Belmont coach Rick Byrd moved up on the NCAA all-time coaches wins list just in time for Tuesday's game.
The Bruins visit Western Kentucky on Tuesday (7 p.m., Fox College Sports) and it was legendary Hilltoppers coach E.A. Diddle who Byrd recently moved ahead of on the list.
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► More: At Belmont, Rick Byrd plays by the rules, graduates players, wins games
Byrd climbed to 16th with 760 victories when the Bruins beat Milwaukee (82-63) last Wednesday.
Diddle, who coached from 1923-64, had 759 victories.
Byrd picked up win No. 761 on Saturday when the Bruins beat Pepperdine (79-62).
Byrd, who is in his 37th year, had moved ahead of Henry Iba (1930-70), who had 755 wins, earlier this season.
The Bruins beat the Commodores 69-60 before a record crowd at Curb Event Center. By Mike Organ
Next on the all-time list ahead of Byrd at 15th is Rick Pitino (1976-2017) with 770 victories.
Among active coaches, Byrd is ranked fifth behind Duke's Mike Krzyewksi (1,082 wins), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (912 prior to Tuesday's game), West Virginia's Bob Huggins (828) and North Carolina's Roy Williams (826).
TSU on a 4,000-mile road trip
Tennessee State (5-5) played its second Big 12 Conference opponent Monday when the Tigers visited Texas (8-3).
TSU hung tough before losing to the Longhorns 47-46 on a jump shot with nine seconds remaining.
The Tigers had opened the season with a 92-56 loss at Kansas, another Big 12 opponent.
It won't get any easier for the Tigers anytime soon. They face No. 16 Purdue (11-2) on Thursday (5 p.m.).
The Tigers are in the middle of a six-game road trip. They will travel a total of more than 4,000 miles during the trip.
TSU opens the OVC portion of its schedule while on the trip with a visit to UT Martin on Dec. 28 and then Southeast Missouri on Dec. 31.
Lipscomb winning without Moran
Even without the services of senior guard Nathan Moran, Lipscomb (8-4) has won four of its last five games and is unbeaten (5-0) at Allen Arena.
Moran, a former Battle Ground Academy standout, has not played this season due to a hip injury. He has started in a total of 69 games in his career and averaged 11.1 points per game last season.
Sophomore Michael Buckland from High Point, S.C. replaced Moran in the starting lineup. He is averaging 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Lipscomb's next game is Thursday at Navy (9-3).
“Navy is another team with defense as its staple,” coach Casey Alexander said. said. “They are really physical and will make you earn everything you get. They have a nice team and are playing well, so it will be a good way for us to close out the first half of the season and a fun trip for the guys.”
MTSU slips in Mid-Major Top 25
After losing to Auburn (76-70) last Saturday, Middle Tennessee State dropped from No. 3 to 6 in the Mid-Major Madness Top 25 Power Rankings.
The Blue Raiders (7-2) return to action Friday in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu in the first round against Princeton (4:30 p.m., ESPU).
Belmont is No. 19 and WKU is No. 24 in the rankings.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.