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Belmont Bruins men's basketball

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Belmont Bruins
2024–25 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
UniversityBelmont University
Head coachCasey Alexander (6th season)
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
LocationNashville, Tennessee
ArenaCurb Event Center
(capacity: 5,085)
NicknameRebels (1953-1995)
Bruins (1995-present)
ColorsNavy, white, and red[1]
     
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament appearances
2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019
Conference tournament champions
2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020
Conference regular season champions
2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
Conference division season champions
2003, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

The Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont completed a 10-season run in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2021–22, and joined the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2022.[2] The Bruins play their home games at the Curb Event Center under head coach Casey Alexander. Their most recent NCAA Division I tournament appearance was in 2019.

Coaching staff

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  • Casey Alexander – Head coach
  • Brian Ayers – Associate head coach
  • Kerron Johnson – Assistant coach
  • Sean Rutigliano – Assistant coach
  • Luke Smith - Director of Player Development
  • Harrison Gascho – Director of Basketball Operations
  • Graduate Assistant - Clay Holmes
  • Graduate Assistant - Bryce Haase

Rivalries

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Lipscomb University (Battle of the Boulevard)

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See also: Battle of the Boulevard

The Battle of the Boulevard, also referred to as the Belmont–Lipscomb basketball rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between the Belmont University Bruins and the Lipscomb University Bisons. Its nickname was established because of both school's close placement in Nashville, Tennessee– about three miles apart on the same road.

Murray State University

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Recently, the Bruins have been building a rivalry with Murray State University since the Bruins' entry into the OVC in 2012. From that year until both teams' departure from the OVC in 2022, Belmont and Murray State combined to win every regular season championship, including two seasons (2018-19 & 2019-20) where they shared the title. In three consecutive years (from 2018 to 2020), the Racers and Bruins met in the OVC Tournament finals, with Belmont winning the 2020 meeting. With Belmont joining the MVC alongside Murray State,[3] the rivalry will continue in that conference. The Bruins currently lead the all-time series 13 to 12.

Awards

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All-Americans[4]

(*) Denotes Honorable Mention

Record by year

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Belmont Rebels[7] (VSAC) (1953–1986)
1953–56 Larry Striplin 58–42 (.580) 1955 NAIA Playoff
1957–62 George Kelley 58–71 (.450) 1960 NAIA District 24 Tournament
1962–64 Ken Sidwell 14–23 (.378)
1964–66 Wayne Dobbs 35–19 (.648) 4–4
1966–67 Jack Young 9–16 (.360) 3–5
1967–72 Dewey Jones 69–76 (.476) 17–25
1972–74 Ken Sidwell 22–30 (.423) 5–12
1974–78 Dick Campbell 48–68 (.414) 14–28
1978–86 Don Purdy 116–138 (.457) 54–62 1982 & '83 NAIA District 24 Tournaments
First 8 Coaches: 429–483 (.478) 97–136
Belmont Rebels/Bruins[7] (Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference)(NAIA) (1986–1996)
1986–87 Rick Byrd 15–15 7–9
1987–88 Rick Byrd 22–9 15–1 NAIA District 24 Playoff
1988–89 Rick Byrd 25–10 12–4 NAIA National Championships 1st Round
1989–90 Rick Byrd 27–7 14–2 NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1990–91 Rick Byrd 23–9 11–5 NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1991–92 Rick Byrd 22–10 12–4 NAIA District 24 Playoffs
1992–93 Rick Byrd 30–6 12–4 NAIA Sweet Sixteen
1993–94 Rick Byrd 30–7 14–2 1st NAIA Quarterfinals
1994–95 Rick Byrd 37–2 18–0 1st NAIA Semifinals
1995–96 Rick Byrd 29–11 13–5 NAIA Semifinals
Belmont Bruins[7] (NCAA Independent) (1996–2001)
1996–97 Rick Byrd 15–11
1997–98 Rick Byrd 9–18
1998–99 Rick Byrd 14–13
1999–2000 Rick Byrd 7–21
2000–01 Rick Byrd 13–15
Belmont Bruins (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2001–2012)
2001–02 Rick Byrd 11–17 8–12 T–7th
2002–03 Rick Byrd 17–12 12–4 1st (North)
2003–04 Rick Byrd 21–9 15–5 3rd NIT Opening Round
2004–05 Rick Byrd 14–16 12–8 3rd
2005–06 Rick Byrd 20–11 15–5 T–1st NCAA round of 64
2006–07 Rick Byrd 23–10 14–4 2nd NCAA round of 64
2007–08 Rick Byrd 25–9 14–2 1st NCAA round of 64
2008–09 Rick Byrd 20–13 14–6 T–2nd CIT Quarterfinals
2009–10 Rick Byrd 19–12 14–6 T–1st
2010–11 Rick Byrd 30–5 19–1 1st NCAA round of 64
2011–12 Rick Byrd 27–8 16–2 1st NCAA round of 64
Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley Conference) (2012–present)
2012–13 Rick Byrd 26–7 14–2 1st (East) NCAA round of 64
2013–14 Rick Byrd 26–10 14–2 1st (East) NIT Quarterfinals
2014–15 Rick Byrd 22–11 11–5 T–1st (East) NCAA round of 64
2015–16 Rick Byrd 20–12 12–4 1st (East) NIT First Round
2016–17 Rick Byrd 23–7 15–1 1st (East) NIT Second Round
2017–18 Rick Byrd 24–9 15–3 2nd
2018–19 Rick Byrd 27–6 16–2 T–1st NCAA round of 64
Rick Byrd: 713–346 (.673) 378–110 (.790)
Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley Conference) (2019–2022)
2019–20 Casey Alexander 26–7 15–3 T–1st Postseason not held (qualified prior to cancelation)
2020–21 Casey Alexander 26–4 18–2 1st
2021–22 Casey Alexander 25–8 15–3 2nd NIT First Round
Belmont Bruins (Missouri Valley Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23 Casey Alexander 21–11 14–6 T–3rd
2023–24 Casey Alexander 20–13 12–8 T–4th
2024–25 Casey Alexander
Casey Alexander: 118–42 (.738) 74–27 (.733)
"ARMADURA Z29 HELMET ARMOR Z29" by OSCAR CREATIVO

