NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On the heels of its historic third consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship, Belmont Basketball will face tradition-rich Duke in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Bruins and Blue Devils are scheduled to play this Thursday, March 20 from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. as part of the West Regional bracket. Tip-time is yet to be determined.
This year, Belmont has won a program-record 25 games, earned its first-ever outright Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship, and become the first Atlantic Sun Conference member institution to receive three consecutive NCAA Tournament automatic bids.
The Bruins are led by senior All-Atlantic Sun guard Justin Hare. Hare, also a First Team Academic All-American, leads the Bruins in scoring at 14.9 points per game. The Cleveland, Tenn. native ranks second on the Bruins' NCAA-era career scoring list with 1,752 points. Hare, a career 76 percent free throw shooter entering the season, ranks fifth nationally in free throw percentage this season at .915.
