5. Belmont Bruins
Belmont always wins twenty games, but since entering the Missouri Valley Conference have finished third once and fourth twice. After dominating the Ohio Valley Conference, the Bruins have still been very good, but not up to Belmont standards.
Coach Casey Alexander hopes to change that this season. The Bruins boast of the nation’s top three-point shooter (Tyler Lundblade) and several other ‘regulars’ from last season’s 22-11 team.
Lundblade made 104 tres last season at an amazing 48 percent clip. The 6’5 guard was a 94 percent shooter from the charity stripe.
Junior Brigham Rogers and sophomore Drew Scharnowski are each 6’9 and combined to score 11.7 points and grab 6.9 rebounds in the post. Sam Orme is a 6’8 forward who emerged as a real offensive threat, scoring nearly ten points and grabbing over four boards per contest. He also converted 38 percent from the arc.
There is hidden talent everywhere on this roster. Eastern Washington transfer guard Nic McClain averaged 10.6 points, 3.6 boards and 3.8 helpers. Samford transfer Isaiah West is a physical perimeter defender who began his career at Vanderbilt.
Redshirt freshmen Eoin Dillon, Jabez Jenkins and Cooper Haynes had incredible high school careers and are ready to step in. While Dillon is 6’9 and Jenkins is a 6’4 explosive athlete, Haynes scored nearly 2,700 prep points.
6’10 Graydon Lemke redshirted at Gonzaga. As with every team, we’re reminding you that Valley teams are taller this season than in any in the last 25.
Freshman Jack Smiley is a 6’2 guard that can compete for meaningful minutes right now.
If Alexander, who has a .722 winning percentage at Belmont can blend this team into the ‘Belmont Way’ this will be the Bruins’ best Valley season.