The 2015 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament was the 37th edition of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. It took place from March 3 through March 8, 2015 on campus sites with the higher-seeded school hosting each game throughout the championship. The North Florida Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun Tournament championship, earning an automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament.
| 2015 Atlantic Sun men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2014–15 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | campus sites |
| Finals site | UNF Arena Jacksonville, Florida |
| Champions | North Florida (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Matthew Driscoll (1st title) |
| MVP | Demarcus Daniels (North Florida) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Florida † | 12 | – | 2 | .857 | 23 | – | 12 | .657 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Gulf Coast | 11 | – | 3 | .786 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC Upstate | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 24 | – | 12 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lipscomb | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Kentucky* | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 13 | – | 17 | .433 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kennesaw State | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stetson | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 9 | – | 22 | .290 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *NKU was eligible for A-Sun Tourney, but not for postseason play due to Div. I transition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2015 Atlantic Sun Tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format
editThe A-Sun Championship was a six-day single-elimination tournament. Eight teams competed in the championship.[1] On July 22, 2014, the A-Sun announced Northern Kentucky will be eligible for all conference postseason championships for which their teams qualify starting with the upcoming 2014-15 academic year, as part of their transition to Division I from Division II. The Norse must still complete the four-year reclassification period before becoming eligible for NCAA Championships. The change in A-Sun policy arose after NCAA clarification that a conference may set specific criteria allowing its highest ranked finisher to be the AQ recipient if a non-eligible team were to participate and win the conference postseason tournament. Prior policy had determined that the conference would lose its AQ if an ineligible team won the tournament.[2] However, that potential scenario did not happen, as the Norse lost their first-round game to Lipscomb by a score of 76-73. This proved to be Northern Kentucky's only A-Sun tournament game ever, as the school would move to the Horizon League effective with the 2015–16 school year.
East Tennessee State, along with defending champion Mercer, did not participate in the tournament after moving to the Southern Conference.
With ETSU and Mercer no longer in the A-Sun and FGCU eliminated in the semifinals, the tournament winner of the championship game between USC Upstate and North Florida was assured of making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. North Florida would represent the A-Sun with a 63–57 win.
Seeds
edit| Seed | School | Conference | Overall | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Florida | 12–2 | 20–11 | |
| 2 | Florida Gulf Coast | 11–3 | 21–9 | |
| 3 | USC Upstate | 8–6 | 21–10 | |
| 4 | Northern Kentucky | 7–7 | 13–16 | 1–1 vs. Lipscomb, 0–2 vs. UNF, 0–2 vs. FGCU, 2–0 vs. USC Upstate |
| 5 | Lipscomb | 7–7 | 13–16 | 1–1 vs. NKU, 0–2 vs. UNF, 0–2 vs. FGCU, 1–1 vs. USC Upstate |
| 6 | Kennesaw State | 4–10 | 10–21 | 2–0 vs. Jacksonville |
| 7 | Jacksonville | 4–10 | 10–21 | 0–2 vs. Kennesaw State |
| 8 | Stetson | 3–11 | 9–21 | |
| Overall records are as of the end of the regular season. | ||||
Schedule
edit| Time | Matchup | Final score | Television |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Tuesday, March 3 | |||
| 7:30 pm | #8 Stetson @ #1 North Florida | 67–81 | ESPN3 |
| 7 pm | #5 Lipscomb @ #4 Northern Kentucky | 76–73(OT) | ESPN3 |
| 7 pm | #6 Kennesaw State @ #3 USC Upstate | 54–90 | ESPN3 |
| 7 pm | #7 Jacksonville @ #2 Florida Gulf Coast | 63–81 | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals – Thursday, March 5 | |||
| 7 pm | #5 Lipscomb @ #1 North Florida | 57–71 | ESPN3 |
| 7 pm | #3 USC Upstate @ #2 Florida Gulf Coast | 63–62 | ESPN3 |
| Final – Sunday, March 8 | |||
| 2:30 pm | #3 USC Upstate @ #1 North Florida | 57–63 | ESPN2 |
| All times ET #-Tournament seed | |||
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals March 3 ESPN3 | Semifinals March 5 ESPN3 | Championship March 8 ESPN2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Florida | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Stetson | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Florida | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Lipscomb | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Northern Kentucky | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Lipscomb | 76OT | ||||||||||||
| 1 | North Florida | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | USC Upstate | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Florida Gulf Coast | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Jacksonville | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Florida Gulf Coast | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | USC Upstate | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | USC Upstate | 90 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Kennesaw State | 54 | ||||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Championship Format". Atlantic Sun. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ "NKU Eligible for A-Sun Championships in 2014-15 Season". Atlantic Sun. Retrieved December 20, 2014.