Last Year: 15-16 overall, 9-7 in conference. Lost at home in the conference tournament quarterfinals to ETSU.
Losses: Eddie Ard, probably the best all-around player in Lipscomb's NCAA era, was drafted by the NBA D-League. LaKory Daniels, the outside threat who opened the floor for Ard, averaged over 30 minutes per game. Jason Hopkins and Devon Seaford are also gone.
Key Returners: Thomas Pfaff and Michael Lusk are the only two seniors. Brandon Brown, Adnan Hozdic, and Josh Slater are all sophomores. Michael Teller returns from a medical redshirt last year.
Show Me Numbers: Lipscomb's returning players made fewer than 65% of their free throws. The Bisons also lose over 70% of their shot blocking. On the plus side, Lipscomb has the fourth-best returning roster of 3-point shooters, behind Belmont, Upstate, and Kennesaw. How the extra foot will impact them remains to be seen. Lipscomb is 33-5 at home in the last three years.
Quick Analysis: Get used to hearing about how young Lipscomb is. With two seniors and no juniors, Lipscomb's roster looks a lot like the one Billy Gillespie inherited at Kentucky. The Wildcats were five games off from Tubby Smith's final year, attributed mostly to inexperience. That said, five of the sophomores have played significant minutes, either last year or the year before. One advantage Lipscomb might have, but is difficult to quantify in advance, is their tendency to play some of the best defense in the conference. With the extended 3-point line, and more than a few players still learning their way around the offensive end, Coach Scott Sanderson's defense might be this team's saving grace this year.
Stat Projection: Lipscomb's projected PEP (1.14) and PEG (78.57) are near the middle of the conference. Alma mater, hail.
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