Breaking down the Atlantic Sun basketball tournament schedule

The Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament does not take place at a neutral site, with the higher seeded teams hosting each game. That prevents us from getting games on consecutive days like we’re accustomed to in conference tournaments. The tourney takes place on three days from March 3-8, with a travel day between each round.

Each round of the tournament will be on ESPN+, with the championship game airing nationally on ESPN.

March 3 (Campus Sites, ESPN+)

Game 1: No. 1 Liberty 55-49 over No. 8 NJIT
Game 2: No. 4 Stetson 82-72 over No. 5 North Alabama
Game 3: No. 3 Lipscomb 68-63 over No. 6 FGCU
Game 4: No. 2 North Florida 91-88 over No. 7 Jacksonville

March 5 (Campus Sites, ESPN+)

Game 5: No. 4 Stetson 62-66 No. 1 Liberty, 7:00 p.m.
Game 6: No. 3 Lipscomb 73-71 No. 2 North Florida, 7:00 p.m.

March 8 (Campus Site, ESPN)

Championship (Game 7): Lipscomb 57-73 Liberty

The Liberty Flames are the strongest team in the Atlantic Sun this season, and will almost certainly be the conferences lone tournament bid. If a team like the North Florida Ospreys were to steal a bid by winning the conference tournament, Liberty could be on the bubble, with the potential to steal a bid from another worthy team. Liberty ranks 69th in KenPom at 27-4 so it seems unlikely they get in as an at-large bid playing one of the weakest schedules in the country. Liberty’s lone test against top competition resulted in a 17-point loss to LSU.