Belmont University men’s basketball returns to game action Wednesday at Evansville.
The Bruins defeated Bradley Jan. 21. Ben Sheppard had 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and made the game-winning shot with 3.3 seconds left as Belmont ended Bradley’s 17-game home court win streak – the third-longest in the nation behind Auburn and UCLA.
He was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Monday.
Sheppard is building off his all-conference season a year ago and has established himself as one of the most complete players in college basketball. The Atlanta native ranks among MVC leaders in nine statistical categories, including third in scoring, ninth in assists per game and 10th in steals per game. He is among a select group of active college basketball players with over 1,300 career points, 400 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.
Keishawn Davidson had a season-high 10 assists vs. Missouri State, one of only five MVC players to record double figure assists in a game this season.
Davidson was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week Dec. 19. He currently ranks among MVC leaders in assists per game and assist-turnover ratio. Davidson had seven points and seven assists at Bradley.
Freshman Cade Tyson has made an instant impact on both ends of the floor for the Bruins, currently leading the MVC in scoring among freshmen (13.0). Tyson scored a season-high 20 points vs. Missouri State and has scored in double figures in 16 of his 20 game appearances. He had 15 points and six rebounds at Bradley.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie currently ranks fourth in the MVC in steals. His six steals vs. George Mason remains the conference single-game standard. Gillespie had 14 points and four assists vs. Northern Iowa, 15 points and six assists at Valparaiso and 12 points, four rebounds and three assists vs. Murray State.
Graduate student Drew Friberg is third on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He scored a career-high 24 points at Georgia State and recorded 15 points and three rebounds at Bradley. Friberg leads the MVC with 74 3-point field goals. He had 14 points and four rebounds vs. Murray State.
After scoring a season-high 13 points in Belmont’s victory over Howard, Even Brauns has recorded double figure scoring in four of his last six games – at UIC, vs. Missouri State, at Valparaiso and vs. Murray State. Brauns has 17 blocked shots over his last six games and he ranks 10th in the MVC in offensive rebounding.
What’s Bruin
The Bruins went 25-8 last season in earning an at-large bid to the Postseason NIT.
After having one of the most experienced teams in college basketball in 2021-22, Belmont lost seven of its top eight scorers from last year’s team, most notably program legends Grayson Murphy – the all-time leader in assists and steals in Ohio Valley Conference history – and Nick Muszynski.
Belmont welcomes nine newcomers, including redshirt freshman Isaiah Walker, graduate transfer Drew Friberg and three-year Tennessee Tech starter Keishawn Davidson.
Belmont’s 77 victories over the last three seasons ranks fifth nationally (Gonzaga, Kansas, Houston, Baylor; entering 2022-23).
Belmont has posted 328 conference wins since 2003 (includes tournament), tied with Gonzaga nationally.
Belmont’s 404 victories since 2007 leads the state of Tennessee – including Tennessee, Memphis and Vanderbilt.
Belmont has won 20+ games and earned postseason play 15 of the last 17 years. That includes NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019 & 2020.
Belmont has won 20 conference championships (eight tournament, 12 regular season) since 2006. Only Gonzaga and Kansas have won more conference championships over that span.
Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20 or more games seven consecutive seasons in men’s and women’s basketball.
Belmont has been ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 for 18 consecutive seasons, dating back to 2006. The Bruins were No. 21 in the Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll.
Belmont won an OVC-record 30 consecutive conference games from Jan. 30, 2020-Feb. 24, 2021.
Belmont went a league-best 145-27 (.843) in Ohio Valley Conference conference games from 2013-22 (81-5 home, 64-22 away).
Belmont has received national poll votes in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
Belmont will play up to 13 games vs. teams who earned postseason play in 2021-22, and up to 17 games vs. team who were Q1/Q2 in the final 2021-22 NET rankings.
This marks the sixth meeting between Belmont and Evansville. Belmont won last season in the Curb Event Center.
