Busting Brackets
Fansided

A week to establish a reputation for Belmont basketball

By Harry Schroeder

Belmont's Grayson Murphy (2) dribbles the ball as the Belmont Bruins play the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during their semifinal game of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Ford Center Friday evening, March 6, 2020.Ovc Belmontvseku 11
Belmont's Grayson Murphy (2) dribbles the ball as the Belmont Bruins play the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during their semifinal game of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Ford Center Friday evening, March 6, 2020.Ovc Belmontvseku 11 /
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Belmont Bruins head coach Casey Alexander Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Belmont Bruins head coach Casey Alexander Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

Last season in the OVC

While this stretch of games will somewhat make or break Belmont’s at-large NCAA Tournament credentials, they will have five other non-conference games after Thanksgiving, but this begins the Bruins’ final run in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Next season the Bruins will join Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference and Alexander and his troops want to go out on top. BU has won a conference or division title in all eight of their nine previous OVC seasons.

The OVC tournament has been a little more difficult. Belmont has won three of the league’s post-season tournaments during those eight years. One of those post-season successes was during Alexander’s first season replacing Byrd (2019-20).

Those graduate students are driven by wanting to continue the Belmont legacy of success, regular-season titles, and post-season activity. The Bruins are one of four collegiate programs to win 19 or more games for the past 16 seasons. Gonzaga, Kansas, and San Diego State are the others. That tradition can both weigh on or inspire players.

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Heading to Kissimmee, Florida the Belmont season is at a season-defining time. If the Bruins can win a game or two, they would catapult themselves into the post-season conversation with very distinct and reputable credentials. If they get swept by these highly-rated teams, they will be relegated to battling for OVC supremacy for their post-season possibilities.