Every March, a giant falls. Every March, an afterthought captures the heart of a nation. Every March, a Cinderella is born. The Lipscomb Bisons (25-9) hope that, in the 2025 Men’s NCAA Tournament, it’s their turn to try on the glass slipper.
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By defeating North Alabama, 76-65, on March 9, the Bisons won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and punched their ticket to the Big Dance for the second time in program history. Their first trip to the NCAA Tournament came in 2018 as a No. 15 seed, but they lost in the opening round. This year, Lipscomb (a private Christian university in Nashville) earned a No. 14 seed in the South Region and drew No. 3-seed Iowa State.
The Lipscomb Bisons are heading to the men's NCAA tournament for the SECOND TIME EVER 👏 pic.twitter.com/OWoGun0Sb7
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2025
Crucial to Lipscomb’s success this season has been the on-court performances and senior leadership of backcourt duo Will Pruitt and Joe Anderson. Anderson won the ASUN Conference Tournament MVP by averaging 25.3 points per game across the three tournament games, while Pruitt is a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award, which “is presented annually to a Division-I player who is the heart and soul of his team and a leader on and off the court.”
Pruitt — who’s in his fifth season with the Bisons — is averaging 13.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Anderson — who transferred to Lipscomb two years ago after three seasons at Furman — has added 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game.
In addition to sharing the Bisons’ backcourt, Pruitt and Anderson also share a common faith in Jesus Christ. The duo appeared Tuesday on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast.
When talking about a now-three-year-long Bible study that Lipscomb’s players participate in alongside players from other schools in the Nashville area, Anderson remarked on how freeing it is to be surrounded by fellow followers of Christ who understand his unique struggles.
“It’s funny, a lot of us go through the same things,” Anderson said on the podcast. “I talked about being vulnerable. I think it’s sometimes easy to hold things inside and think you’re going through it alone, but we get in this setting where we’re all going through the same thing. … At the end of every Sunday night, we pray with someone else from a different team and get to hear what someone’s going through. And just to know someone’s praying for you out there, it takes a lot of the pressure away, I feel.”
Anderson felt little pressure during the ASUN Tournament, although the Bisons were playing to keep their season alive. In a post on his Instagram account following the victory against North Alabama, Anderson wrote that God is “a God of 2nd chances!!!” Lipscomb lost to North Alabama in last season’s conference tournament.
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“It’s crazy how God over-delivers,” Anderson said, before referencing the story of Jesus healing the woman in Mark 5. “… Jesus, He does way more than we ask. I was just trying to let people know we have a God who gives us second chances and He answers more than we can ask for.”
Pruitt references the Bible verse Psalm 119:105 in his Instagram bio. It reads, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Surrounded by a coaching staff full of believers at a Christian university, Pruitt has realized his true purpose and identity are found in Christ alone.
“Throughout my time here, I feel like I’ve lived into that more and more,” he said, “where basketball is not my god but it’s something to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and expand the Kingdom.”
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God in His kindness has led Lipscomb to the NCAA Tournament this season, and now fortified by two veterans in the backcourt, the Bisons will try to extend their stay beyond Friday’s matchup with Iowa State. Tipoff from Milwaukee is set for 1:30 p.m. ET.
“I know I’ve been praying about [the NCAA Tournament],” Anderson said, “since I started playing basketball.”
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