2022–23 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

2022–23 Belmont Bruins men's basketball
2022–23 Belmont Bruins men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	21–11 (14–6 MVC)
Head coach	Casey Alexander (4th season);
Associate head coach	Brian Ayers
Assistant coaches	Sean Rutigliano; Tyler Holloway;
Home arena	Curb Event Center
	Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

The 2022–23 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by fourth-year head coach Casey Alexander, played their home games at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee as first-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference.^[1] They finished the season 21–10, 14–6 in MVC Play to finish in a tie for third place. They were defeated by Indiana State in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.

2022–23 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Bradley	16	–	4	.800	25	–	10	.714
Drake †	15	–	5	.750	27	–	8	.771
Southern Illinois	14	–	6	.700	23	–	10	.697
Belmont	14	–	6	.700	21	–	11	.656
Indiana State	13	–	7	.650	23	–	13	.639
Missouri State	12	–	8	.600	17	–	15	.531
Murray State	11	–	9	.550	17	–	15	.531
Northern Iowa	9	–	11	.450	14	–	18	.438
Illinois State	6	–	14	.300	11	–	21	.344
Valparaiso	5	–	15	.250	11	–	21	.344
UIC	4	–	16	.200	12	–	20	.375
Evansville	1	–	19	.050	5	–	27	.156

† 2023 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2020–21 season 25–8, 15–3 in OVC play to finish in second place. They lost in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to Morehead State.^[2] They received an invite to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Vanderbilt in the first round.^[3]

The season marked the school's final season as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.^[4]^[5]

Preseason

The Bruins were picked to finish in sixth place in the conference's preseason poll.^[6] Guard Ben Sheppard was named to the preseason All-MVC first team.^[7]

Roster

2022–23 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	0	Even Brauns	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Iowa City, Iowa
G	1	Isaiah Walker	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Wyoming, Ohio
G	2	Ja'Kobi Gillespie	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Greeneville, Tennessee
G	3	Keishawn Davidson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G	4	Kyler Vanderjagt	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Grand Rapids, Michigan
G	5	EJ Bellinger	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	St. Peters, Missouri
F	10	Cade Tyson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Monroe, North Carolina
F	11	Michael Shanks	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Bentonville, Arkansas
F	12	Drew Friberg	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	GS	State College, Pennsylvania
G	20	Aidan Braccia	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Atherton, California
F	21	Derek Sabin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Slinger, Wisconsin
G	22	Ben Sheppard	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Atlanta, Georgia
G	23	Jake Dykstra	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Nashville, Tennessee
G	24	Keith Robbins	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Milledgeville, Georgia
F	25	Frank Jakubicek	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	Cary, Illinois

Head coach

Casey Alexander (Belmont)

Assistant coach(es)

