Typically played at campus sites, this year’s Atlantic Sun basketball tournament will take place entirely in the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Can top seed Liberty win their third straight ASUN Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament? The following contains the Atlantic Sun Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.

Atlantic Sun Conference Standings

TeamConference RecordOverall RecordTournament Outlook
Liberty11-221-51 Seed
Bellarmine10-313-62 Seed
Lipscomb9-616-83 Seed
North Florida6-68-154 Seed
North Alabama7-812-105 Seed
Florida Gulf Coast4-59-76 Seed
Stetson7-910-137 Seed
Kennesaw State2-135-198 Seed
Jacksonville5-911-13N/A

Atlantic Sun Tournament Schedule

Dates: March 4-5, 7
TV: ESPN, ESPN+
Site: Jacksonville, FL (Jacksonville hosts two quarterfinal games; North Florida hosts all other games)
Byes: None
Most Recent Champion: Liberty

Credit: Kevin Manguiob

Atlantic Sun Tournament Bracket

Quarterfinals

  • (1) Liberty 65, (8) Kennesaw State 59
  • (7) Stetson 73, (2) Bellarmine 70
  • (6) Florida Gulf Coast 72, (3) Lipscomb 60
  • (5) North Alabama 68, (4) North Florida 60

Semifinals

  • (1) Liberty 77, (7) Stetson 64
  • (5) North Alabama 96, (6) Florida Gulf Coast 81

Championship

  • (1) Liberty 79, (5) North Alabama 75

Liberty advances to NCAA Tournament

Atlantic Sun Conference Breakdown

Liberty has won each of the last two Atlantic Sun basketball tournaments. However, the Flames have only gotten to play on the NCAA Tournament stage once, thanks to last year’s cancellation. As the 2021 regular-season champions, Liberty is poised to make it three straight. Florida Gulf Coast was the last team to win consecutive ASUN tournament championships in 2016 and ‘17. Lipscomb won the 2018 championship. 

Liberty had both the best scoring offense and defense in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season. The Flames averaged 74.7 points per game this season, edging out 2-seed Bellarmine (74.3) for the top spot. Interestingly, 7-seed Stetson had the third-best scoring offense in Atlantic Sun basketball this season with 72.3 points per contest. On defense, the Flames’ surrendered just 58.9 points per game, over six points better than runner-up Bellarmine. Florida Gulf Coast rounded out the top three defenses. Liberty (83) was also the only ASUN team with a net rating in the top 100. Bellarmine (175) was the only other team in the conference ranked in the top 200 in the net. 

Two Atlantic Sun basketball tournaments are not eligible to advance on to the NCAA Tournament even if they do win the conference title. Both Bellarmine and North Alabama are still in the transition to Division I level. Another wrinkle to note is the absence of Jacksonville from the tournament after the team declined to participate in the postseason. The reason? You guessed it: China Virus protocols!

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Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball and NASCAR. He counts the NFL, the WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.

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