Jacksonville awaits all 12 teams in the Atlantic Sun conference as they now fight for the four byes given to the top four teams, with just a little over a month till the league hosts its first-ever on-site championships. Those byes, apparently, might have already been earned.
Sitting atop the conference is the regulars, Austin Peay, Lipscomb, Queens and…Central Arkansas? With all four sitting within two games of each other, this final month of the regular season remains crucial for seeding purposes.
Central Arkansas is having their best conference record … ever
The Bears sit at 7-2 in ASUN play as they stand on-track for their second-ever winning season since the program joined DI in 2006. In just his second season in Conway, head coach John Shulman has completely turned around the program with transfer portal addition Camren Hunter along with talented in-state freshmen in Ty Robinson and Luke Moore.
Starting off conference play 2-2, the Bears have now won five in a row, highlighted by a 100-90 W at Queens. With the top KenPom offensive rating in the ASUN, Shulman’s team is now on its first five-game win streak since the 2011-12 season. UCA is second in the conference in points per outing in conference play, with the largest scoring margin in their nine league games played. The only two losses in-conference they have on their record are two overtime drops on the road.
Hunter and Robinson average a combined 32.7 points per game, leading a team with four Arkansas natives as the four leading scorers, with Javion Guy-King remaining as the lone holdover from the Anthony Boone era. This roster is built in-state with expectations of out-of-state success.
The Governors are off to their best start since joining the ASUN in behind a balanced attack of four double-digit scorers leading the way. Colin Parker, Zyree Collins, and Rashaud Marshall join reigning ASUN freshman of the year Tate McCubbin to lead the squad to a 9-1 start to top the conference.
With the best defense in the conference, the Governors join UCA in having one of their best seasons in school history, restoring the former success from the Ohio Valley Conference that brought the program seven NCAA tournament appearances. APSU is holding its opponents to a mere 70.6 points per contest, topping the ASUN and ranking 92nd in the country.
No Lennie, no problem for Lipscomb
After a rough 1-4 start to the season, Kevin Carroll’s squad has settled in with only two losses in conference play up to this point. With an incredibly well-distributed roster, the Bisons have six players averaging double-figures in scoring on the season, and their team 37.1% from behind the arc is a league-best figure. Leading the charge is 6-foot-11-inch forward Grant Asman who, aside from putting up 13.9 points per night, grabs 6.4 rebounds and shoots 51.6% from the field.
Aside from the numbers, Lipscomb is one of only two ASUN teams undefeated at home this season, and despite two long Florida road trips being the lone blemishes on their otherwise flawless conference record, the Bisons have kept their fans proud since the start of 2026, but with a trip to Clarksville tomorrow, they hope to make it one team undefeated at home in the ASUN.
A rough stretch, but impressive peaks for Queens
The Royals looked like the runaway favorite in the ASUN after starting off conference play 7-0, taking the typically grueling Florida road trip in stride, going 4-0 down there. Following a loss in Carrollton to West Georgia, the red-hot UCA Bears handed Queens their first loss at home, and now the Royals look to improve off a 0-3 stretch with a four-game homestand on the horizon.
Grant Leonard’s fast-paced offense has found success for his team this season otherwise, with a grueling nonconference slate that showed the Royals five power programs to prepare his team for the simpler slate in league play. ASUN preseason play of the year Chris Ashby has taken a step back, which has allowed this team to become yet another in the ASUN with a well-balanced list of scorers, with six averaging double figures. The biggest surprise of the season, Nasir Mann, however, as starred. The senior in his second year with the team has improved from just 6.6 points per game a year ago, to now leading the team at 13.1 per outing.
Five teams tied for fifth
Bellarmine, Florida Gulf Coach, West Georgia, Stetson, and Jacksonville all sit at 4-6 in the conference standings. What has now come to be known as a top heavy league started with the close game percentage sitting at fourth among all conferences. 28.8% of games in conference play have been decided by four or fewer points or gone into overtime, and the teams that have come out on top have been the beneficiaries so far.
Another thing to keep an eye on as we head into the final month of league play is the conference strength of schedule of the teams. The top four in the ASUN sit with the four easiest SOS remaining in the regular season, with the two-seeded Lipscomb being faced with two road battles with Austin Peay and Queens, as well as a game with Central Arkansas still on the docket, so the potential for a balanced conference tourney still resides with just a month till Jacksonville.
