NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball opens the 2013-14 season at Lipscomb Friday night.
The Bruins went 26-7 last season, earned a sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years, and finished with a program-best final RPI of 24. But after claiming OVC regular season and tournament championships in its inaugural campaign in the league, the Bruins welcome nine newcomers to the team.
Those include redshirt senior Drew Windler (South Milwaukee, Wisc.) and redshirt freshman Caleb Chowbay (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.), each of whom sat out a year ago.
Belmont head coach Rick Byrd and new Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander have a bond that dates back to the early 90's. After playing for Byrd at Belmont from 1991-95, Alexander spent 16 seasons as a part of Byrd's coaching staff. Belmont won 287 games with Alexander on staff.
More specifically, over Alexander's final eight seasons, the Bruins tallied 172 victories, six postseason appearances (four NCAA Tournament, one NIT, one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament), four Atlantic Sun regular season championships, four Atlantic Sun tournament titles, a remarkable 132-41 record in Atlantic Sun play, and road victories over Missouri, Alabama and Cincinnati.
This marks the third time Byrd and Alexander have coached against each other. In 2011-12, Alexander's first season at the helm at Stetson, Belmont defeated the Hatters, 84-71 in Nashville, and 106-93 in DeLand.
Alexander coached five current Belmont players
This marks the 133rd meeting between Belmont and Lipscomb. The Battle of the Boulevard series dates back to 1953. Belmont holds a 12-9 series lead in the NCAA Division I era of the rivalry (2004-present).
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT from Allen Arena on the Lipscomb University campus. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
The live play-by-play of Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network and the Bruins Mobile app.
Game Notes - Belmont at Lipscomb
