# Belmont Bruins men's basketball

The Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont completed a 10-season run in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2021–22, and joined the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2022. The Bruins play their home games at the Curb Event Center under head coach Casey Alexander. Their most recent NCAA Division I tournament appearance was in 2019.

## Coaching staff

* Casey Alexander – Head coach
* Brian Ayers – Associate head coach
* Kerron Johnson – Assistant coach
* Sean Rutigliano – Assistant coach
* Luke Smith - Director of Player Development
* Harrison Gascho – Director of Basketball Operations
* Graduate Assistant - Clay Holmes
* Graduate Assistant - Bryce Haase

## Rivalries
### Lipscomb University (Battle of the Boulevard)

The Battle of the Boulevard, also referred to as the Belmont–Lipscomb basketball rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between the Belmont University Bruins and the Lipscomb University Bisons. Its nickname was established because of both school's close placement in Nashville, Tennessee– about three miles apart on the same road.

### Murray State University

Recently, the Bruins have been building a rivalry with Murray State University since the Bruins' entry into the OVC in 2012. From that year until both teams' departure from the OVC in 2022, Belmont and Murray State combined to win every regular season championship, including two seasons (2018-19 & 2019-20) where they shared the title. In three consecutive years (from 2018 to 2020), the Racers and Bruins met in the OVC Tournament finals, with Belmont winning the 2020 meeting. With Belmont joining the MVC alongside Murray State, the rivalry will continue in that conference. The Bruins currently lead the all-time series 13 to 12.

## Awards

All-Americans
* Robert Barnes – 1956*
* Adam Sonn – 2003*
* Alex Renfroe – 2009*
* Ian Clark – 2013*
* J.J. Mann – 2014*
* Evan Bradds – 2016*, 2017*
(*) Denotes Honorable Mention

## Record by year

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Belmont Rebels (VSAC) (1953–1986) ||||||
| 1953–56 | Larry Striplin | 58–42 (.580) | | | 1955 NAIA Playoff |
| 1957–62 | George Kelley | 58–71 (.450) | | | 1960 NAIA District 24 Tournament |
| 1962–64 | Ken Sidwell | 14–23 (.378) | | | |
| 1964–66 | Wayne Dobbs | 35–19 (.648) | 4–4 | | |
| 1966–67 | Jack Young | 9–16 (.360) | 3–5 | | |
| 1967–72 | Dewey Jones | 69–76 (.476) | 17–25 | | |
| 1972–74 | Ken Sidwell | 22–30 (.423) | 5–12 | | |
| 1974–78 | Dick Campbell | 48–68 (.414) | 14–28 | | |
| 1978–86 | Don Purdy | 116–138 (.457) | 54–62 | | 1982 & '83 NAIA District 24 Tournaments |
| First 8 Coaches: | First 8 Coaches: | 429–483 (.478) | 97–136 | | |
| Belmont Rebels/Bruins (Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference)(NAIA) (1986–1996) ||||||
| 1986–87 | Rick Byrd | 15–15 | 7–9 | | |
| 1987–88 | Rick Byrd | 22–9 | 15–1 | | NAIA District 24 Playoff |
| 1988–89 | Rick Byrd | 25–10 | 12–4 | | NAIA National Championships 1st Round |
| 1989–90 | Rick Byrd | 27–7 | 14–2 | | NAIA District 24 Playoffs |
| 1990–91 | Rick Byrd | 23–9 | 11–5 | | NAIA District 24 Playoffs |
| 1991–92 | Rick Byrd | 22–10 | 12–4 | | NAIA District 24 Playoffs |
| 1992–93 | Rick Byrd | 30–6 | 12–4 | | NAIA Sweet Sixteen |
| 1993–94 | Rick Byrd | 30–7 | 14–2 | 1st | NAIA Quarterfinals |
| 1994–95 | Rick Byrd | 37–2 | 18–0 | 1st | NAIA Semifinals |
| 1995–96 | Rick Byrd | 29–11 | 13–5 | | NAIA Semifinals |
| Belmont Bruins (NCAA Independent) (1996–2001) ||||||
| 1996–97 | Rick Byrd | 15–11 | | | |
| 1997–98 | Rick Byrd | 9–18 | | | |
| 1998–99 | Rick Byrd | 14–13 | | | |
| 1999–2000 | Rick Byrd | 7–21 | | | |
| 2000–01 | Rick Byrd | 13–15 | | | |
| Belmont Bruins (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2001–2012) ||||||
| 2001–02 | Rick Byrd | 11–17 | 8–12 | T–7th | |
| 2002–03 | Rick Byrd | 17–12 | 12–4 | 1st (North) | |
| 2003–04 | Rick Byrd | 21–9 | 15–5 | 3rd | NIT Opening Round |
| 2004–05 | Rick Byrd | 14–16 | 12–8 | 3rd | |
| 2005–06 | Rick Byrd | 20–11 | 15–5 | T–1st | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2006–07 | Rick Byrd | 23–10 | 14–4 | 2nd | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2007–08 | Rick Byrd | 25–9 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2008–09 | Rick Byrd | 20–13 | 14–6 | T–2nd | CIT Quarterfinals |
| 2009–10 | Rick Byrd | 19–12 | 14–6 | T–1st | |
| 2010–11 | Rick Byrd | 30–5 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2011–12 | Rick Byrd | 27–8 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA round of 64 |
| Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley Conference) (2012–2019) ||||||
| 2012–13 | Rick Byrd | 26–7 | 14–2 | 1st (East) | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2013–14 | Rick Byrd | 26–10 | 14–2 | 1st (East) | NIT Quarterfinals |
| 2014–15 | Rick Byrd | 22–11 | 11–5 | T–1st (East) | NCAA round of 64 |
| 2015–16 | Rick Byrd | 20–12 | 12–4 | 1st (East) | NIT First Round |
| 2016–17 | Rick Byrd | 23–7 | 15–1 | 1st (East) | NIT Second Round |
| 2017–18 | Rick Byrd | 24–9 | 15–3 | 2nd | |
| 2018–19 | Rick Byrd | 27–6 | 16–2 | T–1st | NCAA round of 64 |
| Rick Byrd: | Rick Byrd: | 713–346 (.673) | 378–110 (.790) | | |
| Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley Conference) (2019–2022) ||||||
| 2019–20 | Casey Alexander | 26–7 | 15–3 | T–1st | Postseason not held (qualified prior to cancelation) |
| 2020–21 | Casey Alexander | 26–4 | 18–2 | 1st | |
| 2021–22 | Casey Alexander | 25–8 | 15–3 | 2nd | NIT First Round |
| Belmont Bruins (Missouri Valley Conference) (2022–present) ||||||
| 2022–23 | Casey Alexander | 21–11 | 14–6 | T–3rd | |
| 2023–24 | Casey Alexander | 20–13 | 12–8 | T–4th | |
| 2024–25 | Casey Alexander | | | | |
| Casey Alexander: | Casey Alexander: | 118–42 (.738) | 74–27 (.733) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 1267–874 (.592) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

