NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After picking up home court wins on Saturday, the men's and women's basketball teams will go on the road to face first place Belmont on Thursday.
 
Tip-off for the women's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.  The men's game will begin at 8 p.m. ET. 
 
A live free video broadcast of both games is available worldwide on OVCDigitalNetwork.com.

Women's Preview
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Watch Live (FREE) | Live stats | Live tweets | Game Notes
 
EKU is 8-15 overall and 5-9 in OVC games.
 
The Colonels beat Morehead State, 59-56, at home on Saturday.
 
Bria Bass posted her second straight double-double, finishing with 18 points and 17 rebounds against Morehead State.
 
A'Queen Hayes, still recovering from an illness, contributed nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and one steal in the win over MSU.
 
Through 23 games this season, Eastern Kentucky has out-rebounded its opponent 17 times.  The Colonels are fourth in the OVC in rebounding margin (+3.8 per game).
 
Hayes is eighth in the OVC in scoring (14.8 ppg), second in rebounding (8.5 rpg), 11th in assists (3.2 apg), 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1), 12th in steals (1.6 spg), fifth in minutes played (35.1/g), first in offensive rebounds (3.4/g) and sixth in defensive rebounds (5.1/g).
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
No. 24 Belmont has won 15 straight games.  The Bruins are 24-3 overall and 14-0 against OVC teams.  BU is ranked in the national top-25 for the first time in its Division I history.
 
The trio of Kylee Smith, Darby Maggard and Sally McCabe lead the Belmont offense.  Smith is a 5-foot-11 senior guard averaging 18 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.  Maggard, a 5-foot-5 junior guard, has hit 86 three-pointers and averages 16.7 points and a team-best 5.3 assists per game.  McCabe, a 6-foot-3 senior center, is scoring 14.6 points per game and pulling down 7.5 rebounds per contest.
 
As a team, Belmont averages 79 points per game and allows just 61 per game.  The Bruins have made 47 percent of their shots from the field and hold opponents to 37 percent shooting.  Belmont is among the top-90 teams in the nation in all four of those categories.  The Bruins are seventh in the country with 9.9 made three-pointers per game.
 
On Saturday, the Bruins beat Tennessee Tech 68-60.  Smith led the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  McCabe had 12 points and four boards.  Maggard scored 11 points.  Belmont struggled from deep, hitting just 4-of-21 for 19 percent and was out-rebounded by three.
 
UP NEXT
Eastern Kentucky continues its two-game road trip to Nashville by playing Tennessee State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Men's Preview

WHAT TO KNOW

Watch Live (FREE) I Live Audio I Live Stats I Live Tweets I Game Notes
 
EKU (9-18, 3-11 OVC) defeated in-state rival Morehead State, 75-73, on Saturday night at McBrayer. Junior Nick Mayo led four Colonels in double figures, including freshman JacQuess Hobbs, who scored a career-high 15 points and went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead bucket with 3.8 seconds on the clock.
 
The win over Morehead State snapped a four-game losing skid to the Eagles.
 
Mayo was voted the OVC Co-Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 27.0 points-per-game last week. His career-high 36 points vs. UT Martin last Thursday is tied for the most by an OVC player in a game this season.
 
Mayo blocked four shots in the win over Morehead State on Saturday to tie the EKU career blocks record (115).
 
Hobbs dished out 12 assists and had only one turnover last week. On the season, he is averaging 3.5 assists-per-game and boasts a 2.7 assist/turnover ratio.
 
EKU out-rebounded Morehead State, 32-28. The Eagles came into the contest fourth in the OVC in rebounding margin at +3.2
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Belmont (20-7, 12-2 OVC) is tied with Murray State atop the OVC standings.
 
The Bruins are led by the duo of Dylan Windler and Amanze Egekeze, both of whom are averaging 16.9 points-per-game on the season.
 
This is the 16^th all-time meeting between EKU and Belmont. The Bruins lead the series, 10-5, and have won four straight over the Colonels.
 
UP NEXT
EKU heads across Nashville on Saturday to face Tennessee State at 8:30 p.m. ET.