Illinois State visits Belmont following Sheppard's 35-point game
Illinois State Redbirds (10-14, 5-8 MVC) at Belmont Bruins (16-8, 9-4 MVC)
Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Belmont plays the Illinois State Redbirds after Ben Sheppard scored 35 points in Belmont's 83-82 loss to the Murray State Racers.
The Bruins are 8-2 in home games. Belmont ranks sixth in the MVC with 6.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Even Brauns averaging 1.9.
The Redbirds are 5-8 in MVC play. Illinois State ranks fifth in the MVC shooting 33.5% from deep. Alex Kotov paces the Redbirds shooting 50% from 3-point range.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sheppard is shooting 47.9% and averaging 19.5 points for the Bruins. Drew Friberg is averaging 3.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Belmont.
Malachi Poindexter averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Redbirds, scoring 9.6 points while shooting 40.7% from beyond the arc. Seneca Knight is shooting 50.6% and averaging 12.8 points over the past 10 games for Illinois State.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 7-3, averaging 72.0 points, 30.7 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.3 points per game.
Redbirds: 4-6, averaging 65.8 points, 30.1 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 5.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
