The Bellarmine Knights defeated Jacksonville University in the ASUN Conference championship game, 77-72. They won’t, however, be going to the NCAA tournament thanks to a weird rule. Bellarmine made the jump to Division I on July 1 of 2020, moving all 22 varsity programs up from the lower division.
Since the men’s basketball team is within the four-year window of making the change up to D1, the Knights are not eligible for postseason play in the NCAA tournament this year.
Bellarmine stunned Liberty in the ASUN semifinals, and Jacksonville upset top-seeded Jacksonville State to set up Tuesday night’s title game. The Knights held off a late push by the Dolphins with strong free throw shooting, but they won’t get to celebrate like we’d all hope.
🏆 ASUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CI9QOz97Wz
— Bellarmine Men’s Basketball (@BUKnightsMBB) March 8, 2022
In the weirdest twist possible, the representative for the ASUN isn’t even Jacksonville. It’s Jacksonville State. Since the Dolphins fell in the championship to an ineligible team, the Gamecocks — which won the ASUN regular season — will take the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Bellarmine will finish with 20 wins at 20-13 overall in just their second D1 season.
According to the ESPN2 broadcast, they do get to claim the title and trophy that comes with being ASUN champs, just not the coveted auto-bid.
Come on, NCAA. Let Bellarmine dance.
