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. The Bruins play their home games at the Curb Event Center under head coach Casey Alexander. Their most recent NCAA Division I tournament appearance to date was in 2019.
Coaching staff
Casey Alexander – Head coach
Brian Ayers – Associate head coach
Tyler Holloway – Assistant coach
Sean Rutigliano – Assistant coach
Mick Hedgepeth – Director of Basketball Operations
Rivalries
Lipscomb University (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
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, the rivalry will continue in that conference. The Bruins currently lead the all-time series 13 to 12.
Awards
All-Americans
Robert Barnes – 1956*
Adam Sonn – 2003*
Alex Renfroe – 2009*
Ian Clark – 2013*
J.J. Mann – 2014*
Evan Bradds – 2016*, 2017*
(*) Denotes Honorable Mention
Academic All-Americans
Wes Burtner – 2001***, 2002*
Adam Mark – 2002**, 2003*, 2004*
Justin Hare – 2007**, 2008*
Andy Wicke – 2009***
Scott Saunders – 2011***, 2012*
J.J. Mann – 2014*
Craig Bradshaw – 2015***, 2016**
Evan Bradds – 2016***, 2017**
Dylan Windler – 2018**, 2019**
Luke Smith – 2021***, 2022***
(*) Denotes 1st team
(**) Denotes 2nd team
(***) Denotes 3rd team
Ohio Valley/ASUN Conference Player of the Year
Adam Sonn – 2003
Alex Renfroe – 2009
Ian Clark – 2013
J.J. Mann – 2014
Evan Bradds – 2016, 2017
Ohio Valley/atlantic sun coach of the Year
Rick Byrd – 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019
Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award
Rick Byrd – 2011
NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award
Rick Byrd – 2012
NACDA Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Adam Mark – 2004
Justin Hare – 2008
Mick Hedgepeth – 2011
Craig Bradshaw – 2015
NAIA National Coach of the Year
Rick Byrd – 1995
NAIA National Player of the Year
Joe Behling – 1989
NAIA All-Americans
Joe Behling – 1988*, 1989*, 1990*
Kerry West – 1995*
Al Allen – 1995**
DaQuinn Goff – 1996*
(*) Denotes 1st team
(**) Denotes 2nd team
Record by year
Postseason results
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
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.