The Battle of the Boulevard, Round 2.
Belmont and Lipscomb – two heated rivals that have been competing against each other since 1953, from two schools that are not much more than a stone’s throw away from each other in Nashville, Tennessee. The basketball rivalry between these teams began when both were NAIA schools, and has continued as both teams moved to Division II and eventually Division I.
When Rick Byrd took over the head coaching job at Belmont back in the 1980’s, Lipscomb was the dominant team in the rivalry, then at the NAIA level. The Bisons were coached at the time by the legendary Don Meyer, who won 923 career games and held the record for most wins by a collegiate head coach until surpassed by Coach K in 2011. The balance of power has clearly shifted between these two teams since they both moved to NCAA Division I. Lipscomb is still searching for its first NCAA tournament bid while Belmont has become almost a perennial participant in March Madness, first out of the Atlantic Sun Conference (where Lipscomb still remains), and now these past two season in the Ohio Valley. Despite the two teams being in different conferences, the rivalry continues, this year with a home and home series. The rivalry perhaps gained even more intensity this season when long-time Rick Byrd assistant at Belmont, Casey Alexander, took over the reins as head coach of Lipscomb. Belmont already won the first game, 87-83 on November 8 at Lipscomb’s court. Tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern, Belmont hosts the rematch (live streaming through ovcsports.com).
This season was supposed to be a rebuilding one for Belmont. After barely sneaking by in the first round of the Battle of the Boulevard and then losing by 8 at Richmond to start the season, that appeared to be the way the team was headed. After all, they did lose Ian Clark to the NBA after last season. However, things quickly turned around when they pulled out a 1 point home court victory over a solid Indiana State team last week (Indiana State followed that up by winning at Notre Dame). And of course, what Belmont did just two days ago at North Carolina, beating the Tar Heels 83-80, cannot be understated (even if the UNC team was short-handed). JJ Mann has been leading the way so far for Belmont, a 6-6 combo guard/forward who has averaged 19.5 points per game so far, including dropping 28 on the Tar Heels.
Lipscomb is off to a 2-2 start, with wins over non-D1 Oakland City and Tennessee State, while losing their first game to Belmont and a game at Vanderbilt. Martin Smith is probably their best player, but he is only 5 for 19 on the season from 3 point range, and needs to pick up his scoring if the Bisons are going to have success. Lipscomb’s best chance for a victory tonight will come if Belmont is still hung-over from their huge win in Chapel Hill. However, given the intensity of this rivalry it would be a complete shock if Belmont lost. The Bruins should not only be up for this game, but should find a way to win it handily.
I just wanted to add tonight’s games of note (and their aren’t many) to the end of this post rather than knock it further down.
-IOWA STATE AT BYU. Both teams enter this game unbeaten and with some impressive wins. It should be a good one between two teams that are off to great starts.
-DAYTON AT GEORGIA TECH. Both teams enter the game 3-0, and Georgia Tech looked good in their last game against Georgia.
-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN. North Dakota State has suffered two straight hard fought losses and are running out of chances (if they haven’t already). meanwhile, Western Michigan is out to a 3-1 start.
-MANHATTAN AT ILLINOIS STATE. The Jaspers can use all the road wins they can get.
-NORTHERN COLORADO AT NEW MEXICO STATE. NO. Colorado is unbeaten with an impressive road win against Kansas State. New Mexico State is a tough team to beat at home, so this would be another win of note for them.