by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 19, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
It didn’t take long for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team to get over the disappointment of being snubbed from the NCAA tournament. Following the NCAA and NIT selection shows, the Bisons held practice late Sunday night to prepare for their Tuesday-evening battle at Davidson. The first round NIT game is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be carried on ESPN3. “We knew no matter where we were playing that there was a 50 percent chance that we’d have a Tuesday game,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “There’s enough software out there now that you can get yourself ready [quickly].” The Bisons (25-7) were in consideration for an at-large bid to the Big Dance, but multiple losses to Belmont and Liberty and an upset defeat at Florida Gulf Coast were too much to overcome. Liberty took the ASUN’s automatic bid after topping the Bisons by a score of 74-68 in the conference championship game on March 10. “We were disappointed after the Liberty loss,” senior forward Rob Marberry said. “We kind of kicked ourselves for maybe a day or two, and then afterward we had to get back to work because we still have games to play.” Lipscomb is doing its best to take the NCAA snub in stride and focus on the NIT, which ends with the Final Four on April 2 and 4 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. “We’re obviously disappointed we’re not in March Madness, but it’s still great for the program to be playing [in the NIT],” Marberry said. “We’re trying to increase the size of the [Lipscomb] name. Any time a team is...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 16, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team likely missed its chance to advance to the NCAA tournament when it dropped last Sunday’s ASUN title game to Liberty, 74-68. However, Lipscomb has remained in the at-large bid conversation for much of the past week. That’s partially thanks to the team’s “Bisons vs. the Bubble” campaign on Twitter, which compared Lipscomb to other bubble teams like Indiana, Texas, St. John’s, Alabama, TCU, Ohio State and Arizona State. Media personalities including Dick Vitale, Jeff Goodman, Clark Kellogg and Scott Van Pelt have all mentioned Lipscomb as a possible at-large team since Sunday’s ASUN title loss. But it appears the Bisons are on the outside looking in as the Power 5 conferences complete their tournaments this weekend. Lipscomb is expected to be in the NIT field when it’s announced on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Lipscomb ranked as the sixth team left of the bracket as of Saturday morning. Belmont is listed as the first team out. CBS analyst Jerry Palm sees the Bisons as a bubble team and the Bruins as the third team left out. SB Nation has Belmont as its last team in and Lipscomb among the next four out. Bleacher Report lists Belmont as its second-to-last team in and the Bisons as its third team out. Bisons likely traveling for NIT Multiple sources told Lumination that Lipscomb did not apply to host NIT first or second round games. The school is on spring break this week, and there is a possible venue conflict in Allen Arena for the second round date. That means the Bisons will...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 11, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s basketball season wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Not after rolling through the ASUN and taking the league’s No. 1 seed. Not with five seniors, three of which are 1,000-point scorers. Not with the conference Player of the Year on its roster. Not with road victories at TCU, SMU and Liberty. No, no, no. Absolutely not. 2019 was supposed to be Lipscomb’s year. The Bisons were to be everyone’s NCAA tournament darling – the team that was built to potentially ruin brackets. Every major bracketologist had Lipscomb in the field of 68. But in sports, and especially in March, there are no guarantees. And that’s exactly why we watch with such anticipation, even though there’s always a chance for heartbreak. And there was plenty of heartbreak to go around Sunday in Allen Arena, where Lipscomb dropped a 74-68 loss to Liberty in the ASUN championship. The Flames get to go dancing, the Bisons get to go to the NIT. “It’s disappointing,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “One of the hats you wear when you’re the head coach…you’re responsible for making a lot of people happy. Personally, I hate that we couldn’t deliver the final result that would have kind of put the whole thing over the top.” The Flames earned it. They made shots when it mattered most, including Scottie James’ go-ahead layup with 56 seconds left and a dagger three-pointer from Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz 40 seconds later. Meanwhile, Lipscomb’s stars faded at the end. Mathews committed the turnover that led to James’ layup and later missed a three-pointer with four ticks remaining. Rob Marberry missed a layup...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 2, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Mid-major teams generally have one option for making the Big Dance: winning a conference tournament title. On rare occasions, a few mid-major squads piece together such solid resumes that the Selection Committee cannot ignore them. Gonzaga (19-2), Nevada (19-1) and Buffalo (18-2) appear to fit that mold this season. But what about Lipscomb? The Bisons have caught the eyes of the college basketball world with victories over TCU, SMU, Vermont and Liberty, along with close losses to Louisville and Belmont (x2). Do they stand any chance to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament? The answer: probably not. However, it isn’t completely out of the question. Lipscomb touts an impressive 17-4 overall record, and the Bisons are a perfect 8-0 in ASUN play. They’re also 2-3 against Quadrant 1 opponents and 2-1 against Quadrant 2 opponents. Heading into Saturday’s contest against North Alabama, Lipscomb sits at No. 36 in the NET rankings and the KenPom ratings. The Bisons can hang their hat on a marquee victory at TCU on Nov. 20. But the biggest factor working in Lipscomb’s favor is that it does not have any bad losses. The ASUN’s first-place team is 11-0 against Quadrant 3 and 4 opponents, and their worst loss came at home to Belmont (a top-70 team) on Nov. 15. All that to say, Lipscomb is best off taking care of business and winning its conference tournament on March 10. However, they might be able to survive a hiccup in the ASUN tournament if they do the following: 1. Win their final eight regular season games The Bisons are going to be favored in...
by Lumination Staff | Dec 28, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, Fashion, News Slider, Opinion, Sports
Editor’s Note: Click title to view each story 2018 was an exciting time to be a Lipscomb student. The year came with both celebratory and controversial moments. Lipscomb’s athletic teams reached new heights, the administration made steps toward connecting with LGBT students, Allen Arena hosted the GMA’s Dove Awards for the sixth year in a row and a recent alum joined Kelly Clarkson’s touring band. But amid the positive news, there were also times of controversy and frustration. A Trump cabinet member spoke at a private healthcare event in Shamblin in September, firing up students on both sides of the aisle. 21 Fast-Track MBA students were found cheating on a final exam. Hurricane Florence ravaged the homes of several students. Lumination journalists were there to cover all of this — plus more. By combing through Google Analytics and our social media platforms, we determined our top 10 stories of 2018: No. 1: Lipscomb basketball NCAA tournament coverage, by Erin Franklin, Cole Gray & Russell Vannozzi Lipscomb men’s basketball made school history by winning its first-ever ASUN tournament title and advancing to the NCAA tournament thanks to a 108-96 victory at FGCU on March 4. There were several top stories that emerged from the Bisons’ tournament run, including: – In their own words: Lipscomb students react to historic win, by Cole Gray – Column: Lipscomb finally breaks into NCAA tourney after long, disappointing road, by Russell Vannozzi – A look back: the rich history of Bisons basketball, by Erin Franklin – Lipscomb falls to UNC in first round of NCAA Tournament after historic run, by Cole Gray No. 2: Students cheat...
