Belmont 2009 CIT Tournament Preview

Belmont Bruins - Atlantic Sun (25-8, 14-2)

RPI: 124

Big Wins: 12/17 Middle Tennessee State (82-69), 12/22 at Austin Peay (72-62), 2/14 East Tennessee State (76-73)

Bad Losses: 12/29 at Santa Clara (80-83), 2/2 at Stetson (71-82), 2/12 at Lipscomb (68-73)

Coach: Rick Byrd

Probable Belmont Starters:

• Alex Renfroe, Senior, Guard

• Andy Wicke, Senior, Guard

• Jon House, Sophomore, Guard

• Shane Dansby, Senior, Guard

• Matthew Dotson, Senior, Forward

Key Belmont Roleplayers:

• Keaton Belcher, Junior, Forward

• Drew Hanlen, Freshman, Guard

• Henry Harris, Senior, Guard

• Mick Hedgepeth, Freshman, Forward

Why Belmont Can Surprise:

Belmont and Coach Rick Byrd do a great job running a three-point oriented offense. Five players, including a couple forwards, are very dangerous from long range. Andy Wicke has emerged as the most productive and efficient shooter of them all. The 6-2 senior will not attack the basket very often, but he does hit 37.9 percent of his three-point attempts and connects on 2.8 per contest.

However, the most dangerous shooters on the team might just be 6-8 forward Matthew Dotson and 6-9 forward Keaton Belcher. Dotson hits nearly as many long balls as Wicke and shoots a decent 34.9 percent from outside. That numbers is down a lot from last year, but it is still not bad. Belcher will not take as many shots as Dotson, but he is certainly a threat to score 15 points in a game. Having those two stretching out the opposing defense is what makes this a team worthy of a postseason berth.

Why The Bruins Can Disappoint:
The Bruins share the ball well, but they turn it over a little too much. No one player has a massive turnover problem, but everybody contributes to give Belmont 14.3 turnovers per contest. Since the team can be outmatched physically, the Bruins will not be able to carelessly give away that many possessions. They also tend to give up too many easy buckets on the defensive end. There is not much of an interior presence for this year’s Belmont squad and that allows the opposition to shoot almost 45 percent from the floor.

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Who To Watch:
Despite all the weapons on this team, including the dynamic Shane Dansby and the versatile Jon House, Alex Renfroe is the most dangerous of them all. The 6-2 senior has taken over the leadership role of this team in every way possible. Renfroe will drive the lane better than just about anybody in the Atlantic Sun Conference. And, once he is there, he can finish or find his teammates. Renfroe is the definition of a stat sheet stuffer and he averages 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals. Making him even more dangerous is the fact that he, like the rest of the team, can hit the outside shot. He will not take too many attempts from beyond the arc, but he will make the opposing defense pay if they do not cover him on the perimeter.

Belmont By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 76.6 (43rd in nation, 2nd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 70.6 (240, 5)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (137, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 44.4 (233, 6)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.9 (3, 1)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (175, 5)

Free-Throw Percentage: 68.4 (183, 5)

Rebound Margin: -0.5 (203, 6)

Assists Per Game: 16.4 (14, 1)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (205, 2)

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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