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.^[2] 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.

Belmont Bruins men's basketball
2024–25 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
University	Belmont University
Head coach	Casey Alexander (6th season)
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
Arena	Curb Event Center (capacity: 5,085)
Nickname	Rebels (1953-1995) Bruins (1995-present)
Colors	Navy, white, and red[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament appearances
2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019
Conference tournament champions
2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020
Conference regular-season champions
2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
Conference division regular-season champions
2003, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

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)

See also: 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,^[3] the rivalry will continue in that conference. The Bruins currently lead the all-time series 13 to 12.

Awards

All-Americans^[4]

• Robert Barnes – 1956*
• Adam Sonn – 2003*
• Alex Renfroe – 2009*
• Ian Clark – 2013*
• J.J. Mann – 2014*
• Evan Bradds – 2016*, 2017*

(*) Denotes Honorable Mention

Academic All-Americans[5] Wes Burtner – 2001***, 2002* Adam Mark – 2002**, 2003*, 2004* Justin Hare – 2007**, 2008* Andy Wicke – 2009*** Scott Saunders – 2011***, 2012* J.J. Mann – 2014* Craig Bradshaw – 2015***, 2016** Evan Bradds – 2016***, 2017** Dylan Windler – 2018**, 2019** Luke Smith – 2021***, 2022*** (*) Denotes 1st team (**) Denotes 2nd team (***) Denotes 3rd team NACDA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Adam Mark – 2004 Justin Hare – 2008 Mick Hedgepeth – 2011 Craig Bradshaw – 2015 Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award Rick Byrd – 2011 NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award[6] Rick Byrd – 2012

Ohio Valley/ASUN Conference Player of the Year Adam Sonn – 2003 Alex Renfroe – 2009 Ian Clark – 2013 J.J. Mann – 2014 Evan Bradds – 2016, 2017 OVC/ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Ian Clark – 2012, 2013 Grayson Murphy – 2020, 2021 OVC/ASUN Coach of the Year Rick Byrd – 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019 NAIA National Coach of the Year Rick Byrd – 1995 NAIA National Player of the Year Joe Behling – 1989 NAIA All-Americans Joe Behling – 1988*, 1989*, 1990* Kerry West – 1995* Al Allen – 1995** DaQuinn Goff – 1996* (*) Denotes 1st team (**) Denotes 2nd team

Record by year

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Belmont Rebels[7] (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:		429–483 (.478)	97–136
Belmont Rebels/Bruins[7] (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[7] (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:		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	22–11	13–7	4th
Casey Alexander:		140–53 (.725)	87–34 (.719)
Total:		1289–885 (.593)
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)
• 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

Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers

Belmont Bruins Retired Jerseys
No.	Player	Pos.	Career	Ref.
15	Robert Barnes	C	1953–56	[8][4]
54	Joe Behling	SG	1986–90	[4][9]
21	Ian Clark	G	2010–13	[10]

Individual career records

See also: Belmont Bruins men's basketball statistical leaders