While it may be quite some time before we see an Atlantic Sun Conference team get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament I think our tournament can have some of the excitement that the Big Dance offers.Consider this: while the A-Sun may not have the big names, enormous following or media coverage that the bigger schools have, what we do have is the consistency. Personally, I would much rather watch a player grow and progress for four years and cement himself in the legacy of the school than a one-and-done. It’s the difference between a long-term, close relationship and a quick smack on the cheek before leaving on to bigger and better things. In the latter case, nobody’s really happy. (See the entire starting squad for Kentucky last season, where are they now, and who really cares about them?)

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s set the scene for this year’s Atlantic Sun tournament.

The later we get in the season, the more important the games become. Last night Jacksonville topped UNF by two points. ETSU’s loss to Stetson (yes it actually happened) now becomes more magnified. Not only do the Bucs have absolutely zero chance of catching the Belmont Bruins, but JU is now only one game behind them. With the Dolphins coming into Johnson City this weekend, each team will control its tournament seeding. The biggest difference is one team is coming off a huge emotional win. The other is coming from a pretty ugly loss.

I feel like I must clarify that it is not mathematically impossible for the Bucs to catch the Bruins before the tournament. The two teams will face off again before the end of February in Nashville, but the boys from Johnson City will have their work cut out from them. The Bruins are 22-4 on the season and have only had one hiccup in conference play when they went down to Lipscomb. Twice this year they have played UTK and both times lost by single digits. The second outing was decided by only one point.

The only possible chink in Belmont’s armor is youth. Only one player on the roster is a senior. The Bruins have two juniors and a sophomore averaging double-digit scoring this season, but will they have the killer instinct to finish schools who will have seniors like Mike Smith fighting to make their career just one game longer?

Because in March, only the cold-blooded will survive and advance.

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