When most people think of March Madness, they think of the countless upsets and Cinderella stories that occur each year. All of the teams and players that America falls in love with each year are some of the most shocking stories of the NCAA tournament, and this year’s Cinderella story may lie within Atlantic Sun.
The Favorites: Lipscomb and North Alabama
Different from many other conferences, the Atlantic Sun has no clear frontrunner. Lipscomb and North Alabama both sit tied for first place in the conference, with four more teams in the conference having winning records. Despite the numerous teams in the conference with the ability to make a run, Lipscomb and North Alabama are the two most poised teams that have the ability to play up to any team in the tournament. Lipscomb is led by Jacob Ognacevic, who is 13th in the country at 20.3 ppg. North Alabama is led in scoring and assists by Jacari Lane. The two programs also split their season series this year, shaping up for a star-studded matchup if the two teams meet in the championship.
The Dark Horse: Queens Royals
Although it has losses to both Lipscomb and North Alabama, one potential team that could make a run in both the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament is Queens University. A fairly unknown school and program, Queens currently sits at sixth in the conference, but nearly all of its losses have been close games. Surprisingly, the Royals play worse at home, so the neutral site aspect of the conference tournament may give Queens an advantage to help make a deep run in the tournament.
In addition to the Royals, there are many teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference that are able to make a deep run in March. One of these teams is found much further down in the standings. Stetson, who sits at 6-12 in the conference, has been overlooked in almost all Atlantic Sun brackets, however, the Hatters are led by Mehki Ellison, who has been known to play significantly better on the road,averaging 15.5 ppg on the road, compared to his 13.9 ppg at home. With this in mind, Stetson may be able to make a deep run in the conference tournament, as the Atlantic Sun is significantly less competitive than in recent years.
The Longshots: Bellarmine, Central Arkansas and West Georgia
As Stetson attempts to make a deep run, there are a handful of other teams in the conference whose hopes at a March Madness bid are little to none. Bellarmine, who sits 12 games back from first in the conference, has only two conference wins. In addition to the Knights, Central Arkansas and West Georgia both only have four conference wins, and all three teams would have to pull off a miracle in order to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. But as we have seen in the past, crazier things have happened in March.
Prediction
With the Atlantic Sun conference title being more attainable than ever, the conference record of each team is off the table, as it only takes a few wins to receive a bid. With that being taken into consideration, expect the unexpected in this conference tournament. My semifinals prediction for the Atlantic Sun this year has Florida Gulf Coast taking on Lipscomb, with Lipscomb knocking off the Eagles to advance to the conference finals. On the opposite side of the bracket, I have North Alabama taking on Eastern Kentucky, with North Alabama winning and advancing to the championship. In the conference finals, I have Lipscomb knocking off North Alabama in a neck and neck battle of the top two seeds in the conference. No matter the winner of the Atlantic Sun Conference this year, don’t count them out in the NCAA Tournament, as any of these teams could be the next Cinderella story.