The Atlantic Sun tournament is the first tournament of the 2023 conference tournament. Last year’s winner Bellarmine, who was still transitioning, couldn’t even play in the NCAA tournament due to the requirement of sitting out of the tournament the first four years of being a division one team. So the regular season champion Jacksonville State ended up making the tournament in their place. This year the A-Sun tournament looks a little different. Liberty is still a top team in the conference, but the A-Sun has a new number one seed.
That’s right the Kennesaw State Owls are the number one seed. This team was the laughing stock of the A-Sun not too long ago and now their core group of guys is here to finally get their shot to potentially play in the NCAA tournament. We have ten teams vying to earn the automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament. Let’s take a look at the odds for every team and go over who has the best chance of winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament in 2023.
A-Sun Conference Tournament Odds
Liberty -230
Kennesaw State +300
Eastern Kentucky +1600
Stetson +1700
Lipscomb +2500
Florida Gulf Coast +5000
North Alabama +10000
Queens +10000
North Florida +20000
Bellarmine +20000
A-Sun Conference Tournament Preview
Don’t Count On Liberty
The Liberty Flames are the odds on favorites to win the A-Sun. Liberty finished the regular season 24-7 with a 15-3 record in conference (t-1st). However, the Flames are the two seed in this bracket due to their loss against Kennesaw State on February 16th. Liberty gets the winner of North Florida/Bellarmine in the quarterfinals of the A-Sun tournament. The Flames went 2-0 against Bellarmine and won their only meeting with North Florida this season as well.
In the semi-finals matchup they most likely get Eastern Kentucky who they split the season series with. The Flames were a good home team this season (16-1), however they were 6-5 on the road in 2022-2023. They would have to play at Kennesaw State if both teams made the conference championship. I just don’t trust Liberty unless they are at home. Liberty is led by senior guard Darius McGhee who averages 22.3 points per game which is tied for 4th in the nation. The Flames only have one other player that averages double figures for them and that is senior forward Kyle Rode.
This is a good defensive team that only allows 60.2 points per game. If Liberty is going to go to the NCAA tournament it is going to be solely based on their defense playing at the high level. I see their defense struggling in this tournament and the odds on favorite to win the A-Sun will not go to the big dance.
Buy Buy Buy In The A-Sun Regular Season Champs
The Kennesaw State Owls are my picks to win the A-Sun tournament and make it to the NCAA tournament for the very first time. Head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim has done a tremendous job building this program from the ground up. The Owls are led by junior guard Chris Youngblood and senior guard Terrell Burden. Youngblood averages 15 points per game to go along with a 47/42/84 shooting split. He was a former four star recurit that has blossomed very well for the Owls.
Burden averages 13.2 points per game on a 48/32/70 shooting split. Burden is a 5’10 guard that has been with the Kennesaw State Owls since Abdur-Rahim’s first season. He has been there for the highs and the lows. His freshman year the Owls won only one game. Sophomore year they won five games, which was a big improvement. Then his junior year they won 13 games including seven in-conference wins. Now in his senior campaign, the Owls won the regular season title and finished with a 23-8 record.
This is such a feel good story and I really would love to see the Owls move onto the NCAA tournament for not only the first time in Abdur-Rahim’s tenure, but for the first time in school’s history. This whole story from starting at the bottom and building your way all the way to the top needs to finish with a game in the NCAA tournament.
The Don’s Future Bet
I am taking Kennesaw State +300 as my future bet in the Atlantic Sun tournament. This is story book ending for this team and I am all aboard the Owls train.
The Don’s Game By Game Prediction
8 Bellarmine over 7 North Florida
9 Queens over 10 Florida Gulf Coast
QuaterFinals
1 Kennesaw State over 9 Queens
5 Lipscomb over 4 Stetson
2 Liberty over 8 Bellarmine
3 Eastern Kentucky over 6 North Alabama
SemiFinals
1 Kennesaw State over 5 Lipscomb
3 Eastern Kentucky over 2 Liberty
Finals
1 Kennesaw State over 3 Eastern Kentucky