Eastern Kentucky (6-11, 3-1) vs. Belmont (12-5, 3-1)
Curb Event Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Belmont looks for its eighth straight win in the head-to-head series over Eastern Kentucky. In its last seven wins against the Colonels, Belmont has won by an average of 15 points. Eastern Kentucky's last win in the series came on Feb. 6, 2016, an 88-78 victory.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: Jomaru Brown is averaging 17.1 points to lead the charge for the Colonels. Ty Taylor is also a primary contributor, putting up 12.6 points per game. The Bruins have been led by Nick Muszynski, who is averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
OVC IMPROVEMENT: The Colonels have scored 75 points per game and allowed 71.3 points per game against OVC opponents. Those are both substantial improvements over the 66 points scored and 81.3 points allowed per game to non-conference foes.JUMPING FOR JOMARU: Brown has connected on 26.7 percent of the 75 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 4 of 13 over his last five games. He's also made 70 percent of his free throws this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Eastern Kentucky is 0-10 when scoring fewer than 72 points and 6-1 when scoring at least 72.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: Belmont is a perfect 8-0 when the team makes 10 or more 3-pointers. The Bruins are 4-5 when the team hits fewer than 10 threes.
DID YOU KNOW: The Belmont offense has scored 81.6 points per game this season, ranking the Bruins 12th among Division 1 teams. The Eastern Kentucky defense has allowed 75.6 points per game to opponents (ranked 267th).
