Belmont @ SIU 1/1/23 4:00 PM ESPNU

SIU kicks off 2023 with their first Valley battle with Belmont.  Also, their lone game against Belmont this year.

Meet the Bruins:

Belmont is 9-5 on the year and 2-1 in the Valley with wins over #87 Bradley, #109 George Mason, and #152 Chattanooga and losses to #193 Lipscomb, #184 Tarleton State, and #254 Illinois State. 

The Bruins are coached by former player Casey Alexander in his 4th season with the program.  Alexander was an assistant with the team under former coach Rick Byrd from 1995 to 2011 and turned that into the Stetson head coaching job.  After 2 years at Stetson, Alexander returned to Nashville as head coach of longtime Belmont rival Lipscomb.  In his 5th season at Lipscomb, Alexander led the Bison to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.  Rick Byrd retired from Belmont after the 2019 season and Alexander headed two miles North and took the Bruins job.

What the Bruins do well:

Shooting, shooting, and shooting.  Belmont is 2nd in the country in 3 point % (41.7%) and 20th in the country in effective field goal % (55.6%).  Even more impressive is Belmont takes a lot of 3's.  They're 51st in the country in 3 point attempts per field goal attempts (43.2) and 7th in the country in % of points coming from 3 pointers (41.5%).  Overall, the Bruins are 68th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (107.6).

On the defensive end, the Bruins have been good at turning teams over.  They're 104th in the country in steal % on the defensive end (10.5%) and 103rd in the country in turnover % (20.1%).

What the Bruins don't do well:

Belmont has struggled at rebounding on both ends.  The Bruins are 293rd in the country in offensive rebounding % (24.7%) and 330th in the country in opponent offensive rebounding % (34.3%).  Belmont has struggled to guard the 3 as they're 273rd in the country in 3 point % against (35.9%) and 238th in the country in effective field goal % against (51.8%).  Overall, the Bruins have been a pretty poor defensive team coming in at 224th in the country in defensive adjusted efficiency (104.5).

The Bruins' leading scorer is 6'6 Senior Ben Sheppard averaging 18 points per game.  Sheppard didn't get much playing time early in his collegiate career but has turned into Belmont's star player over the last 2 seasons.  Sheppard was named to the All-OVC first team last season after averaging 16.2 points per game.  Sheppard is 79th in the country in % of minutes played (86.6%), 96th in the country in % of possessions gone through him (28.5%) and 82nd in the country in % of shots taken when on the floor (30.0%).  Sheppard is 318th in the country in 3 point % (35-88, 39.8%) and 473rd in the country in effective field goal % (52.8%).  Sheppard is also 353rd in the country in assist rate (21.5) and 324th in the country in steal % (2.9%).  If Sheppard has one flaw, it's the fact that he's 29-56 (51.8%) from the free throw line.

One of the big weapons on this Belmont team is 6'7 Senior Drew Friberg.  Friberg spent 3 seasons at Princeton before transferring to Belmont this offseason and has been a huge addition for them.  Friberg is 15th in the country in 3 point % (50-95, 52.6%), 7th in the country in effective field goal % (72.5%) and 9th in the country in true shooting % (72.5%).  Only 3 players in the country have made more 3 pointers than Friberg.  In Belmont's win over Bradley on Wednesday, Friberg scored 21 points on 6-8 from 3.

One of the better Freshmen in the Valley this season has been 6'7 Cade Tyson.  Tyson's recruiting started slowly but eventually got offers from Charlotte, Merce, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Radford, and Belmont before choosing Belmont.  Tyson is currently 2nd on Belmont in scoring behind Sheppard averaging 13.8 points per game and the team leader in rebounding with 4.7 rebounds per game.  Tyson is 183rd in the country in 3 point % (20-47, 42.6%), 423rd in the country in effective field goal % (53.7%) and 335th in the country in true shooting % (58.4%).  Tyson also has drawn fouls and made his free throws as he's 498th in the country in free throw rate (34.1) and 189th in the country in free throw % (35-42, 83.3%).  Note: Tyson did miss the Bradley game with an illness so will be interesting to see if he's good to go in this one.

Other players to watch out for in this one include 6'0 Freshman Ja'Kobi Gillespie.  Gillespie is 34th in the country in steal % (4.6%) and 211st in the country in assist rate (25.0).  6'9 Junior Even Brauns was a 3 star recruit out of Iowa City, IA and chose Belmont over offers from Appalachian State, Bradley, Drake, and Indiana State.  Brauns is 97th in the country in steal % (6.4%), 269th in the country in offensive rebounding % (9.7%) and 322nd in the country in 2 point % (26-44, 59.1%).

Links:

SIU Game Notes

Belmont Game Notes