Local college men's, women's basketball teams start conference tournaments this week
Conference tournaments for five Middle Tennessee area college basketball men's and women's teams − Austin Peay, Belmont, Lipscomb, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech − bounce into action this week.
Here's a look at where those teams finished in the regular season and details about what to expect in their postseason tournaments (Belmont's women, in the Missouri Valley Conference, don't start until March 15):
Men
Lipscomb basketball in the Atlantic Sun quarterfinals Tuesday
Lipscomb basketball earned the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and will open Tuesday (7 p.m.) facing No. 6 North Alabama (14-16, 8-8) at Allen Arena.
The Bisons (20-11, 11-5 ASUN) finished the regular sea son on an uptick knocking of ASUN regular-season champion Eastern Kentucky 81-67 on Sunday. It was Lipscomb's fourth straight win and sixth in the past seven games.
The Bisons are led by three double-figure scorers − Derrin Boyd (17.6), Will Pruitt (15.0) and Al McGinnis (13.1). Pruitt, a former Mt. Juliet star, leads the Bisons in rebounding (6.0).
Austin Peay basketball won seven of last eight games
Austin Peay (17-14, 10-6) won seven of its last eight regular-season games to earn the No. 4 seed in the ASUN Tournament. The Governors face No. 5 North Florida (14-16, 8-8) Tuesday (7 p.m.) at F&M Bank Arena.
Ja'Monta Black, a graduate transfer from Northwestern State, became Austin Peay's single-season 3-point leader after making his 105th in a 90-87 overtime win vs. Bellarmine on Friday.
The Governors, in their second season in the ASUN, recovered after a slow start in conference play during which they lost six of eight in one stretch.
Belmont basketball finishes tied for 4th in Missouri Valley Conference
In Belmont's second season in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bruins put together a strong finish to earn the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Belmont (19-12, 12-8) faces No. 12 Valparaiso (7-24, 3-17) Thursday (2:30 p.m.) in the first round of the conference tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Belmont swept Valparaiso in the regular season.
The Bruins won seven of their last eight regular-season games. That came after a stretch in which they lost six of seven. They hope to make a better showing than last season when they were knocked out of the conference tournament in the first game by Indiana State (94-91).
Belmont features the three-pronged scoring attack of Ja'Kobi Gillespie (17.5 ppg.), Malik Dia (16.9 ppg.) and Cade Tyson (16.7 ppg.). Dia, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Vanderbilt, also averages 5.8 rebounds and has a team-high 24 blocks.
Tennessee State basketball opens OVC Tournament vs. Southern Indiana
Despite losing its last two regular-season games, Tennessee State earned the No. 5 seed in the OVC Tournament. The Tigers (17-14, 10-8) open Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) in the quarterfinals vs. No. 8 Southern Indiana (8-23, 5-13) at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The Tigers stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, losing four of their last six games. An 85-60 setback to Little Rock on Feb. 29 was the Tiger's most lopsided conference loss of the season.
TSU will lean heavily on Belmont transfer E.J. Bellinger to get back on track. The 6-4 guard averages 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. Fellow guard Jaylen Jones from East Nashville is one of the top freshmen in the OVC. He is averaging 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Women
Lipscomb women's basketball faces Eastern Kentucky in ASUN Tournament quarterfinals
Blythe Person scored her 1,000th career point and helped the Lipscomb women's basketball team beat Eastern Kentucky 71-68 in the final regular-season game Saturday.
The Bisons (17-12, 10-6) have a week off before opening the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament this Saturday in a rematch against EKU (21-10, 9-7) at Allen Arena (4 p.m.).
Pearson (11.4 ppg.) is one of five starters who averages in double-figures scoring led by Claira McGowan (12.9 ppg.).
EKU features Antwainette Walker, who is second in the conference in scoring (18.1 ppg.).
Austin Peay women's basketball to play in ASUN Tournament first round
The Austin Peay women's basketball team will play Kennesaw State on Friday (5 p.m.) in the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament in DeLand, Florida.
The Governors (15-15, 8-8) beat Kennesaw State 61-50 in the regular season. That win snapped a five-game losing streak for Austin Peay.
Shamarre Hale, a 6-1 center and transfer from Wright State, leads the Governors in scoring (12.8), rebounding (7.2) and blocked shots (1.1). Kennesaw State (11-18, 7-9) is led by Princis Harden (14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds).
Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech open OVC Tournament Wednesday
Tennessee State will play Morehead State on Wednesday (1 p.m.), and Tennessee Tech will play Western Illinois also Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) in the quarterfinals of the OVC Tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
TSU (10-18, 7-11) is the No. 6 seed and Morehead State (15-14, 10-8) is No. 5. Tech (15-14, 10-8) is the No. 6 seed and Western Illinois (18-11, 9-9) is No. 7.
Senior guard Sanaa' St. Andre (15.4 ppg) has played well for TSU down the stretch.
Tech leans heavily on graduate student guard Maaliya Owens, who averages 15.1 points per game and is the only Golden Eaglette who has started every game. Owens helped lead Tech to the OVC Tournament championship in 2022-23.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Local college basketball teams enter conference tournaments this week
