Bellarmine Knights men's basketball


The Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team represents Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The Knights compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference and are currently transitioning to NCAA Division I. The team competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference from the conference's founding in 1972 through the 2019–20 season. They are currently led by head coach Scott Davenport and play their home games at Knights Hall.

History

The program began in 1950, coinciding with the opening of Bellarmine College. The team played its first game on December 27, 1950, against St. Mary's College. The team joined the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1951 and remained in the conference until 1964. The Knights won the program's first conference title under Alex Groza when the team won the 1963 KIAC regular season and tournament titles. In addition Groza was named the KIAC coach of the year. That season also marked the first bid to the NCAA College Division, now Division II, basketball tournament.
Over the past 10 years, BU became one of the country's premier NCAA Division II college basketball programs. The Knights won five Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championships in 2009-10, 2010–11, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and won GLVC regular season champion in 2010-11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017-18. In NCAA postseason play, the Knights made 11-straight NCAA DII postseason appearances from 2009-2019, including four Division II Final Four appearances and won the 2011 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The 2011 victory marked the first athletic national championship in the university's history.
On March 26, 2011, the Knights won its first NCAA Division II National Championship, led by guards Jeremy Kendle and Braydon Hobbs. The Knights defeated BYU–Hawaii for the title, 71-68. The championship game aired on national television on the CBS network. An estimated 2,906 fans were in attendance for the championship game. Most of which were Bellarmine fans that had made the trip from Louisville to watch the Knights compete in the championship held in Springfield, Massachusetts at the MassMutual Center.

Division I transition

On June 19, 2019, the university's athletic program officially announced it accepted an invitation to join the ASUN Conference and transition to NCAA Division I beginning in the 2020–21 school year. The transition will take the Knights, a Division II perennial power during the first two decades of the 21st century, into a multiyear transition process. During the four-year process to transition, Bellarmine will compete at the Division I level but cannot qualify for NCAA-organized postseason play. The Knights can compete in postseason events not organized by the NCAA, currently the College Basketball Invitational and CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Postseason

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Knights have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 20 times.
1963Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Oglethorpe
Austin Peay		L 49–57
W 96–86
1965Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals		Norfolk State
Evansville		W 91-74
L 74–81
1969Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Alcorn State
Transylvania		L 75–76
L 64–65
1970Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Tennessee State
Transylvania		L 77-82
W 114-62
1977Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Eastern Illinois
Youngstown State		L 72-87
L 79-81
1982Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Central State
Wright State		L 61-63
L 86-87
1984Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Lewis
Cal State Bakersfield		L 87-93
W 81-71
1989Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals		Ferris State
Kentucky Wesleyan		W 108-92
L 77-84
1991Regional Semifinals
Regional 3rd Place Game		Grand Valley State
Missouri Western State		L 73-78
W 94-83
2009Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals		Kentucky Wesleyan
Lake Superior State
Findlay		W 76–65
W 92–83
L 86–89
2010First Round
Regional Semifinals		Central State
Quincy		W 70-66
L 61-66
2011Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		Indianapolis
Northern Kentucky
Ferris State
Midwestern State
Minnesota State
BYU–Hawaii		W 84–70
W 87–82
W 86–66
W 70–64
W 81–74
W 71–68
2012Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Lewis
Findlay
Kentucky Wesleyan
Alabama-Huntsville
Montevallo		W 86–63
W 86–63
W 79–74
W 82-73
L 72–79
2013Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals		Indianapolis
Southern Indiana
Drury		W 67–61
W 78–55
L 61–67
2014Regional QuarterfinalsIndianapolisL 75–80
2015Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Drury
Lake Superior State
Indianapolis
Minnesota State–Moorhead
Florida Southern		W 84–60
W 85–59
W 81–72
W 92-75
L 76–79
2016Regional QuarterfinalsFerris StateL 84–100
2017Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Wisconsin–Parkside
Quincy
Findlay
Colorado Mines
Fairmont State		W 72–61
W 93–64
W 84–66
W 92-72
L 68–79
2018Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals		Truman
Findlay		W 82-65
L 73–74
2019Regional Quarterfinals
Regional Semifinals
Regional Finals		Walsh
Findlay
Southern Indiana		W 81-61
W 74-59
L 69–74

Record year-by-year

The Knights play their home games at Knights Hall in Louisville, which was constructed in 1960. It has a capacity of 2,196 and also hosts the school's volleyball team.