Eastern Illinois Preview

The Bruins defeated Jacksonville State, 98-91, Jan. 16. Belmont scored 28 bench points and posted five double figure scorers, led by sophomore Ben Sheppard (Atlanta, Ga.) with a career-high 22 points. Sheppard earned his second OVC Player of the Week honor Monday. The 6-6 guard made 32 game appearances last season, emerging as a valuable two-way player for Belmont.

 

Freshman JaCobi Wood (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 15 points - including nine in the final 4:30 - at Jacksonville State. He scored a career-high tying 21 points in 22 minutes vs. UT Martin. The dynamic playmaker has been named OVC Freshman of the Week twice, has posted 12 double figure scoring games and leads the OVC in scoring among freshmen (13.0 ppg). Wood ranks eighth nationally in freshman scoring.

 

Junior Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) recorded his 66th career double figure scoring game at Jacksonville State, with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The 6-11 center is a two-time First Team All-OVC selection. Muszynski scored a season-high 26 points vs. Southeast Missouri, and is on pace to challenge Evan Bradds' NCAA Division I era career scoring record (1,921 points).

Junior Grayson Murphy (Franklin, Tenn.) had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists at Jacksonville State. The reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Year ranks fourth in the OVC in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and is on pace to threaten OVC career records in assists and steals. Murphy had nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists vs. UT Martin, and 11 rebounds and six assists in last season's meeting vs. Eastern Illinois. Since the start of 2019-20, Murphy is the only player in America with at least 300 rebounds, 250 assists and 100 steals.

 

Junior Luke Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 18 points and a season-high eight assists at Jacksonville State. Smith became the first player in Belmont's NCAA Division I era to score 100 or more points in his first five games.

The 6-0 guard leads the OVC in seven statistical categories, and ranks seventh in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg).

He ranks fifth nationally in steals and sixth in 3-point field goals.

Smith was named DC Paradise Jam Most Valuable Player and Dec. 14 became the first player in nearly three years to earn OVC Player of the Week and OVC Newcomer of the Week honors the same week.

The Belmont bench has been highly productive of late, scoring 173 points over the last five games. Wood, freshman Even Brauns (Iowa City, Iowa), sophomore EJ Bellinger (St. Peters, Mo.) and freshman Michael Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) have each tallied new career highs in scoring during the stretch.

 

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. The live play-by-play can be heard on the Bruin Sports Network. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.

Eastern Illinois at Belmont Game Notes

Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 14 of the last 15 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 19 conference championships since 2006 - third-most nationally over that span (Gonzaga, Kansas). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 rankings 10 consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont is one of only six NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 15 consecutive seasons (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, San Diego State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 17 CoSIDA Academic All-America selections since 2001 and is the only NCAA Division I program to make the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Roll every year of existence