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Belmont Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Bruins

By Adam Childs

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 20: The cheerleaders of the Belmont Bruins watch on against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 20, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 20: The cheerleaders of the Belmont Bruins watch on against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 20, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – NOVEMBER 17: Spencer Turner #11 and J.J. Mann #24 of the Belmont Bruins leave the court after a last-second win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on November 17, 2013 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mann hit the game-winning 3-point shot as Belmont defeated North Carolina, 83-80. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC – NOVEMBER 17: Spencer Turner #11 and J.J. Mann #24 of the Belmont Bruins leave the court after a last-second win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on November 17, 2013 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mann hit the game-winning 3-point shot as Belmont defeated North Carolina, 83-80. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Rick Byrd has quietly built Belmont Basketball into one of the best mid-major teams in the country. Will the Bruins return back to the top of the OVC this season?

Belmont Basketball is coming off a very good year that ended with a disappointing conference championship game against Murray State. They would amass a 24-9 record on the year and 15-3 in conference. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it was not good enough to get an at-large bid into the tournament. Somehow they didn’t even receive a bid to the postseason NIT and were instead left wondering what could have been.

They were hurt by their lack of wins against tournament teams, but they came close to winning a few of those. They lost by one to Providence, eleven to TCU and lost twice to Lipscomb by a combined 13 points. They also had a four-point loss to Pac-12 opponent Washington. Those were five of the Bruins nine total losses and were what ultimately kept them out of the postseason.

Belmont will look to rebound this year as they return their leading scorer Dylan Windler and third-leading scorer Kevin McClain. They also return three other players that played in over 30 games which will help with experience and depth. Head coach Rick Byrd was also able to bring a good recruiting class and will hope the youngsters can help bring a conference championship back to Nashville.

Here’s a full breakdown of the projected starters, key reserves and non-conference schedule, along with where they stand nationally and in the conference as we preview their season.