2025 ASUN basketball conference tournament bracket, key players and predictions

The first NCAA men’s basketball conference tournament is set as the Atlantic Sun Conference wrapped up regular season action on Wednesday night. 

Lipscomb clinched the top seed and a share of the regular season title with their win over Central Arkansas on Wednesday. Despite having the same overall and conference record as North Alabama, the Bison received the No. 1 seed based off of them beating, and North Alabama losing to, FGCU who is the next highest seeded team. In the ASUN, head-to-head matchups are used as the first tiebreaker (Lipscomb/North Alabama split their two games this season), followed by win-loss percentage vs top ranked team, and if that cannot decide they utilize the NCAA NET rankings.

Complete ASUN seeding is as follows:

1. Lipscomb Bisons 22-9 (14-4)
2. North Alabama Lions 22-9 (14-4)
3. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 18-13 (13-5)
4. Jacksonville Dolphins 18-12 (12-6)
5. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 18-13 (12-6)
6. Queens Royals 18-13 (11-7)
7. Austin Peay Governors 13-18 (8-10)
8. North Florida Ospreys 15-16 (8-10)
9. Stetson Hatters 8-23 (6-12)
10. Central Arkansas Bears 8-23 (4-14)

The top 10 teams in this conference of 12 received a spot in the bracket, putting an end to the season for West Georgia and Bellarmine.

It is important to note that in this conference tournament reseeding takes place meaning no future games are set in stone. In other words, future round matchups are decided by having the highest ranked team remaining play the lowest ranked team remaining and so on.

The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid in the field of 68 for March Madness. Queens is ineligible for the NCAA tournament as they are still in the transition period from Division II to Division I, and if they were to win this year, the automatic bid would go to the regular season champion. Since the the regular season title was shared, the bid would be awarded to whoever advanced further in the conference tournament out of Lipscomb and North Alabama.

The ASUN will be the first men’s basketball conference tournament to tip off with two first round games on Sunday March 2nd followed by quarterfinal action on March 3rd. The semi finals will take place on March 6th and the championship game is scheduled for March 9th. All games will take place at campus sites.

Let's take a deeper look at this years ASUN tournament with some players and teams to keep an eye on and predictions for who will win it all.

Key Players

F Jacob Ognacevic, Lipscomb (Sr.)

2024-2025 stats: 20.3 ppg, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists

After missing all of last season due to injury, Ognacevic has been on a tear this season as the conference's leader in points and a top candidate for ASUN player of the year. He has scored in double figures in every conference game and the big man can stroke it from three shooting 41.3% from behind the arc. Ognacevic is a senior with one year of eligibility remaining, but this is looking like his last year at Lipscomb. As the best player on the best team, Ognacevic will be a must watch as he tries to lead his team to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018.

G Jacari Lane, North Alabama (Jr.)

2024-2025 stats: 16.9 ppg, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists

If you would like to make an argument for someone else to win ASUN POY, Jacari Lane is a worthy candidate. Lane is a pure scorer and is already 6th on North Alabama’s all-time scoring list as just a junior. He has been the leading scorer in 16 games for the Lions and was a big part in helping them win the first Division I regular season conference championship in school history. As a guy who has averaged double figures in all of his three seasons at North Alabama, Lane could be a hot commodity for bigger programs in the transfer portal this offseason, but first he will try to make some magic happen in the ASUN tournament.

G Devontae Blanton, Eastern Kentucky (Sr.)

2024-2025 stats: 16.5 ppg, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists

Blanton is a great all-around player on the court, and a rarity in the sport of college basketball as a guy who has spent five seasons at the same school. The senior has been dominant in conference play this season going for 15+ points in 14 games and is not afraid to spread the love as he ranks third in assists in the ASUN this season. Blanton will also have a lot on his shoulders as the Colonels will be without their leading scorer George Kimble III who was injured in early February and underwent season ending surgery.

Team Superlatives

Team(s) to Beat - Lipscomb/North Alabama

Lipscomb and North Alabama have sat atop of the ASUN all season and enter as the clear teams to beat in the tournament. FanDuel would agree as they have these two as clear favorites to win it with Lipscomb (-155), North Alabama (+255), and the team with next best odds at +1000. The co-regular season champions will both have a massive target on their back and it would be a big surprise if either falls early.

Top Contender - Florida Gulf Coast

With six teams having 10+ wins in conference play, several could be considered top contenders but I like what FGCU is coming in with. The Eagles are an extremely experienced group which is a massive asset come March. Their path to a championship begins with Queens, who they defeated by double digits, and would likely include a semifinals matchup with North Alabama who they have also beaten once this year.

Dark Horse - North Florida

This is surely a longshot, but if North Florida can get hot and play a little bit of defense they could have a chance to make a run. The Ospreys play at one of the fastest tempos in college hoops and score a league best average of 83.3 points per game. This is the style of basketball that can get hot during a one week stretch which puts them in a position to play spoiler. I would also consider Eastern Kentucky as a legitimate dark horse candidate, but being without their leading scorer will be a tough obstacle.

Predictions

First Round

• No. 9 Stetson over No. 10 Central Arkansas
• No. 8 North Florida over No. 7 Austin Peay

Quarterfinals

• No. 1 Lipscomb over No. 9 Stetson
• No. 5 Eastern Kentucky over No. 4 Jacksonville
• No. 2 North Alabama over No. 8 North Florida
• No. 3 Florida Gulf Coast over No. 6 Queens

Semifinals

• No. 1 Lipscomb over No. 5 Eastern Kentucky
• No. 2 North Alabama over No. 3 Florida Gulf Coast

Championship

• No. 1 Lipscomb over No. 2 North Alabama

I know it is chalky which is no fun in March, but these are the clear top two teams in the conference and I see them both making it into the final. In this matchup I would give the edge to Lipscomb based off of having the best player in the tournament with Ognacevic and having home court advantage which usually make for incredible environments in conference tournament championship games. A Lipscomb ASUN tournament title would send them into the NCAA Tournament as a 13 or 14 seed.