Monday, March 18, 2024
5-Hour Energy

MBB-FCS: Belmont Bruins (10-6) at Missouri State Bears (8-7)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont University men’s basketball returns to game action Saturday vs. Missouri State.

The Bruins defeated UIC Wednesday. Belmont outrebounded the Flames, forced 17 turnovers and recorded 23 points off the bench.

SeniorĀ Ben SheppardĀ 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 thirdĀ in scoring, sixth in steals per game and seventh in assists per game.Ā He had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists at UIC.

Keishawn DavidsonĀ had five points, four rebounds and four assists at UIC.
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Davidson was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week Dec. 19. He currently ranks among MVC leaders in assists per game andĀ assist-turnover ratio.
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FreshmanĀ Cade TysonĀ has made an instant impact on both ends of the floor for the Bruins, currently leading the MVC in scoring among freshmen (13.9 ppg). Tyson scored a season-high 18 points vs. Ohio and has scored in double figures in 12 of his 15 game appearances. He had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals at Chattanooga and eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots at UIC.
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Fellow freshmanĀ Ja’Kobi GillespieĀ currently ranks third in the MVC in steals. His six steals vs. George Mason remains the conference single-game standard.

Graduate studentĀ Drew FribergĀ is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. He scored a career-high 24 points at Georgia State and recorded a career-high 10 rebounds at Southern Illinois. FribergĀ leads the MVC with 58 3-point field goals.
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After scoring a season-high 13 points in Belmont’s victory over Howard, juniorĀ Even BraunsĀ had eight points and eight rebounds vs. Valparaiso and 10 points at UIC.Ā Brauns ranks ninth 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 323 conference wins since 2003 (includes tournament), second to Gonzaga nationally.
  • Belmont’s 399 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 first meeting between Belmont and Missouri State.

Belmont nearly played Missouri State during the 2011 season in a non-conference MTE hosted by the University of Tennessee. However, Belmont played Arkansas State and Missouri State played Tennessee. That season, Belmont finished 30-5 and finished with a program-best final RPI and KenPom ranking of 23.

Belmont head coach Casey Alexander and Missouri State head coach Dana Ford faced each other four times from 2015-18 when Alexander coached Lipscomb and Ford coached Tennessee State. Each team won two games.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. The live play-by-play of Steve Layman can be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.

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