The ASUN Conference has announced format changes to the 2021 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships following unanimous approval of the ASUN Presidents’ Council.
Both championships will move to a single-site format, instead of being hosted at multiple campus venues, in the interest of student-athlete health and safety. In the new format, the Men’s Championship will take place March 3-7 in Jacksonville, Fla., while the Women’s Championship heads to Kennesaw, Ga., from March 10-14.
All nine league teams will qualify for the championships with the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seeds facing off on Wednesday (March 3, Men | March 10, Women). Four quarterfinal contests will be conducted on Thursday (March 4, Men | March 11, Women) with semifinal games on Friday (March 5, Men | March 12, Women). Following an off day on Saturday, the Championship Final tips off on Sunday (March 7, Men | March 14, Women).
“This change for 2021 reflects many of the modifications made for this year’s NCAA Tournaments,” ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said. “The simple goal is to play with a format that provides the greatest chance of playing to conclusion and crowning our ASUN Champions through competition, not tiebreakers. Providing the safest environment possible, while also providing the opportunity for our student-athletes to compete, brought us easily to this one site solution.”
This marks the first time since 2013 the ASUN Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be conducted with a single-site format. For the past seven years, the championships have taken place at campus sites with the higher seeds serving as hosts.
Currently, the final dates of the men’s and women’s basketball regular season are scheduled for Feb. 27 for the men and Feb. 28 for the women.
The two-time defending ASUN champion Liberty men’s basketball team is off to a strong start in league competition again in 2020-21. The Flames are 3-1 in ASUN play, putting them in a tie for first place with Jacksonville and Lipscomb. Liberty’s next two games will be played at Stetson, tonight (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.)
After sharing the 2020 ASUN Championship title with FGCU, the Liberty women’s basketball team owns a league-best 4-0 ASUN record this season. The Lady Flames will play host to North Alabama this Saturday and Sunday at Liberty Arena, with both games tipping off at 2 p.m.
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