Men's Basketball Visits Murray State Wednesday

Belmont at Murray State
Wednesday, Feb. 1 | 7 p.m. CT
CFSB Center | Murray, Ky.
ESPN+ | Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF)

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

Belmont fell to Drake Sunday. Senior Ben Sheppard led four Bruins in double figures with 21 points and six rebounds.

Sheppard is building off his all-conference season a year ago and has established himself as one of the most complete players in college basketball. The Atlanta native ranks among MVC leaders in 18 statistical categories, including first in total points, second in points per game and field goals made and third in field goal percentage. He is among a select group of active college basketball players with over 1,300 career points, 400 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. Sheppard had 23 points, six rebounds and four assists vs. Murray State Jan. 17. He has scored 112 points over his last five games.

Sheppard has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week twice this season.

Keishawn Davidson had a season-high 10 assists vs. Missouri State, one of only five MVC players to record double figure assists in a game this season. 
 
Davidson was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week Dec. 19. He currently ranks fourth in the MVC in assists per game and assist-turnover ratio. Davidson has five or more assists in eight games this season. He scored a season-high 23 points at Chattanooga.
 
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 (13.0). Tyson scored a season-high 20 points vs. Missouri State and has scored in double figures in 17 of his 21 game appearances. His game-winning shot in Belmont's season-opening victory over Ohio earned Tyson ESPN SCTop10 No. 1 play.

Fellow freshman Ja'Kobi Gillespie has also made his presence felt this season. currently ranks among league leaders in assists and steals. His six steals vs. George Mason remains the conference single-game standard. Gillespie has scored in double figures in five of his last six games with 23 assists and eight turnovers over that span. He had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists vs. Murray State Jan. 17.

Graduate student Drew Friberg is third on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game. He scored a career-high 24 points at Georgia State and recorded 15 points and three rebounds at Bradley. Friberg leads the MVC with 76 3-point field goals. He had 14 points and four rebounds vs. Murray State Jan. 17. Friberg's streak of 44 straight games with at least one 3-point field goal came to an end Jan. 29.
 
After scoring a season-high 13 points in Belmont's victory over Howard, Even Brauns has recorded double figure scoring in five of his last eight games - including 12 points and 10 rebounds his last time out. Brauns has 20 blocked shots over his last eight games and he ranks among league leaders in blocked shots and offensive rebounding.

Belmont has scored 203 bench points in Missouri Valley Conference games, including a season-high 33 bench points at Valparaiso Jan. 10.

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 329 conference wins since 2003 (includes tournament), with Gonzaga nationally.
• Belmont's 405 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 25th meeting between Belmont and Murray State. Belmont holds a 13-11 series lead, including an 80-65 victory Jan. 17.

Belmont won 11 of 18 meetings in OVC play.

Belmont director of basketball operations Kerron Johnson ('13) sank the game-tying and game-winning shots to lift Belmont over Murray State in the 2013 OVC Championship and into the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Belmont assistant coach Tyler Holloway was a four-year letterwinner at Murray State from 2006-09. Holloway scored 1,083 career points, and played three seasons for former Murray State head coach Steve Prohm when Prohm served as an assistant coach to Billy Kennedy.

Belmont and Murray State played in five OVC Championship games in their 10 years together in the league. Belmont won three of the five championship games.

Belmont and Murray State have a combined 21 newcomers.

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 of Steve Layman can be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.

Belmont Basketball tickets, including Puckett's flex packs, mini plans, 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