#753 ASA PLAY ON 8* Belmont -5 over Morehead State, Thursday at 7 PM ET - These 2 have similar records (Belmont 14-4 / Morehead St 12-5) but Belmont is the much better team. Belmont’s 4 losses have all come vs top 100 teams and since their 2-point loss vs Dayton on December 18th, the Bruins have won 9 of 10 games. They’ve also beaten 4 top 100 teams this year including St Louis, Drake, and Iona away from home. This is a huge step up in competition for Morehead State. In fact, since mid December, this team has not played an opponent ranked inside the top 300. They have won 6 straight games vs teams ranked 356, 354, 319, 312, 310, and a non division 1 opponent. Their best win this season is vs Arkansas State who ranks 179th. For comparison’s sake, their opponent tonight Belmont ranks 55th nationally. In their 4 games vs top 100 opponents this year, Morehead State has lost by margins of 23, 23, 20, and 14 points. Belmont is a fantastic shooting team ranking 7th nationally in eFG%. They hit over 60% of their shots inside the arc which is a poor match up for the Morehead defense that allows opponents to score almost 60% of their points from 2-point range (21st most nationally). Belmont finished last season with a 26-4 record and they basically returned everyone from that team (97% of their minutes are back) including all 5 starters. They’ve been waiting for this one as their NCAA hopes were dashed in the OVC tourney last year by this Morehead State team. The Bruins get the revenge they’ve been waiting for.