## Postseason results

They have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–8. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) four times with a combined record of 3–4. They have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) once with a record of 1–1. Prior to joining NCAA Division I, they participated in five NAIA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–5.

### NCAA Tournament Results

| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2006 | #15 | First Round | UCLA | L 44–78 |
| 2007 | #15 | First Round | Georgetown | L 55–80 |
| 2008 | #15 | First Round | Duke | L 70–71 |
| 2011 | #13 | First Round | Wisconsin | L 58–72 |
| 2012 | #14 | First Round | Georgetown | L 59–74 |
| 2013 | #11 | First Round | Arizona | L 64–81 |
| 2015 | #15 | First Round | Virginia | L 67–79 |
| 2019 | #11 | First Four First Round | Temple Maryland | W 81–70 L 77–79 |
| 2020 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
In the 2008 tournament, the #15 seeded Bruins, playing in the West Region, played an exciting, hard-fought first-round game with a perennial powerhouse, the #2 seeded Duke Blue Devils. The Bruins came up one point short of the upset, losing the game 70–71 after Justin Hare's desperation three point attempt barely went wide left of the net. The Bruins rallied from 9 point and 7 point deficits in the second half to take a 70–69 lead late in the game, before Duke scored what proved to be the game's final basket with under a minute left to play.
In 2011 Belmont University won the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship and the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Bruins finished 30–4 overall (marking their first 30 win season in the NCAA era) and 19–1 in conference play. By doing this they received their highest seed in their history, a #13. They faced the perennial powerhouse the #4 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the second round of the Southeast Region, where they lost 58–72.

### NIT results

| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2004 | First Round | Austin Peay | L 59–65 |
| 2014 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Green Bay Robert Morris Clemson | W 80–65 W 82–71 L 68–73 |
| 2016 | First Round | Georgia | L 84–93 |
| 2017 | First Round Second Round | Georgia Georgia Tech | W 78–69 L 57–71 |
| 2022 | First Round | Vanderbilt | L 71-82 |

### CIT Results

| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2009 | First Round Quarterfinals | Evansville Old Dominion | W 92–76 L 62–70 |

### NAIA Division I Tournament

| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1989 | First Round | Hastings | L 76–89 |
| 1993 | First Round Second Round | Findlay Minnesota Morris | W 87–73 L 59–66 |
| 1994 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Hawaii–Hilo Pfeiffer Oklahoma Baptist | W 91–83 W 99–80 L 76–89 |
| 1995 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Spring Arbor Geneva The Master’s Birmingham–Southern | W 94–75 W 85–65 W 91–72 L 80–90 |
| 1996 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Westminster (PA) Life Cumberland (KY) Oklahoma City | W 57–54 W 74–73 W 65–60 L 77–80 |

## Bruins in professional leagues
### Current

* Alex Renfroe, CB Miraflores (Spain)
* Ian Clark, Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China)
* Kerron Johnson, BC Enisey (Russia)
* J.J. Mann, Okapi Aalst (Belgium)
* Amanze Egekeze, P.A.O.K. BC (Greece)
* Austin Luke, Yoast United (Netherlands)
* Dylan Windler, Cleveland Cavaliers
* Kevin McClain, Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)
* Ben Sheppard (basketball), Indiana Pacers

## Record book
### Retired numbers

Belmont Bruins Retired Jerseys :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Career |
| 15 | Robert Barnes | C | 1953–56 |
| 54 | Joe Behling | SG | 1986–90 |
| 21 | Ian Clark | G | 2010–13 |