SIU-Edwardsville visits Belmont after Muszynski's 20-point game

SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (9-18, 3-11 OVC) at Belmont Bruins (23-5, 13-2 OVC)

Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Belmont hosts the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars after Nick Muszynski scored 20 points in Belmont's 81-57 win against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

The Bruins have gone 11-1 at home. Belmont averages 18.9 assists per game to lead the OVC, paced by Grayson Murphy with 6.1.

The Cougars are 3-11 against OVC opponents. SIU-Edwardsville has a 5-8 record against teams over .500.

The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. The Bruins won 80-64 in the last matchup on Jan. 18. Luke Smith led the Bruins with 23 points, and Deejuan Pruitt led the Cougars with 14 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Murphy is averaging 7.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals for the Bruins. Muszynski is averaging 18.1 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 61.7% over the last 10 games for Belmont.

Ray'Sean Taylor is scoring 17.6 points per game with 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Cougars. Pruitt is averaging 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 41.6% over the past 10 games for SIU-Edwardsville.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 9-1, averaging 79.6 points, 31.3 rebounds, 19.3 assists, 8.6 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.1 points per game.

Cougars: 2-8, averaging 65.7 points, 31.8 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 39.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.0 points.

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