Eastern Illinois Preview

Eastern Illinois at Belmont
Thursday, Feb. 17 | 7 p.m. CT
Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tenn.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University men's basketball returns to game action Thursday vs. Eastern Illinois.

Nick Muszynski scored a game-high 21 points Saturday.

Belmont became the first program in America to secure 20 or more victories in 12 consecutive seasons; Gonzaga and Kansas have since achieved, while Oregon has the opportunity to reach the standard.

• Belmont defeated Southeast Missouri, 81-72, Saturday.
• Grayson Murphy ranks second in assists and eighth in steals among all active players in college basketball. He is one of only six 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 became the Ohio Valley Conference all-time career leader in assists at Eastern Illinois, and is on pace to become the OVC all-time career leader in steals. Murphy recorded his 18th career double-double with 13 assists and 11 rebounds vs. UT Martin. He scored the game-winning basket with 5.0 seconds remaining vs. Morehead State.
• Luke Smith has 81 career double figure scoring games. 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 and 23 points at SIUE. He ranks among OVC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Nick Muszynski has 100 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 1,803 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. The Pickerington, Ohio native is the only active player in college basketball with at least 1,800 points, 600 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 blocked shots, and joins the likes of Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), David West (Xavier) and Nick Collison (Kansas) over the last 30 years to reach the standard. Muszynski scored a career-high 33 points at Tennessee Tech.
• Ben Sheppard scored a career-high 41 points at Tennessee Tech. He had 25 points vs. Iona. Sheppard scored in double figures in each of Belmont's first 10 games and has a team-leading 25 double figure scoring games this season. The 6-6 guard has emerged as Belmont's top two-way player.
• Will Richard had 11 points and seven rebounds at Southeast Missouri. 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 ranks eighth in the OVC in 2-point field goal percentage 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.
• EJ Bellinger scored a career-high 12 points at Eastern Illinois.
• Belmont has handed out 97 assists in its last four meetings vs. Eastern Illinois. This includes 27 assists earlier this season.
• Belmont delivered one of its finest performances of the NCAA Division I era vs. Eastern Illinois in the 2015 OVC Tournament Quarterfinal, opening the game on a 15-0 run, shooting 62 percent from the field - including 16-for-27 from 3-point distance - en route to a 97-64 victory.
• The state of Illinois brought Belmont former All-OVC forward Amanze Egekeze ('18, Lake in the Hills) and Frank Jakubicek (Cary).
• 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.