Brian Ayers (Lipscomb)
Sean Rutigliano (Cortland State)
Tyler Holloway (Murray State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 19, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 7, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Ohio	W 70–69	1–0	Curb Event Center (2,220) Nashville, TN
November 11, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Furman	L 74–89	1–1	Timmons Arena (2,092) Greenville, SC
November 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Lipscomb	L 75–77	1–2	Allen Arena (3,772) Nashville, TN
November 18, 2022* 4:45 pm, ESPN3		vs. Tarleton State Paradise Jam first round	L 81–89	1–3	Sports and Fitness Center Saint Thomas, VI
November 19, 2022* 4:45 p.m., ESPN3		vs. George Mason Paradise Jam consolation 2nd round	W 66–62	2–3	Sports and Fitness Center (724) Saint Thomas, VI
November 21, 2022* 2:15 p.m., ESPN3		vs. Howard Paradise Jam 5th-place game	W 96–73	3–3	Sports and Fitness Center (724) Saint Thomas, VI
November 27, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Georgia State	W 68–66	4–3	GSU Convocation Center (1,416) Atlanta, GA
December 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Valparaiso	W 76–64	5–3 (1–0)	Curb Event Center (2,056) Nashville, TN
December 4, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State	L 77–87	5–4 (1–1)	CEFCU Arena (3,165) Normal, IL
December 6, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Trevecca Nazarene	W 83–53	6–4	Curb Event Center (1,307) Nashville, TN
December 10, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	L 75–85 ^OT	6–5	Curb Event Center (2,087) Nashville, TN
December 18, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Chattanooga	W 83–79 ^OT	7–5	McKenzie Arena (3,466) Chattanooga, TN
December 21, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Samford	W 79–56	8–5	Curb Event Center (2,084) Nashville, TN
December 28, 2022 7:00 pm, BSSO		Bradley	W 63–60	9–5 (2–1)	Curb Event Center (2,019) Nashville, TN
January 1, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPNU		at Southern Illinois	L 45–63	9–6 (2–2)	Banterra Center (7,119) Carbondale, IL
January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UIC	W 77–71	10–6 (3–2)	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,194) Chicago, IL
January 7, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 74–61	11–6 (4–2)	Curb Event Center Nashville, TN
January 10, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	W 74–59	12–6 (5–2)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,543) Valparaiso, IN
January 14, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Northern Iowa	W 76–72	13–6 (6–2)	Curb Event Center (2,700) Nashville, TN
January 17, 2023 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Murray State	W 80–65	14–6 (7–2)	Curb Event Center (2,507) Nashville, TN
January 21, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bradley	W 78–76	15–6 (8–2)	Carver Arena (5,584) Peoria, IL
January 25, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 73–64	16–6 (9–2)	Ford Center (4,227) Evansville, IN
January 29, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	L 61–79	16–7 (9–3)	Curb Event Center (2,661) Nashville, TN
February 1, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Murray State	L 82–83	16–8 (9–4)	CFSB Center (5,271) Murray, KY
February 4, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Illinois State	W 90–75	17–8 (10–4)	Curb Event Center (2,410) Nashville, TN
February 8, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 59–61	17–9 (10–5)	Great Southern Bank Arena (4,102) Springfield, MO
February 11, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN3		UIC	W 98–71	18–9 (11–5)	Curb Event Center (2,341) Nashville, TN
February 15, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 95–63	19–9 (12–5)	Curb Event Center (1,841) Nashville, TN
February 19, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 56–70	19–10 (12–6)	Knapp Center (4,753) Des Moines, IA
February 22, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 89-88	20–10 (13–6)	Curb Event Center (2,364) Nashville, TN
February 26, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	W 83–75	21–10 (14–6)	McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA
MVC Tournament
March 3, 2023 2:30 pm, MVC TV	(4)	vs. (5) Indiana State Quarterfinals	L 91–94	21–11	Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source^[8]

References

^ "Belmont latest to leave Ohio Valley, to join MVC". ESPN.com. September 28, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ "Morehead State vs. Belmont - Game Recap - March 4, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ "Belmont vs. Vanderbilt - Game Recap - March 15, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ Daily, Cole. "Belmont joins the Missouri Valley: What does this mean for Saluki Basketball". The Daily Egyptian. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ Spears, Joseph. "Belmont athletics announces move from Ohio Valley Conference to Missouri Valley Conference". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ "The 2022 MVC preseason poll is out. See where Bradley men's basketball was ranked". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ MVC. "Murray State picked 8th, SIU 3rd in MVC preseason rankings". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
^ "2022-23 Belmont Bruins Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[1] "Belmont latest to leave Ohio Valley, to join MVC". ESPN.com. September 28, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[2] "Morehead State vs. Belmont - Game Recap - March 4, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[3] "Belmont vs. Vanderbilt - Game Recap - March 15, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[4] Daily, Cole. "Belmont joins the Missouri Valley: What does this mean for Saluki Basketball". The Daily Egyptian. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[5] Spears, Joseph. "Belmont athletics announces move from Ohio Valley Conference to Missouri Valley Conference". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[6] "The 2022 MVC preseason poll is out. See where Bradley men's basketball was ranked". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[7] MVC. "Murray State picked 8th, SIU 3rd in MVC preseason rankings". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

[8] "2022-23 Belmont Bruins Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2022.

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