Under the Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, February 13

Morehead State at Belmont, 5:00 PM Eastern, espn+

Only seven teams remain undefeated in conference play, and one of those seven is going to be facing their toughest conference test of the season to date this afternoon as the Belmont Bruins put their 15-0 OVC record on the line at home against second-place Morehead State.  Belmont currently sits at an impressive 21-1 overall and a win today could have this team seriously contending for a spot inn the Top 25 polls.  In fact, but for a somewhat puzzling home loss to Samford back in December, they might already be there.  The Bruins have five players averaging 10 or more points per game led my Nick Muszynski’s 15.1 points per game.  Grayson Murphy, while being fifth on the team in scoring at 10.3, leads the team in rebounds (7.6) and assists (5.1).  Also keep an eye on Ben Sheppard who had 25 points and 10 boards for the double-double earlier this week in a dominating 92-74 win over third place Eastern Kentucky.

Belmont’s 18 game winning streak (second best in the nation to Gonzaga) will be put to a serious test against the team with the nation’s fourth longest streak, as Morehead State has reeled off 12 wins in a row, and most of them in commanding fashion.  Only one of the Eagles’ last nine opponents has held the final margin under 10 points (a one point overtime win over Austin Peay last week).  Morehead is led by freshman Johni Broome, who is averaging 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds, both tops on the team.  DeVon Cooper and Skyelar Potter are both averaging over 11 points to complement Johni.  However, Broome is clearly the key to the Eagles’ success so far, with 7 double-doubles in his young career already.  If he can have that kind of success today, and the Eagles can find a way to slow down Belmont’s high-powered offense, an upset could definitely be in the making.