We start the season off 1-1, winning our home opener against Samford then turning around and losing a heartbreaker to Austin Peay with 0.2 seconds left. Over 3,000 fans showed up at the Curb Event Center to cheer us on against the Bulldogs in the first game. Our student section was the biggest I've seen in my four years at Belmont.  The large support of the students, backed by the Greek life, brought excitement to the game. It was good to see a lot of alumni and former players. Many people have been asking us if the new three point line would affect our shooting, but after hitting 13 threes against Samford I think we'll be just fine. I was really proud of our team, we did a good job of executing our game plan, and got solid play from everyone that stepped onto the court (Congratulations to my roommate, Keaton Belcher for being a co-recipient of the Baskin Game Ball). We thought that the momentum from the Samford game would carry over against Austin Peay, but it only lasted the first half. We jumped out early on them and things were looking good. Jon House played really well and was hard for them to guard. I think he ended up with 18 points, which is a career high for him. I'm glad he is on our team, eh? By the way, he has really stepped up his travel attire with a brand new sports coat that is black velvet with a checker pattern. Looking good Jon. Unfortunately the second half didn't turn out as well as Jon's new sports coat. We were a little sluggish to start the second half and made some bad turnovers. Austin Peay did a good job of executing their offense and knocking down shots. With 10 seconds left we were down 3 points, and Alex Renfroe had a great offensive rebound and put-back. He might be one of the best offensive rebounders I've ever seen. On the put-back he got fouled and knocked down his free throw to tie the game up. Austin Peay called timeout and set up a play for a last shot. They missed the shot but Drake Reed was fouled in his attempt to get the rebound with 0.2 seconds left. He hit both free throws. With the clock being under 0.5 seconds, we had to throw it the length of the court and tip it in to tie. If the clock were over 0.5 seconds we would have been able to attempt a shot (at least I think thats the rule), but unfortunately that was not the case. It was a tough loss, but we get a chance to play them again here in the next couple weeks. We also lost Shane Dansby for a week or two due to a high ankle sprain during the first two minutes of the game against Austin Peay.

            After a day off, we started a long week of practice preparing for Pittsburgh. On Thursday, Alex and I collided in practice and I ended up spraining my MCL.  I sat out Friday's and Saturday's practices.  We also have some guys that are sounding sick.  Injury and illness can really throw kinks in a team.  I hope it is something that doesn't affect us too much this year. 

            I'm actually sitting on the plane to Pittsburgh right now. I made sure I sat next to the only English major on the team, Brandon Baker. He is a red-shirt freshman and will be looking good in his business casual attire tomorrow night on the bench. If there are any grammatical errors, be sure to send him an email about it. This is a great opportunity for our team and our program to have a good showing.  Pittsburgh is a great team and they are ranked 6^th in the country for a reason. But all we can worry about is controlling what we can control. We have to know our scouting report, we have to be confident and aggressive, and we have to play hard every possession. If we do those things, win or lose, it will be a step forward for our team. Being a senior I understand how much fun these trips and games can be when you come ready to play.  I am also really looking forward to seeing my brother.  He doesn't get to see me play but 2 or 3 times a season.  He is making the trip up with Ralph and Pops.  It is also a special trip for Paul our athletic trainer, as he is a Pittsburgh native.  We have heard all week how great the city of Pittsburgh is while we were getting our ankles taped.

 Now we need to give a shout out to Thanksgiving, Belmont's Volleyball team, and coach Josh McMillan on becoming a father. I'm so proud of our Volleyball team  for winning the A-Sun Championship and especially the seniors, Cat and Emily.  Good job and good luck!  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and safe travels.  I just ran into a diehard Pittsburgh fan in the airport, and she was giving me a scouting report of the team.  Thanks Emma.  As always, Go Bruins!

It's hard to believe this is the first week of basketball season.  It seems like just a couple of weeks ago we were playing Duke in the first round of the tournament.  It is even harder for me to believe that this is my senior year!  I am so excited about it though.  We have a lot to be excited about with five seniors who have a lot of experience and great underclassmen working hard everyday in practice.  We open up this Friday the 14th with Samford at home and then Austin Peay on Monday.  Everyone is excited about it and it will be a tough test as Samford has a great program.  It is great to have the opening game at home.  We haven't had a home opener since my freshman year against Wright State.  I'll never forget that game because it was my first collegiate basketball game and my roommate Justin Hare scored 31 points and went a perfect 10-10 from the field.  It was a great opener to say the least.  We are missing three guys from last years team, Justin Hare, Will Peeples, and Andrew House.  They all brought great attributes to the team.  Hopefully the young guys will help us five seniors fill their voids and have another successful year.  Coach Byrd told the team at the beginning of the year that he has had teams in the past that were senior strong and underachieved.  I don't think that he was trying to intimidate us or put extra pressure on us, but rather trying to motivate us.  Being the captain, I am really excited about the leadership that all the seniors take on.  It is easy to be a captain when you have a team full of great leaders.  We have had one exhibition game and a scrimmage thus far, and we have to get better in a lot of areas but have shown a lot of potential.

Off the court, my week has gone fairly well.  I had a test in Portfolio Investment Management last Thursday, a test in Botany on Monday, and a test in Business Finance on Tuesday.  It is nice to get them out of the way and focus just on our games this weekend.  I am also really excited about Friday because I have a lot of family and friends coming.  Not only will my grandparents and aunts and uncles be at the game, but so will my fiance's.  I need the pass list to be about 20 deep!  It should be a lot of fun and I just hope we play well. I can't wait for college basketball to start!  Check out our team and other information at our website: Bruin Basketball. Good luck to our men's soccer team in the A-Sun tourney this week.  I also want to tell our women's soccer team good luck as they face Auburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament in their first appearance ever!  Hope you like the picture Mr. Adams!  As always, GO BRUINS!!