NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to game action Thursday at Eastern Kentucky.
The Bruins defeated Tennessee Tech, 90-66, Feb. 20. Belmont limited Tennessee Tech to 37 percent shooting and scored 52 points in the paint en route to a 12th regular season conference championship in 16 years.
Junior
Nick Muszynski (Pickerington, Ohio) had 19 points vs. Tennessee Tech. The 6-11 center has 75 career double figure scoring games and 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). He was named to the Lute Olson Award and Lou Henson Award midseason watch lists earlier this season.
Junior
Grayson Murphy (Franklin, Tenn.) had eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs. Tennessee Tech. Murphy was named Lute Olson National Player of the Week Feb. 15. The reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Year ranks fifth in the OVC in rebounding (7.9 rpg), leads the league in defensive rebounding, and is on pace to threaten OVC career records in assists and steals. Since the start of 2019-20, Murphy is the only player in America with at least 300 rebounds, 250 assists and 100 steals. He ranks 10th among active NCAA career leaders in assists and 14th in steals. Murphy had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists vs. Eastern Kentucky earlier this season.
Sophomore
Ben Sheppard (Atlanta, Ga.) had 11 points and seven rebounds vs. Tennessee Tech. Sheppard recorded a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds vs. Eastern Kentucky Feb. 11. Sheppard scored 22 points at Jacksonville State Jan. 16 and earned his second OVC Player of the Week honor Jan. 18. The 6-6 guard made 32 game appearances last season, emerging as a valuable two-way player for Belmont.
Junior
Luke Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) had eight points and six rebounds vs. Tennessee Tech. 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 three statistical categories, and ranks 16th in the league in scoring (12.8 ppg).
He ranks fifth nationally in steals and 15th 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.
Freshman
JaCobi Wood (Cleveland, Tenn.) had 15 points vs. Tennessee Tech. 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 19 double figure scoring games and ranks third in the OVC in scoring among freshmen (12.2 ppg). Wood ranks 10th nationally in freshman scoring.
Junior
Caleb Hollander (Nashville, Tenn.) had a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds vs. Jacksonville State. He scored a career-high 24 points at Austin Peay Jan. 28. The 6-8 forward is averaging 11.9 points per game over his last nine games. He scored 14 points vs. Eastern Kentucky earlier this season.
The Belmont bench has been highly productive of late, scoring 538 points in OVC play, including 39 vs. Tennessee Tech. Wood, freshman
Even Brauns (Iowa City, Iowa), sophomore
Mitch Listau (Waunakee, Wis.), sophomore
EJ Bellinger (St. Peters, Mo.), sophomore
Derek Sabin (Slinger, Wis.), freshman
Frank Jakubicek (Cary, Ill.) and freshman
Michael Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) have each tallied new career highs in scoring during the stretch.
Belmont guard Dylan Windler ('19) and Eastern Kentucky forward Nick Mayo ('19) stand as two of the most outstanding players in OVC history. The duo rank among all-time leaders in points and rebounds. Windler and Mayo each received 2019 OVC Preseason Player of the Year accolades from various college basketball publications.
Former Belmont standout and 2014 OVC Player of the Year J.J. Mann played at Hargrave Military Academy, where he was coached by Eastern Kentucky head coach A.W. Hamilton.
Two-time Belmont All-America forward Evan Bradds ('17) has a younger brother, Ethan, who played on the football team at Eastern Kentucky. Ethan was a tight end. Evan currently serves as a video coordinator on Brad Stevens' coaching staff with the Boston Celtics.
The game features four returning All-OVC players (Belmont:
Nick Muszynski,
Grayson Murphy; Eastern Kentucky: Jomaru Brown, Tre King).
This marks the 23rd meeting between Belmont and Eastern Kentucky. The Bruins won, 92-74, Feb. 11 at the Curb Event Center.
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.
Belmont at Eastern Kentucky 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
