Ken Pom:
GMU - 96
Belmont - 142
Belmont men’s basketball has become synonymous with sustained excellence. Belmont, Gonzaga, Kansas and San Diego State are the only NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games 17 consecutive seasons. However, the Bruins lost seven of their eight top scorers from last year including Grayson Murphy and Nick Muszynski. Senior and returning leading scorer Ben Sheppard is back, he averaged 16.2 ppg last year. Returning upperclassmen EJ Bellinger, Even Brauns, Frank Jakubicek, Derek Sabin and Michael Shanks are expected to see increased roles. Belmont also welcomes nine newcomers, including Keishawn Davidson, a three-year starter at point guard at Tennessee Tech, and Drew Friberg, a graduate transfer from Princeton. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Walker and six true freshmen will also compete for playing time.
This year also marks Belmont’s first year as member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They were picked 6th in Missouri Valley preseason polls.
We are 0 - 1 against the Bruins all time.
They are 1-0 at home, 0-2 on the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites.
The Bruins are led by Ben Sheppard (18.3 ppg & 6.7 reb), Cade Tyson (17.0 ppg), Drew Friberg (12.7 ppg), and Ja”kiwi Gillespie (12.0 ppg). 8 different Bruins have stated games so far and all of them average double figure minutes.
The Bruins average 73.0 ppg while giving up 78.3 ppg. As a team they shoot 47.0% from the field and 32.0% from 3. Opponents shoot 51.7% overall and 39.6% from 3.
They shoot 51.1% from the charity stripe and average 12.0 turnovers per game. They have been out rebounded opponents by 8.0 boards per game.
The game is on ESPN 3.