Just four teams remain in the ASUN tournament, and only two will still be standing after tonight.
No. 1 Lipscomb and No. 5 NJIT will battle at Allen Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday, while North Florida and Liberty will clash for the other spot. The two semifinal winners will then meet for the ASUN tournament title on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT (TV: ESPN).
The Bisons hold a 7-2 series lead over the Highlanders, but NJIT nearly pulled an upset on Lipscomb’s Senior Night on Feb. 25. Four late free throws from senior Garrison Mathews helped Lipscomb fend off NJIT’s furious second-half comeback attempt, and the Bisons pulled out an 81-77 victory.
But on Jan. 16, the two programs met in Newark, New Jersey, and the result was much different. Behind 23 points from Rob Marberry and 17 from Matt Rose, the Bisons cruised to a 70-52 victory over the Highlanders.
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BREAKING DOWN THE HIGHLANDERS:
NJIT (21-11) finished the regular season on a sour note by losing six of its final eight games. But the Highlanders made up for that by upsetting No. 4 Florida Gulf Coast by a score of 83-78 in Monday’s ASUN quarterfinal in Fort Myers, Florida.
Highlander guards Zach Cooks and Diandre Wilson were both outstanding and combined to score 51 points. Big-bodied forward Abdul Lewis, an ASUN first teamer, added 18 points of his own in 37 minutes of action.
The victory was NJIT’s first postseason win in program history. The Highlanders joined the ASUN conference for the 2015-16 season.
Cooks was named second team All-ASUN despite being just a sophomore. He currently ranks ninth in the nation with 80 steals and 18th among D-1 underclassmen in scoring (17.2 PPG).
Lipscomb limited Cooks to just 12 points on Feb. 25, but if Cooks, Lewis and Wilson all bring their best on the offensive end, they could give the Bisons fits on defense.
BREAKING DOWN THE BISONS:
Lipscomb (24-6) is in the midst of its best season since joining NCAA Division I in 2001-02. The team has won its last three games after stumbling in losses to Liberty and FGCU in mid-February, which eliminated the opportunity for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Bisons beat Kennesaw State by a score of 86-71 Monday night to advance to the ASUN semifinals. In that contest, the inside-out game between Marberry and Mathews was clicking on all cylinders.
Marberry finished 8-of-9 from the field to score 16 points, while Mathews knocked down five three-pointers to lead all scorers with 26 points. Guard Kenny Cooper also posted a rare triple-double thanks to his 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Defensive lapses continue to be an issue for the Bisons. Just one month ago, Lipscomb ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation in KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings. The Bisons now sit in 57th place after allowing 71 points to the Owls on Monday.
If the Bisons want to advance to their second-straight ASUN championship, they must find a way to shore up the defense. That likely means relying heavily on junior Michael Buckland, whom coach Casey Alexander called the team’s “best defender,” along with the team’s deep bench that includes Rose, Ahsan Asadullah, Nathan Moran, Andrew Fleming and Jake Wolfe.
ANALYSIS & PREDICTION:
This should be a tight contest. NJIT will be playing with confidence after upsetting FGCU earlier in the week. The result will likely be determined by which team uses last week’s 81-77 Lipscomb victory to its advantage.
Will the Highlanders have enough self-belief to make up the four-point difference from last time? Or will the Bisons use the Senior Night scare as a cautionary tale and deliver a performance that more closely resembles their January blowout victory in Newark?
This game will come down to the final two minutes, but the experience-laden Bisons should find a way to pull out a five-point victory to advance to the ASUN title game.
Prediction: Lipscomb 77, NJIT 72
Photo credit: McKenzi Harris