny Aninye are all very good three point shooters. So why is Stetson 7th in the conference? The simple answer is late game execution. Too many times this season the Hatters have made mistakes, taken bad shots, or committed a bad foul with the game on the line. Still, it was only two years ago that Stetson nearly won the tournament out of the 7th seed, losing to FGCU in Overtime. Stetson hasn’t had any sort of success against FGCU this season (two losses by a combined 54 points), but anything can happen in March. The good news for the Hatters? They have actually looked very good in two games against Lipscomb, and that is the team they get in the first round. Could this be the year Stetson finally gets to an NCAA Tournament?

Quarterfinals Schedule (Feb. 26):

#8 USC Upstate at #1 FGCU (7 PM ET, ESPN3/WATCHESPN.COM)

#6 Kennesaw State at #3 Jacksonville (7 PM ET, ESPN3/WATCHESPN.COM)

#5 North Florida at #4 NJIT (7:30 PM ET, ESPN3/WATCHESPN.COM)

#7 Stetson at #2 Lipscomb (8 PM ET, ESPN3/WATCHESPN.COM)

Good luck to all teams, and let the best team win!

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