Men's Basketball Plays at Illinois State Sunday

Belmont at Illinois State
Sunday, Dec. 4 | 1 p.m. CT
Redbird Arena | Normal, Ill.
Bally Sports | Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to game action Sunday at Illinois State.
 
Belmont defeated Valparaiso, 76-64, Thursday in the program's first-ever Missouri Valley Conference game.
 
Senior Ben Sheppard ranks among MVC leaders in seven statistical categories, including third in scoring (19.4 ppg), second in assists per game (4.4) and sixth in steals per game (1.5). He was named Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men's Basketball Player of the Week Monday.

Graduate student Drew Friberg is averaging 14.3 points per game. He scored a career-high 24 points at Georgia State.
 
Freshman Cade Tyson has made an instant impact on both ends of the floor for the Bruins, currently leading the MVC in scoring among freshmen (14.3 ppg).
 
Fellow freshman Ja'Kobi Gillespie ranks second in the MVC in steals and ranks fourth in assists.
 
After scoring a season-high 13 points in Belmont's victory over Howard, junior Even Brauns leads the MVC in blocked shots and is among league leaders in rebounds. His five blocked shots in the season opening victory over Ohio is the second-highest single-game total of the season.
 
Senior Keishawn Davidson had a season-high five assists vs. Valparaiso. He made his season debut Nov. 27 at Georgia State.
 

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 321 conference wins since 2003 (includes tournament), second to Gonzaga.
• Belmont's 394 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 third meeting between Belmont and Illinois State. The Bruins and Redbirds played a non-conference, home-and-home series in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Belmont's last trip to Illinois State (11/6/19) was Casey Alexander's first game as head coach at Belmont.

Belmont has recruited the state of Illinois well in recent years, most notably 2018 graduate Amanze Egekeze (Lake in the Hills), junior Frank Jakubicek (Cary) and Class of 2023 Drew Scharnowski.

Former Belmont Director of Basketball Operations Dan Ryan is a 2017 Illinois State graduate. Ryan served as a three-year team manager for Dan Muller and the Redbird staff. Ryan is currently a member of the coaching staff at Dartmouth.

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports regional networks, Bally Sports Plus and NBC Sports Chicago. The game will also be available on ESPN+ outside the Missouri Valley Conference geographic footprint. The live play-by-play can be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.

Belmont season tickets, which include the entire men's and women's basketball home schedule, are on sale now at BelmontBruins.com/Tickets, in addition to Puckett's flex packs, single-game tickets and group experiences. Fans can also call or text 615.460.BALL (2255).

To become a Bruin Club member, contact Russell Grimm at (615) 460-5668 or russell.grimm@belmont.edu.

Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

Belmont University men's basketball has earned postseason invitations 15 of the last 17 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 has won 20 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon). Belmont is one of only five NCAA Division I programs outside the Power 5 to post Top 100 rankings 12 consecutive seasons (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State, Wichita State). Belmont University men's basketball boasts an NCAA-leading 19 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