Belmont (24-1, 18-0) vs. Eastern Kentucky (19-6, 13-5)
McBrayer Arena, Richmond, Kentucky; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Belmont looks for its 12th straight win in the head-to-head series over Eastern Kentucky. Belmont has won by an average of 16 points in its last 11 wins over the Colonels. Eastern Kentucky’s last win in the series came on Feb. 6, 2016, an 88-78 win.
STEPPING UP: The Bruins are led by juniors Nick Muszynski and Grayson Murphy. Muszynski is averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while Murphy is putting up 10.3 points, eight rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. The Colonels have been led by Tre King and Wendell Green Jr., who are scoring 15.4 and 14.4 per game, respectively.TERRIFIC TRE: King has connected on 34.6 percent of the 52 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 3 for 4 over the last three games. He’s also converted 69.4 percent of his free throws this season.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: Eastern Kentucky is a perfect 18-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 48.3 percent or less. The Colonels are 1-6 when they allow opponents to shoot any better than that.
BEHIND THE ARC: Belmont’s Luke Smith has attempted 164 3-pointers and connected on 39 percent of them, and is 5 for 20 over the last three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Belmont offense has scored 82.8 points per game this season, ranking the Bruins ninth among Division I teams. The Eastern Kentucky defense has allowed 74.1 points per game to opponents (ranked 246th overall).
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