Lipscomb at Belmont
Thursday, Dec. 2 | 7 p.m. CT
Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN+ | Bruin Sports Network | Live Stats | Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to action Thursday vs. Lipscomb.
Nick Muszynski averaged 24.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game in the ESPN Events Invitational in earning All-Tournament Team honors.
What's Bruin
- Belmont defeated [rv/rv] Drake, 74-69, and Iona, 72-65, in the ESPN Events Invitational before losing on the final possession, 63-61, to Dayton in the championship.
- Grayson Murphy ranks sixth in assists and 10th in steals among all active players in college basketball. The 6-3 guard went over 1,000 career points on a steal and score in the second half. Murphy is on pace to become the Ohio Valley Conference career leader in assists and steals.
- Luke Smith scored a team-high 20 points vs. Furman. The 6-0 guard was named Preseason All-OVC after earning OVC All-Newcomer Team and DC Paradise Jam Most Valuable Player honors last season. Smith had 19 points, four assists and five steals in last season's victory at Lipscomb.
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Ben Sheppard scored a career-high 25 points vs. Iona. Sheppard is the only Belmont player to score in double figures in every game this season. The 6-6 guard has emerged as Belmont's top two-way player.
- Will Richard recorded 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Drake, becoming one of the fastest Belmont players to post a double-double.
- JaCobi Wood scored nine points in a 90-second span vs. Iona. The 6-2 guard had 20 double figure scoring games last season, including a career-high 21 points in his debut vs. Howard. Wood had 11 points and a career-high eight assists in last season's victory at Lipscomb.
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Caleb Hollander has delivered significant contributions vs. Lipscomb throughout his career, including 21 points (11/15/18), 15 points (12/12/20) and the game-winning shot (12/4/18).
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Belmont head coach
Casey Alexander spent six seasons (2013-19) as head coach at Lipscomb. Alexander led the Bisons to the best three-year stretch of their NCAA Division I era and the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Lipscomb won 113 games during Alexander's tenure, including 72 over the final three campaigns. In his last season, Lipscomb won 29 games and reached the Postseason NIT Championship game. Alexander coached current Lipscomb players Ahsan Asadullah and Greg Jones.
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Belmont associate head coach
Brian Ayers played for Don Meyer at Lipscomb from 1989-93. Ayers coached with Alexander at Belmont from 1998-2011 and Lipscomb assistant Roger Idstrom from 2000-11.
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Belmont assistant coach
Sean Rutigliano spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach at Lipscomb on Alexander's staff. Rutigliano also spent two seasons as an assistant coach for Lennie Acuff at UAH.
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Lipscomb assistant coach Roger Idstrom was a member of Belmont's staff from 2000-11.
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Belmont and Lipscomb have a combined five members in the NAIA Hall of Fame (Belmont: Rick Byrd, Joe Behling; Lipscomb: Don Meyer, Philip Hutcheson, John Pierce).
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The Bruins and Bisons met once in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, with Belmont claiming a 74-69 overtime victory in the 2006 Atlantic Sun Championship game in Johnson City, Tennessee. Belmont's Justin Hare ('06) scored a career-high 32 points en route to Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
- Belmont went 26-4 last season, claiming its 12th regular season conference championship in 16 years, seventh in nine years of OVC membership. The Bruins entered Selection Sunday with the most wins in America (with Gonzaga).
- Belmont returns 97 percent of its offensive production and minutes from last season. All-OVC performers Nick Muszynski and Grayson Murphy stand among the most accomplished players at their respective positions in college basketball.
- Belmont, Gonzaga and Buffalo are the only three programs outside the power conferences to win NCAA Tournament games in men's and women's basketball since 2019.
- Belmont and BYU were the only two programs outside the power conferences to receive Preseason AP Top 25 poll votes in men's and women's basketball.
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Belmont will join the Missouri Valley Conference July 1, 2022.
This marks the 148th meeting between Belmont and Lipscomb. The Battle of the Boulevard series dates back to 1953, with Lipscomb holding a 75-72 series lead. Belmont holds a 25-11 series lead in the NCAA Division I era of the rivalry (2004-present). Belmont won, 81-71, last season at Lipscomb. The Bruins have won 16 of the last 18 meetings in the series. Eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by nine or fewer points.
Tip-off is set for 7 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 the Bruin Sports Network. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.
Belmont fans are encouraged to wear NAVY to the game, with the first 500 students in attendance receiving a custom Belmont T-Shirt presented by Pepsi.
Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 14 of the last 16 seasons, including nine berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have won 20 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 11 consecutive seasons (BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont is one of only four NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 16 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, San Diego State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 18 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