Total:		 1267–874 (.592)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Postseason results

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They have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–8. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) four times with a combined record of 3–4. They have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) once with a record of 1–1. Prior to joining NCAA Division I, they participated in five NAIA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–5.

NCAA Tournament Results

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Year Seed Round Opponent Result
2006 #15 First Round UCLA L 44–78
2007 #15 First Round Georgetown L 55–80
2008 #15 First Round Duke L 70–71
2011 #13 First Round Wisconsin L 58–72
2012 #14 First Round Georgetown L 59–74
2013 #11 First Round Arizona L 64–81
2015 #15 First Round Virginia L 67–79
2019 #11 First Four
First Round		 Temple
Maryland		 W 81–70
L 77–79
2020 n/a n/a n/a n/a

In the 2008 tournament, the #15 seeded Bruins, playing in the West Region, played an exciting, hard-fought first-round game with a perennial powerhouse, the #2 seeded Duke Blue Devils. The Bruins came up one point short of the upset, losing the game 70–71 after Justin Hare's desperation three point attempt barely went wide left of the net. The Bruins rallied from 9 point and 7 point deficits in the second half to take a 70–69 lead late in the game, before Duke scored what proved to be the game's final basket with under a minute left to play.

In 2011 Belmont University won the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship and the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Bruins finished 30–4 overall (marking their first 30 win season in the NCAA era) and 19–1 in conference play. By doing this they received their highest seed in their history, a #13. They faced the perennial powerhouse the #4 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the second round of the Southeast Region, where they lost 58–72.

NIT results

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Year Round Opponent Result
2004 First Round Austin Peay L 59–65
2014 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Green Bay
Robert Morris
Clemson		 W 80–65
W 82–71
L 68–73
2016 First Round Georgia L 84–93
2017 First Round
Second Round		 Georgia
Georgia Tech		 W 78–69
L 57–71
2022 First Round Vanderbilt L 71-82

CIT Results

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Year Round Opponent Result
2009 First Round
Quarterfinals		 Evansville
Old Dominion		 W 92–76
L 62–70

NAIA Division I Tournament

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Year Round Opponent Result
1989 First Round Hastings L 76–89
1993 First Round
Second Round		 Findlay
Minnesota Morris		 W 87–73
L 59–66
1994 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		 Hawaii–Hilo
Pfeiffer
Oklahoma Baptist		 W 91–83
W 99–80
L 76–89
1995 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		 Spring Arbor
Geneva
The Master’s
Birmingham–Southern		 W 94–75
W 85–65
W 91–72
L 80–90
1996 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		 Westminster (PA)
Life
Cumberland (KY)
Oklahoma City		 W 57–54
W 74–73
W 65–60
L 77–80

Bruins in professional leagues

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Current

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Record book

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Retired numbers

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Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers
Belmont Bruins Retired Jerseys
No. Player Pos. Career Ref.
15 Robert Barnes C 1953–56 [8][4]
54 Joe Behling SG 1986–90 [4][9]

Individual career records

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See also: Belmont Bruins men's basketball statistical leaders

References

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  1. ^ Belmont University Brand Book. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Belmont University to Join Missouri Valley Conference" (Press release). Belmont Bruins. September 28, 2021. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "Belmont University to Join Missouri Valley Conference" (Press release). Belmont Bruins. September 28, 2021. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Belmont Bruins History & Tradition .Retrieved October 11, 2020
  5. ^ Belmont: List of Academic All-Americans
  6. ^ NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award Archived December 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c 2016-17 Media Guide
  8. ^ Robert Barnes bio at belmont.com
  9. ^ Athlete Alumni Spotlight -- Joe Behling at belmont.com
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