11. Lipscomb Bisons (9-3)
While many of the teams on this list use their superior defense to get wins, Lipscomb unapologetically looks to simply outscore opponents to get their victories. The Bisons are 10th nationally in points scored at 87.3 ppg and haven’t lost by more than four points in a game this season. They also have quality wins over both TCU and SMU in a span of four days. With a possible win over Clemson this Sunday, an at-large bid may be in the cards.
Lipscomb is led by the duo of Garrison Mathews and Rob Marberry, combining to produce 34.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg, and 4.6 apg in the first 12 games. Junior guard Kenny Cooper actually facilitates the offense, dishing out around four assists a night. Ahsan Asadullah and Eli Pepper compliment the team down low in the paint.
There are very few weaknesses that the Bisons have on paper, making them the odds-on favorite to win the Atlantic Sun. Florida Gulf Coast and NJIT (who received a couple of votes) look like the only true threats in the league at this point, and even then it appears to be an uphill battle.
Lipscomb made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history a season ago and has a great shot of making it back-to-back this time around. With four of the top six scorers all seniors, there’s a high level of urgency with the program at this moment in time.