Morehead State Preview

Belmont at Morehead State
Thursday, Jan. 20 | 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
Johnson Arena | Morehead, Ky.
ESPNews | Bruin Sports Network | Live Stats | Game Notes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to game action Thursday at Morehead State.

Luke Smith scored a season-high 23 points Monday.

• Belmont defeated SIUE, 80-64, Monday
• Grayson Murphy ranks third in assists and ninth in steals among all active players in college basketball. Murphy had 11 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals at SIUE to record his second career triple-double. He is one of only five active players to record multiple triple-doubles. The 6-3 guard went over 1,000 career points on a steal and score in the second half vs. Furman. Murphy is on pace to become the Ohio Valley Conference career leader in assists and steals. Murphy is averaging 15.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game over his last five games vs. Morehead State. Murphy had the first triple-double of Belmont's NCAA Division I era with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Morehead State (2/13/21).
• Luke Smith has 77 career double figure scoring games, including two games vs. Morehead State last season. 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 a team-high 20 points vs. Furman. He ranks among OVC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Nick Muszynski has 92 career double figure scoring games. The 6-11 center, named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List, 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. With 1,642 points, Muszynski is on pace to challenge Evan Bradds' NCAA Division I era career scoring record (1,921 points). He and Murphy were named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.
• Ben Sheppard scored a career-high 25 points vs. Iona. Sheppard scored in double figures in each of Belmont's first 10 games and has a team-leading 17 double figure scoring games this season. The 6-6 guard has emerged as Belmont's top two-way player.
• Will Richard had 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals at SIUE. He recorded 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Drake, becoming one of the fastest Belmont players to post a double-double. Richard ranks among OVC freshmen leaders in scoring and rebounding.
• JaCobi Wood had seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals at SIUE and had 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 vs. UT Martin. Wood scored a game-high 19 points vs. Morehead State last season (2/13/21).
• 2019 graduate and Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Dylan Windler had two of the greatest individual performances in program history, both vs. Morehead State. In 2018, Windler recorded 36 points and 20 rebounds in a home victory over Morehead State. It was one of only three 30-20 games in all of NCAA Division I men's basketball that season (Marvin Bagley, Jo-Lual Acuil). Then in 2019, Windler went for a career-high 41 points and 12 rebounds in victory at Morehead State, one shy of Belmont's NCAA Division I era single-game scoring mark of 42, held by Craig Bradshaw (at Ohio, 11/29/14).
• Belmont head coach Casey Alexander coached Morehead State forward Jake Wolfe at Lipscomb in 2019, before Alexander accepted the Belmont head coaching position following Rick Byrd's retirement.
• Belmont great Ian Clark and Morehead State standout Kenneth Faried were teammates on the Denver Nuggets for two months at the end of the 2014-15 season.
• 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.
• Belmont will join the Missouri Valley Conference July 1, 2022.