2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament Predictions

J. Andrew Lockwood
Senior Editor / Columnist

Men’s Basketball
The field of eight teams is now set after the latest weekend of conference play, with every seed still yet to be determined. Currently, Campbell and Jacksonville lead the conference with a 13-5 record, but with a head-to-head matchup this coming weekend, one school will certainly gain an advantage over the other. Belmont and Lipscomb are currently tied for the third spot in the conference with a 12-6 record as well and while they play both Kennesaw and Mercer in their final two games, both teams are favored to win against both schools which could result in a potential tie for the spot (Lipscomb holds the head-to-head advantage in the Battle of the Boulevard with two wins this season over the Bruins).

A bit farther down in the standings, ETSU currently occupies the fifth A-Sun spot at 11-7, followed by Mercer’s 10-8 mark. Fresh off a win against USC-Upstate, ETSU should hold their advantage over the Bears as they face North Florida and Jacksonville in their two final games while Mercer takes on the two Nashville based schools. Rounding out the A-Sun, North Florida holds the #7 spot at 8-10 while Kennesaw State sneaks into the tournament with a 7-11 record. USC-Upstate, Florida Gulf Coast, and Stetson are the bottom three schools in the conference standings (USCU and FGCU aren’t eligible for the post-season play anyways due to reclassification rules).

Predicted General Shale Brick 2010 Atlantic Sun Tournament Seeds:

(Records reflect final season standings…current record plus the final two conference game predictions)

1) Campbell (20-9, 15-5)
2) Jacksonville (18-11, 14-6)
3) Belmont (19-11, 14-6)
4) Lipscomb (16-13, 13-7)
5) ETSU (16-15, 12-8)
6) Mercer (15-15, 11-9)
7) North Florida (13-17, 8-12)
8) Kennesaw State (12-19, 7-13)

Women’s Basketball
Unfortunately, sometimes the best miss out. That will certainly be the case this basketball season as Florida Gulf Coast (22-5, 17-2) and USC-Upstate (18-8, 12-5) will miss the postseason tournament due to NCAA reclassification rules. It’s a shame that two of the league’s top three teams aren’t eligible, but there’s still a plethora of teams to watch for during next week’s tournament. ETSU, last year’s A-Sun Champion, has already captured the #1 seed in the tournament with two games left with a 17-8, 15-2 record. With USC-Upstate gone from the #3 spot, Mercer then bumps up to second seed with a 13-14, 10-8 mark. The Bears’ two remaining road games are winnable ones against Belmont (13-13, 8-10) and Lipscomb (4-24, 2-16).

Therefore, if Mercer continues their winning ways, the Campbell Camels would lock in the third seed at 14-13, 9-9. Belmont, Kennesaw State (10-17, 7-11), Jacksonville (8-18, 7-11), North Florida (9-18, 6-12) and Stetson (6-22, 6-12) would likely follow in that order with the bottom four spots still up for grabs.
Predicted General Shale Brick 2010 Atlantic Sun Tournament Seeds:

(Records reflect final season standings…current record plus the final two conference game predictions)

1) ETSU (19-8, 17-2)
2) Mercer (15-14, 12-8)
3) Campbell (15-14, 10-10)
4) Belmont (14-14, 9-11)
5) Kennesaw State (11-18, 8-12)
6) Jacksonville (8-20, 7-13)
7) North Florida (9-20, 6-14)
8) Stetson (6-23, 6-14)