NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Rick Byrd thought his Belmont Bruins had a chance to be better this season – just not this good.
Byrd said the Bruins’ play is “beyond my wildest dreams.”
The coach expected Belmont to be significantly better after tying for the regular season A-Sun title a year ago. But they are blowing through the Atlantic Sun Conference, off to an 8-0 start in league play and winning by an average of 29 points.
In his 25 years at Belmont, Byrd said the closet any of his teams came to this kind of domination was 1994-95, when the Bruins went through the NAIA 37-2. Not even his teams that made three straight NCAA tournament appearances between 2006 and 2008 dominated like this squad.
Belmont (16-3) has lost to Vanderbilt and twice to Tennessee – with all losses coming on the road. Only a late Scotty Hopson layup helped Tennessee pull out a 66-65 win on Dec. 23, a tough enough game that Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl said he doesn’t want to schedule Belmont again.
“You just don’t know how a team is going to happen, meaning the team part of it, and this one has been a thrill and a joy to coach,” Byrd said.
The Bruins rank fifth in the NCAA in scoring margin at 19.8 points per game. They are sixth with 9.5 3-pointers a game, ninth in scoring offense (83.4 points) and 11th in steals (9.7). Unofficially, the Bruins rank third in Division I with bench scoring and in the percentage of minutes played by reserves.
Senior Jordan Campbell was a redshirt freshman on the team that scared Duke before losing 71-70 to open the 2008 NCAA tournament, and he says he can’t put a limit on what this team can accomplish.
“I feel this is probably the best team that I’ve played on since I’ve been here, and that’s saying a lot being to the NCAA twice,” he said.
Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, a close friend of Byrd’s, watched his own Commodores hold off Belmont for an 85-76 win on Dec. 4. He believes Belmont would be ranked in the Top 25 if the Bruins could get more teams at Vandy’s level on a neutral court, or lure a couple to the Curb Event Center.
He sees the beatdown the Bruins are putting on the Atlantic Sun as proof of how good they really are.
“They’re absolutely just demolishing everybody they see, and you can’t do that to the people in your league if you’re not really good,” Stallings said. “I don’t care what the situation is, you have to be really good to beat people in your league like they’re beating them.”
Last week, Belmont thrashed Lipscomb 88-52 in a rivalry so big it’s called the Battle of the Boulevard. The Bruins jumped out 20-3 and never let their lead dip under 14 points. They followed that up two days later by thumping Campbell 90-55.
They simply demoralize opponents by jumping out so quickly and so big.
“We try not to let that affect us,” said sophomore Ian Clark. “We can’t let up at any time. The game’s not over till it’s over. We have to keep playing till it’s over.”
Byrd is able to attack opponents in waves; 11 players get at least 10 minutes each with no one getting more than 23 per game.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Clark, their leading scorer with 12.1 points per game. “We all like playing with each other, and we know we have a lot of depth this year, and it’s fun to know that when we put all this together we’re winning games like we’re winning games now.”
The Bruins will be tested starting Friday with a three-game road swing starting at USC-Upstate, East Tennessee and then back to Lipscomb. Byrd notes his Bruins still have eight of the next 12 on the road with a favorable schedule until now.
“We’re leading at 40 percent. That doesn’t get you any trophies or anything else. It will get tougher,” Byrd said.
Playing in the Atlantic Sun means what matters most isn’t winning the regular season title but the conference tournament in Macon, Ga., to earn a ticket back to the NCAA tournament.
The Atlantic Sun is moving up the ranks of the mid-major conference this season, but an at-large bid isn’t expected despite some impressive wins this season. ETSU knocked off Dayton, while Jacksonville won at Auburn and downed then-No. 20 Florida. Kennesaw State opened the season winning at Georgia Tech, while Stetson stunned Wake Forest.
But that could boost the league’s rating index enough to lead to a more favorable NCAA seeding. Byrd isn’t looking ahead or enjoying this start because his Bruins haven’t accomplished anything just yet.
“Now it starts a whole new deal,” Byrd said. “What’ve you done lately?”
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