Sports
Through one of his buddies at FOX Sports, my friend Dee from Atlanta had lined up some sterling seats for this week’s SEC Tournament at the Gaylord, and for the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. According to Dee’s annual basketball road-trip master plan, we’d catch the SEC’s first two days in Nashville, then dash over to Tobacco Road for the weekend.
Then Dee called on Monday to bail. Vanderbilt’s loss to Tennessee—achieved in spite of a 16-point second-half lead at home—had left him so disgusted with coach Kevin Stallings and the program that he had lost all interest in attending the SEC Tournament. He was even losing interest in the ACC Tournament. The basketball road trip was in jeopardy.
Then I suggested an alternative: we could root for Belmont at the NCAA Regionals in Atlanta. Considering that the odds-makers will give Belmont about as much chance next week as Butch and Sundance vs. the Bolivian army, there will be no expectations for the Bruins and thus no room for disappointment. For Dee, it could be a welcome alternative to his usual high-stress relationship with Vanderbilt athletics. This could actually be fun.
If there has been a happier story in college basketball this week, I have yet to hear of it.
And if there is anyone around town not affiliated with Lipscomb University who isn’t happy for Belmont coach Rick Byrd and his team, I haven’t met them. But I suspect that even most fans of Lipscomb—the once-and-again archrival that Belmont defeated Saturday to earn the coveted NCAA bid—find it hard to hold any bitterness toward Byrd in spite of a hugely disappointing loss.
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If there were any lingering doubts that the old Battle of the Boulevard—a major event back in the days when Belmont and Lipscomb were perennial NAIA powers—was no longer as meaningful as it once was, Saturday’s A-Sun Tournament final should have vaporized them. The two schools, both recent arrivals to NCAA Division I, shared the conference title in the regular season. Then they advanced to the tournament championship. The title game—a taut, overtime thriller that could have had any of about four different endings—is one they’ll talk about for a long time.
When they meet here this week, the SEC teams that are all but assured of a spot in the NCAA’s Field of 64 are playing only for a higher seed in the main event. The rest, like Vandy, are playing against long odds that they might win on three or four straight days and eke out a bid. Either way, most of the teams can play loose and relaxed because few have much to lose.
But in conferences like the Atlantic Sun, which never receive more than one NCAA spot, the league tournament means everything. No matter how stellar your record the rest of the year, one slip, one missed shot, one careless pass can mean the difference between the NCAA and the Tournament No One Really Wants to Be In, otherwise known as the NIT. (That’s where Lipscomb and, barring some miracle, Vandy will be playing next week.)
Some people wonder why anyone like Belmont really wants to be in the NCAAs anyhow. As the official representative of a conference with the country’s fourth-lowest power ranking (don’t ask), the Bruins likely will receive a No. 16 seeding. In Atlanta, site of the Southeastern Regional and Belmont’s presumptive destination, their opponent is likely to be Duke, UConn, Villanova, Texas, Memphis or Ohio State, this week’s prime prospects for No. 1 seeds.
Exactly zero 16th seeds have ever beaten a No. 1. Only two have come close. One happened right here in Nashville, when East Tennessee State (the host school for last week’s A-Sun tourney) came within a junebug’s eyelash of toppling Oklahoma, the top seed in the entire 64-team field. And even if the Bruins can upgrade to a 15th seed, even Jethro Bodine could cipher the number of 15s that have ever won an NCAA Tournament game without having to take off his shoes, or even involve his other hand.
Despite the nominal weakness of their conference, though, there are reasons to expect that Belmont won’t lay down like the usual run of sacrificial lambs. Early this season, they played Ohio State to a deadlock late in the game at Columbus. They’re not likely to be in awe of a Duke or Texas, and won’t be intimidated to play in front of a big crowd. Stay close, play good D, the whole arena will get behind you, and who knows what could happen?
Realistically, of course, the Titans have a better chance of winning next year’s Super Bowl than Belmont has of upending a top seed. But that won’t matter to Byrd or the Bruins. If you’re a Belmont or a Lipscomb, this is the moment you play for—the opportunity, however remote, to be Cinderella for one night, or even just to come close.
This week is the reward, the fun part. Between now and next Thursday or Friday, more people are likely to hear of Belmont than have ever heard about it before. The little school in Music City with the celebrity-studded fan base is likely to be one of the unofficial Media Darlings, a feel-good story the TV people love to embrace.
And, finally, there will be some richly deserved media attention for the sweater-vested Byrd, one of the best teachers and nicest people in the college coaching profession. The attention won’t be a springboard to a higher-profile job, as it is for some; it will be simply an opportunity to recognize a coach who, like Byrd’s old friend Homer Drew at Valparaiso, did a great job for years, largely out of the national limelight.
Now that the old Battle of the Boulevard commands a bigger stage, maybe it’s also time to revisit the idea of an annual four-way tournament in Nashville among Belmont, Lipscomb, Vandy and TSU. They’ve played doubleheaders before, but not a true tournament. Vandy has played Belmont; they could well face Lipscomb in the NIT. Lipscomb and Belmont have new facilities. Each of the four schools could take turns hosting. People would come. There’s no good reason not to do it.
But that can wait for another week. This one belongs to Belmont by itself.