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Missouri State Bears (15-13, 7-10 MVC) at Belmont Bruins (16-12, 9-8 MVC)
Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Belmont hosts the Missouri State Bears after Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 23 points in Belmont’s 84-69 loss to the Drake Bulldogs.
The Bruins are 10-2 on their home court. Belmont is third in the MVC scoring 77.3 points while shooting 47.5% from the field.
The Bears are 7-10 in MVC play. Missouri State is the MVC leader with 38.9 rebounds per game led by N.J. Benson averaging 7.5.
Belmont’s average of 8.7 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.8 more made shots on average than the 7.9 per game Missouri State gives up. Missouri State has shot at a 43.9% rate from the field this season, 1.6 percentage points fewer than the 45.5% shooting opponents of Belmont have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cade Tyson averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Bruins, scoring 16.3 points while shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc.
Alston Mason is averaging 18.1 points and 3.5 assists for the Bears.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 5-5, averaging 75.6 points, 34.2 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.6 points per game.
Bears: 5-5, averaging 73.9 points, 40.5 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 4.3 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.