# 2019–20 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by first-year head coach Casey Alexander, played their home games at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 26–7, 15–3 in OVC play to finish in a tie for the OVC regular season championship. They defeated Eastern Kentucky and Murray State to be champions of the OVC tournament. They earned the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2018–19 season 27–6 overall, 16–2 in OVC play to finish as Ohio Valley regular season co-champions, alongside Murray State. In the OVC tournament, they defeated Austin Peay in the semifinals, advancing to the championship, where they were defeated by Murray State. Due to their successful season, they received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, earning the No. 11 seed in the East Region. They were matched up against fellow No. 11 seed Temple in the First Four, winning the game 81–70, earning their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. They faced No. 6 seeded Maryland in the first round, nearly pulling off the upset, losing 77–79.
On April 1, 2019, longtime head coach Rick Byrd announced that he was retiring, after leading the team for 33 years. On April 10, Lipscomb head coach and Belmont alum Casey Alexander was named as Byrd's successor.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 72–79 | 0–1 | Redbird Arena (5,310) Normal, IL |
| November 11, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | W 95–63 | 1–1 | Curb Event Center (2,638) Nashville, TN |
| November 16, 2019* 2:00 pm, ACC Network | | at Boston College | W 100–85 | 2–1 | Conte Forum (5,540) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| November 18, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | High Point | W 90–51 | 3–1 | Curb Event Center (1,556) Nashville, TN |
| November 20, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb Battle of the Boulevard | W 73–67 | 4–1 | Allen Arena (3,628) Nashville, TN |
| November 23, 2019* 4:00 pm, Fox Sports Midwest | | at Saint Louis | L 55–60 | 4–2 | Chaifetz Arena (6,236) St. Louis, MO |
| November 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, Pluto TV | | at Eastern Washington | L 82–87 | 4–3 | Reese Court (1,305) Cheney, WA |
| November 30, 2019* 7:30 pm, Stadium | | at Middle Tennessee | W 71–59 | 5–3 | Murphy Center (3,806) Murfreesboro, TN |
| December 3, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Lipscomb Battle of the Boulevard | W 80–75 | 6–3 | Curb Event Center (3,318) Nashville, TN |
| December 11, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Carson–Newman | W 105–56 | 7–3 | Curb Event Center (1,343) Nashville, TN |
| December 18, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 83–44 | 8–3 | Curb Event Center (1,283) Nashville, TN |
| December 21, 2019* 2:30 pm, SECN | | vs. Alabama Rocket City Classic | L 72–92 | 8–4 | Von Braun Center (5,712) Huntsville, AL |
| December 28, 2019* 6:30 pm, Stadium | | at Western Kentucky | W 79–62 | 9–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,102) Bowling Green, KY |
| OVC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | L 69–79 | 9–5 (0–1) | Curb Event Center (1,960) Nashville, TN |
| January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 87–55 | 10–5 (1–1) | Curb Event Center (1,905) Nashville, TN |
| January 9, 2020 7:15 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 89–64 | 11–5 (2–1) | Show Me Center (1,097) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| January 11, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 85–78 | 12–5 (3–1) | Skyhawk Arena (1,652) Martin, TN |
| January 16, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Eastern Kentucky | W 87–56 | 13–5 (4–1) | Curb Event Center (1,736) Nashville, TN |
| January 18, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Morehead State | W 77–59 | 14–5 (5–1) | Curb Event Center (2,204) Nashville, TN |
| January 23, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Murray State | L 75–85 | 14–6 (5–2) | CFSB Center (6,023) Murray, KY |
| January 25, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Austin Peay | L 78–86 | 14–7 (5–3) | Dunn Center (2,429) Clarksville, TN |
| January 30, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tennessee Tech | W 92–84 | 15–7 (6–3) | Eblen Center (1,697) Cookeville, TN |
| February 1, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 78–64 | 16–7 (7–3) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,298) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 6, 2020 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 71–64 | 17–7 (8–3) | Curb Event Center (2,703) Nashville, TN |
| February 8, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 71–63 | 18–7 (9–3) | Curb Event Center (2,898) Nashville, TN |
| February 13, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | W 74–51 | 19–7 (10–3) | Curb Event Center (3,240) Nashville, TN |
| February 15, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 101–84 | 20–7 (11–3) | Curb Event Center (3,388) Nashville, TN |
| February 20, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Morehead State | W 80–67 | 21–7 (12–3) | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,118) Morehead, KY |
| February 22, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 83–70 | 22–7 (13–3) | McBrayer Arena (2,658) Richmond, KY |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 65–62 | 23–7 (14–3) | Curb Event Center (2,304) Nashville, TN |
| February 29, 2020 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee State | W 72–65 | 24–7 (15–3) | Gentry Complex Nashville, TN |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (1) | vs. (4) Eastern Kentucky Semifinals | W 60–50 | 25–7 | Ford Center (3,435) Evansville, IN |
| March 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (2) Murray State Championship | W 76–75 | 26–7 | Ford Center (4,456) Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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