Lipscomb

Listen, I’m not saying Lipscomb is winning a first-round game. I’m saying some poor 3-seed is about to burn through a month’s supply of stress balls trying to put them away.

Every year, there’s that one mid-major team that doesn’t care about seeding, doesn’t care about your blue-blood pedigree, and definitely doesn’t care about playing defense. This year? That team is Lipscomb.

Let’s set the scene: 25-9 overall, 14-4 in the Atlantic Sun, currently on a six-game heater. They’re that one team in your pickup run that doesn’t exactly lock in on defense but will drop 130 points in a game to 21 if you let them.

And it all starts with head coach Lennie Acuff, a man whose name sounds like he should be a legendary country singer but instead orchestrates one of the most high-powered offenses in college hoops. This dude doesn’t believe in playing slow. If he sees a shot, he wants it taken. Think of him as the mid-major Mike D’Antoni but with slightly less facial hair.

Their high-powered weapon of choice? Jacob Ognacevic. A Wisconsin-born, bucket-dropping machine putting up 16 PPG on 57% shooting. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with how the Wisconsin White Guy Hooper pipeline works, let me educate you: They either become unguardable mid-major legends or legally obligated to play for Wisconsin or Marquette. Ognacevic? He chose to dominate at Lipscomb.

And here’s the thing about Lipscomb—they don’t just score, they volume score. They’re gonna run, gun, and put up 80+ whether the other team likes it or not. Now, sure, they give up a boatload of points too, but that just means they’re forcing teams to play their game.

Let’s talk about their March Madness potential. This isn’t your average “happy to be here” 14-seed. They’re not walking into the first round, taking a couple of polite layups, and calling it a season. They’re coming in looking for a fight. They’ll lose by 12, but it’ll be the most stressful 12-point win of that 3-seed’s life.

So yeah, Lipscomb isn’t gonna bust your bracket, but if you think they’re just here for participation trophies, you’ve got another thing coming.