Lipscomb was on the verge of one of the biggest collapses in college basketball history. Instead, the Bisons regained their composure to win the Atlantic Sun championship and punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
Lipscomb wins Atlantic Sun championship, heads to 2018 NCAA Tournament
The Bisons are going dancing for the first time ever!
Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
With a 108-96 victory over Florida Gulf Coast, Lipscomb is going dancing.
Lipscomb led the A-Sun title game by as many as 32 points, but saw top-seeded FGCU cut the deficit to single digits within the final 10 minutes. The Eagles seemed primed to finish off the historic upset and reach the Big Dance for the third straight season.
Lipscomb had other ideas.
The Bisons were led by 33 points from junior guard Garrison Mathews. Four other Lipscomb players finished in double-figures in scoring. Three-point shooting was the difference maker in the game. Lipscomb hit 12-of-26 shots from behind the arc in the win.
The Bisons were the No. 2 seed entering the conference tournament. They will head to the Big Dance 23-9 overall and 10-4 in conference. Lipscomb has only been NCAA tournament eligible since 2005.
What does Lipscomb do well?
Lipscomb struggles to score with an offense that ranked only No. 223 in efficiency this season. The defense has been better, finishing No. 130 in efficiency. The Bisons strength is forcing turnovers and limiting offensive rebounds.
Mathews has been a star as a junior. He averaged 21.7 points per game and hit 38.1 percent of his threes on the season.
What seed can Lipscomb expect?
Lipscomb is likely to be a No. 16 seed. Find more NCAA tournament projections with our latest bit of Bracketology.
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