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EKU Head Coach Jeff Neubauer on the OVC Teleconference I Belmont Head Coach Rick Byrd on the OVC Teleconference

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky's men's basketball team will host defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion Belmont University on Thursday. The game will air live on ESPNU.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. ET. The live radio broadcast is available in the Richmond area on WCYO 100.7 FM, and can be heard worldwide on EKUSports.com. The game can be seen on the internet and on mobile devices on WatchESPN.com where available.

Students will receive free sunglasses, while supplies last. There will be three halftime promotions offering a chance to win money from UBS and flex money from the game sponsor, Aramark.

The Bruins (12-6, 4-0 OVC) are the third straight opponent that Eastern has played that is undefeated in the conference. Murray State, Morehead State and Belmont were a combined 8-0 in the OVC going into their games against the Colonels (11-6, 2-2 OVC).

EKU is ranked 24th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, down four spots from last week. Eastern will be playing its second game of the season against a Mid-Major Top 25 team. Belmont is ranked 18th in the latest poll. The Colonels beat then 23rd ranked IPFW, 90-68, on the road on Dec. 29.

Belmont has shot 50.6 percent from the field (best in OVC) and has averaged 80.6 points per game (2nd in OVC) this season. Eastern Kentucky has led the OVC in scoring defense for most of the season. The Colonels are currently second at 69.4 points per game.

Belmont ranks eighth in the OVC in scoring defense (77.3 ppg) and has allowed 80 or more points nine times in 18 games.

Eastern Kentucky snapped a two-game losing streak with a 76-65 victory at Morehead State on Saturday. EKU held MSU without a field goal for a stretch of 10 minutes and 51 seconds in the second half and slowly pulled away.

Corey Walden led the way for the Colonels, scoring a game-high 19 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and matching a career-best with six steals. Senior Glenn Cosey added 18 points and five assists while Orlando Williams came off the bench to tally 14 points.

Cosey continues to lead the team, and ranks third in the conference, in scoring at 19 points per game. Walden is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg), rebounding (3.9 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg). The junior is 18th in the nation with 38 steals. Williams has excelled in the "sixth man" role. The senior has come off the bench to score in double figures nine times this season.

Belmont is coming off an 87-72 victory at Tennessee-Martin on Saturday. The Bruins shot 58 percent from the field, including hitting 50 percent from behind the arc. Craig Bradshaw scored a game-best 22 points. JJ Mann added 19 points. Evan Bradds came off the bench to score 18 points in 31 minutes of action.

Mann, a 6-foot-6 senior, leads the team with 16.7 points per game and is second on the squad with 4.3 rebounds a night. Bradshaw, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard, has shot 54 percent from the field and contributes 15.2 points per game. Drew Windler, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is averaging 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in his first season as a Bruin. He has made 55 percent of his shots from the field and 53 percent from behind the arc. Windler transferred from Samford.

Bradds and Blake Jenkins are shooting 63 percent from the field. Four Bruins rank among the top 11 in the OVC in field goal percentage.

Three of Belmont's six losses came when point guard Reece Chamberlain missed five games with an injury. The junior leads the team with 4.3 assists per game.