A good primer from one of our friend in TN. Go (UCLA) Bruins. -N

I moved from Southern California to Nashville in 1993. I went to Lipscomb University, which is on the same street as Belmont and has a pretty big rivalry with them. That being said, I rooted for Belmont to beat Lipscomb in the Atlantic Sun Tournament because of Rick Byrd. He is an incredible coach and like Coach Wooden, an even better man.

Belmont is a team that would have terrified me when Lavin was our coach. They play within themselves and Byrd gets the most out of his players. They shoot the three extremely well and will not make stupid mistakes. Boomer Herndon and Justin Hare are their best players. Herndon is 6'11", 260. He is a good rebounder and can score in the post. Hare is a guard. I think AA will be able to shut down Hare. Josh Goodwin is a tough guard who can shoot the three. Belmont will do the little things right.

Howland's scrappy style is why I feel so confident about the game. An undisciplined team would really struggle against Belmont. How good does it feel to have a coach who is teaching players how to play the game the right way?!

I think all Bruin fans know how scary is it to really believe in a team. Every time I even tried to believe in Lavin's Bruins it came back to bite me. I try so hard to get behing KD and the football program, but it usually rips my heart out. I have slowly given my confidence to this group of Bruins and it has been an incredible and exciting three years. I can't wait for Thursday night.