Lipscomb Showdown: Can They Defy Expectations and Steal the Spotlight?

Alright, so here’s the deal—Lipscomb might not be the first name bouncing around in your college hoops radar, and honestly, they’ve flown a bit under the national radar for years. Nestled just a stone’s throw from Belmont down in the ASUN Conference, these Bisons have a local rivalry that’s as spicy as they come, albeit without the flash. Kevin Carroll, stepping in fresh from the D-II ranks, is trying to carve out something special in his maiden season, and so far, their 6-4 record paints a picture of a team still finding its groove. Sure, they’ve taken some tough licks—Vanderbilt, Mercer, Belmont—those blowouts sting, no question. But there’s a gritty core in this squad, anchored by towering senior Grant Asman, who’s been a reliable force in the paint, and a handful of solid contributors setting the tone. Duke’s lineup, by contrast, looks stacked, with guys like Cameron Boozer lighting it up and Jon Scheyer closing in on his century of wins—a milestone worth its weight in gold. Yet, college basketball’s a wild beast; momentum can twist on a dime, and exam breaks can leave even the blue-bloods a bit vulnerable. So, while logic says Duke should cruise, I’m not ready to write off the Bisons just yet—there’s always a snippet of magic in these underdog tales. Curious for the full scoop? LEARN MORE

We’ll be the first to admit we don’t now much about Lipscomb. The Bisons play in the ASUN and they’re only about two miles down the road from Belmont, which means they’re probably the closest rivals in the nation.

Lipscomb is coached by Kevin Carroll, who is in his first year. He came over from Trevecca Nazarene, a D-II school, and so far this season, Lipscomb is 6-4. Of the games that matter, the Bisons were blown out by Vanderbilt 105-61, lost to Mercer 92-77, and beat Marshall 90-67.

And they lost to Belmont, too, which is bound to hurt.

Lipscomb has a bit of size with 6-11 5th year senior Grant Asman, who no doubt has picked up the obvious nickname.

Asman (see?) gets 13.7 ppg, 6.4 boards, 2.1 assist and 1.4 blocks. He shoots 50.5%.

Mateo Esmeraldo (6-1 junior) runs the point and he’s averaging 6.6 assists, which is pretty solid. He’s also getting 10.4 ppg and nearly 4 rebounds.

Ross Candelino (6-5 junior) is averaging 11.8 ppg, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Titas Sargiunas, a 6-4 junior from Lithuania, puts up 9.7 points, gets 2.6 boards and 1.4 assists. Ethan Duncan, a 6-0 junior, is averaging 10.1 ppg and 2.1 rebounds.

Charlie Williams, a 6-10 senior, is getting 8.4 ppg, 2.6 boards and 2.3 assists. Or Ashkenazi, a 6-5 freshman, is getting 3.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.Kennedy Okpara is a 6-7 freshman. He averages 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. Cole Middleton is a 6-6 senior who manages 4.3 ppg, 2.9 boards and 1 assist a night.

The last rotation player is 6-7 senior Kellan Boylan, and he’s getting 3.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

The first thing that you notice is that this is not a team that shoots particularly well. The big guys are both over 50% and Okpara tops everyone at 54%. No one else is above 48% and the team collectively shoots 44%. Only two guys top 45% on their threes.

Still, offense isn’t everything and you can win in a lot of different ways, but Lipscomb will probably have its hands full at Duke.

At Vanderbilt, the best team they’ve faced so far, the Bisons shot just 23% from three and 30% overall. They also had 18 turnovers. If they hadn’t cleaned up at the line – 21-22 – it would have been a lot worse than a 44 point loss.

Logically, Duke should have all the advantages here, but basketball is an emotional game and a shocking upset isn’t impossible. How many people thought Steven F. Austin could do it?

They’ll have their hands full though. Cameron Boozer is off to a tremendous start and the pieces around him are settling into their roles. Patrick Ngongbo is growing into a formidable big man and one of the more efficient players in the nation. Isaiah Evans has improved to the point where his offense isn’t critical to his success and Caleb Foster, quietly, has become a major key to Duke’s success. Nikolas Khamenia and Dame Sarr bring very different qualities to the frontcourt, depending on which is in. Toss in Unique Maliq Brown, Cayden Boozer and Darren Harris off the bench, any of whom would likely be Lipscomb’s best player, and you get a sense of the challenge Lipscomb is up against. On top of that, Jon Scheyer is about to record win #100 and his team will want to get that for him.

Still, it’s not impossible for Lipscomb. For one, Duke is coming off of exam break and teams are vulnerable at that point, which is why most power conference schools schedule weaker teams.

It’s the smart thing to do, really, but sometimes it backfires.

We’ll add links as we find them.

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