FLORENCE, Ala. (March 5, 2025) – The road to the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship game continues through Florence on Thursday night, as the North Alabama men's basketball team welcomes Jacksonville to CB&S Bank Arena for the semifinal round.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. in Florence.
The No. 2 seeded Lions advanced to the semifinal round for the second straight season and for the third time in five years with a 90-64 win over Austin Peay on Monday. CB&S Bank Arena hosted a sold-out crowd of 3,000 fans in what was the first postseason home game in Division I school history.
No. 4 Jacksonville advanced to the semifinal round following a 78-67 win over No. 5 EKU inside Swisher Gymnasium.
The highly-anticipated game will air on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Matt Daniels and Chase Glover on the call. The local radio broadcast will be called by Bryan Neece on 98.3 and 103.5 FM beginning with the countdown to tipoff at 5:40 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
2025 ASUN Championship — Semifinal Round
Date: Thursday, March 6
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Venue: CB&S Bank Arena
Capacity: 3,000
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 & 103.5 FM ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game Notes: Click Here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama advanced to the semifinal round of the 2025 ASUN Championship on Monday night, deploying No. 7 seed Austin Peay with a 90-64 victory inside CB&S Bank Arena in Florence. Monday marked UNA's first postseason home game as a Division I member, as CB&S Bank Arena drew a soldout crowd of 3,000 fans. Junior Jacari Lane was virtually unstoppable, scoring 31 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor and 7-8 behind the arc.
LET THE MADNESS BEGIN: The ASUN will be one of the first conferences to crown its automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, as the winner will be decided Sunday, March 9. UNA looks to win its first ASUN tournament championship and appear in its first championship final since 2021.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: If UNA wins on Thursday, the Lions will advance to the ASUN championship final for the second time in the program's seven year Division I history. The first time was in 2021, where UNA fell by a tight 79-75 final at Liberty.
WHERE WOULD WE PLAY?: If UNA advances past Jacksonville on Thursday, the Lions will either play in Nashville or in Florence on Sunday at 1 p.m. This will depend on the other semifinal result between No. 1 Lipscomb and No. 6 Queens. If Lipscomb wins, UNA will play at Allen Arena in Nashville. If Queens wins, UNA will host the Royals in the championship at CB&S Bank Arena. The game will air on ESPN2 at 1 p.m.
ASUN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The ASUN Championship began in 1979 with the first tournament hosted by Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks defeated Mercer 90-69 in the championship game. No current ASUN schools played in this tournament. This will be the 46th ASUN Championship in league history. UNA will play in the tournament for the seventh time in seven seasons at the Division I level. No. 2 is UNA's highest seeding since the move in 2019, including four times as the No. 6 seed and twice as the No. 5 seed. UNA made the championship game in 2021 as the No. 5, falling 79-75 to No. 1 Liberty.
UNA POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Lions have a 4-6 record in the ASUN tournament since 2019, including a pair of wins over North Florida and FGCU in 2021 and a win over Lipscomb last season. UNA's last conference tournament title came in the 2014 Gulf South Conference Championship. The Lions defeated West Georgia, Valdosta State and Christian Brothers and went on to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in the Lakeland, Florida Regional.
LOOKING FOR SEVEN IN YEAR SEVEN: UNA has won six conference tournament championships — all as a member of the Gulf South Conference. This includes 1981, 1984, 1988, 1994, 1996 and 2014. The Lions are on the hunt for their seventh all-time tournament championship in the seventh season of Division I.
LUKE OF THE DRAW: UNA is the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament, marking the highest seed of the Division I era. Since 1979, the team with the No. 2 seed has won the ASUN tournament 13 times. The top seed has won 17 times and the third seed nine times. The lowest seed ever to win was FIU as a No. 8 seed in 1995.
DEUCES: Some notable No. 2 seeds that won the ASUN include the 2019 Liberty team that upset #5 Mississippi State, the 2014 Mercer team that upset #3 Duke and the 2013 FGCU "Dunk City" team that made a run to the Sweet Sixteen with upsets over #2 Georgetown and #7 San Diego State.
ON DECK: The ASUN Championship Final is set for Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN2. NCAA Selection Sunday is set for the following Sunday, March 16.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
