Lipscomb basketball is headed back to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history and they are definitely a sleeper team to watch in March Madness.
General Information:
Team: Lipscomb
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Record: 25-9 (14-4)
Head Coach: Lennie Acuff (6th season, all at Lipscomb)
What to know about Lipscomb basketball:
The Lipscomb Bisons have now made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. They were a 15 seed in 2018 when Casey Alexander was the head coach, but now Lennie Acuff is putting his own spin on things.
The identity of Lipscomb basketball is clear. They want to score the basketball and can do it in a lot of ways.
The offense typically runs through Jacob Ognacevic, a 6-foot-8 forward who averages 20.1 points and 8.1 rebounds on the season. He plays a very controlled game and uses his frame to fight for points in the paint, but also shoots 40.2% from three-point range. He can score from inside, mid-range, and outside, giving the Bisons a player not many mid-major teams can boast.
Outside of Ognacevic is a trio of guards – Will Pruitt, Joe Anderson, and Gyasi Powell – who all shoot the three-point ball at 35% or better. Pruitt is fearless on the attack and you simply cannot leave Anderson or Powell alone because they will let it rip.
The scariest part about Lipscomb might be their free throw percentage. The Bisons are 8th in the country at 79.4%. They will make you pay for literally every scoring component of the game.
Defensively, Lipscomb can hold their own – but that was in the Atlantic Sun. They only surrendered 67.3 points per game in the regular season, but against Arkansas and Kentucky, gave up 86.5 points per game. Of course, that was in November, but there is a big difference in how they performed against SEC teams compared to A-Sun squads.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Lipscomb basketball: Round of 64 Exit
Projected seed: 14
While Lipscomb could get up to a 13 seed (they hold a top 90 ranking in the NET), 14 seems more likely for now. No matter what 3 or 4 seed they might play should be very cautious. I’m not picking Lipscomb to pull off the upset, but if I had to roll with a very interesting pick, I’d side with the Bisons. Simply put, they can get hot from three-point range and if they defend enough, can give a big scare to a big-time program.