SIU opens up 2024 with a battle against the high-scoring Bruins on Tuesday.
Meet the Bruins:
It's been a tale of two seasons so far for Belmont. They started the season off 2-3 with losses to #133 KenPom-ranked Furman and #231 Monmouth. Since that point they've rattled off 7 of 8 wins including wins over #109 Northern Iowa and #138 Lipscomb with their only loss coming against #100 Samford on the road.
Belmont likes to play at an extremely fast pace. They're 39th in the country in adjusted tempo and 41st in the country in average possession length (15.8 seconds per possession).
The Bruins' offense has carried them this season. They're 94th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (108.5), 31st in the country in 3 point % (37.8%), 40th in the country in 2 point % (55.5%), and 24th in the country in effective field goal % (56.0%). One area where they struggle on the offensive end is rebounding. Belmont is 339th in the country in offensive rebounding % (22.7%).
Defense has been a struggle for Belmont. The Bruins are 244th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency (107.4). The really struggle defending close to the basket as they're 315th in the country in 2 point % against (54.8%) and 285th in the country in effective field goal % against (52.9%).
The leading scorer for the Bruins is 6-7 Sophomore Cade Tyson averaging 17.8 points per game. Tyson was the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year last year and continues to improve this season. Tyson is 347th in the country in 3 point % (26-66, 39.4%), 426th in the country in 2 point % (45-78, 57.7%), 192nd in the country in effective field goal % (58.3%), and 181st in the country in true shooting % (61.2%).
The leading rebounder for Belmont is 6-9 Sophomore Malik Dia averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. Dia was a 3 star recruit out of Nashville, TN and chose Vanderbilt over offers from Creighton, Marquette, and Nebraska among others. Dia played in 20 games at Vanderbilt in his Freshman season before transferring to Belmont this offseason. This season, Dia is 2nd in the country in % of possessions (36.0%) and shots (39.7%) gone through him while he's on the floor. Dia is 374th in the country in 2 point % (65-111, 58.6%), 210th in the country in defensive rebounding % (20.7%), and 364th in the country in block % (3.5%). Dia is also 50th in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.4).
Belmont's leader in assists and steals is 6-1 Sophomore Ja'Kobi Gillespie averaging 3.9 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game. Gillespie started 8 games for Belmont last season and was named to the All-MVC Freshman and Bench teams. This season, Gillespie is 110th in the country in 3 point % (23-52, 44.2%), 41st in the country in effective field goal % (64.6%), 35th in the country in true shooting % (67.4%), 240th in the country in assist rate (24.0%), and 141st in the country in steal % (3.6%).
Other players to watch out for on Belmont includes 6-5 Sophomore Isaiah Walker. Walker played 31 games last year in his Freshman year averaging 9 minutes per game but has taken on a bunch bigger role this season. Walker is 143rd in the country in 3 point % (13-30, 43.3%), 263rd in the country in effective field goal % (56.6%), and 462nd in the country in true shooting % (56.7%). 6-2 Senior Keishawn Davidson is in his 2nd year at Belmont after playing 3 years at Tennessee Tech and is 372nd in the country in assist rate (21.0%) and 446th in the country in free throw rate (36.5%). Belmont is 8-1 this season when 6-5 Senior Jayce Willingham is in the starting lineup. Willingham is a transfer from D2 Lee University and is 426th in the country in effective field goal % (53.6%), 383rd in the country in true shooting % (57.8%), and 288th in the country in free throw rate (44.3%). 6-9 Freshman Brigham Rogers is making an impact for Belmont this season. He's 207th in the country in 2 point % (23-37, 62.2%), 243rd in the country in offensive rebounding % (10.0%), and 498th in the country in block % (2.7%).
Links:
SIU Game Notes
Belmont Game Notes
Always enjoy reading your summary of the next opponent. Very thorough scouting report.
SIU is favored by 6.5 right now, over/under is 145.5
So, Belmont has a true 6’9” center? Maybe Ebube will get to see the court for a couple minutes.
Line is down to SIU -5.
Play Hensley and Ebube! Rebound! Rebound! Rebound!
Play Hensley and Ebube! Rebound! Rebound! Rebound!
The couple times I've seen Belmont this year they have not rebounded well so hopefully that is an area SIU will have the edge tonight.
In general, Belmont has two really good players in Tyson and Gillespie but if Southern does a decent job on those two, their role players probably aren't going to beat you. SIU is definitely the deeper team. And as has been mentioned, Belmont's defense is often suspect. They do run good offense, though.
I have not seen Belmont. I did watch the Lipscomb and FSU game (took Lipscomb) and was pretty impressed Belmont had beaten them previously. I got SIU by 1-5 for this game, seems like it will be a close one given the way the UIC game went, although they ended up covering that game. Seems clear the dawgs are going to be a bit up and down this year overall, hopefully they are in full stride come March.
Gonna be important to get off to a good start. Belmont hasn't played since December 20th so they probably come out a bit rusty but will have fresher legs than SIU.
This is a huge game IMO. If SIU wins this game at home, then I feel it can give them additional momentum going into their next 2 winnable road games, setting up the matchup vs Drake (at home) with a 4-1 conference record.
Gonna be important to get off to a good start. Belmont hasn't played since December 20th so they probably come out a bit rusty but will have fresher legs than SIU.
We've only played 1 game in 10+ days, if we lose, I don't think it will be due to fatigue. Let's hope the rust is deep for Belmont. Again, they are a talented and very well coached team.
Exactly, college age kids at the peak of fitness aren't bothered by a game they played 3 days ago. Contrary to what some think on here, they don't get run into the ground by playing 36+ minutes per game either. Actual game play is a very small part of the physical activity these guys go through in a season. Weather they play 30 minutes, or 38 is not going to matterGonna be important to get off to a good start. Belmont hasn't played since December 20th so they probably come out a bit rusty but will have fresher legs than SIU.
We've only played 1 game in 10+ days, if we lose, I don't think it will be due to fatigue. Let's hope the rust is deep for Belmont. Again, they are a talented and very well coached team.
Dia and Rupert trading blows so far. Dia looks like he's gonna be a problem
So Dia got a basket on that "charge", both got fouls. I'm so confused
