RICHMOND, Ky. – Sitting in first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference, EKU will host Jacksonville on Thursday at Baptist Health Arena.
 
Thursday will be Cancer Awareness Night.  T-shirts will be given out while supplies last.  Those who currently have, or have battled cancer can receive two FREE tickets to the game.  Use this link to claim the complimentary tickets – ekusports.com\CancerAwareness.
 
The game will begin at 7 p.m. ET and air live on ESPN+.  The live radio broadcast of the game is available in the Richmond area on WCYO 100.7 FM, or worldwide on EKUSports.com.
 
THE COLONELS
-  The Colonels (9-9, 5-0 ASUN) stretched their winning streak to five straight with an 82-70 victory over Bellarmine on Saturday.  EKU is 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1978-79.
 
-  Devontae Blanton scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the win over Bellarmine.
 
-  Isaiah Cozart leads the NCAA in blocks (4.00).  He is second in offensive rebounds (4.41), 11th in rebounding (10.1) and 14th in field goal percentage (62.6).
 
-  In its first five conference games, EKU has held its opponents to 38.1 percent shooting from the field, 31.5 percent from 3-point range and just 67.2 points per game.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
-  Jacksonville sits at 10-9 on the season and 1-4 in ASUN games.  The Dolphins earned their first conference win last Thursday, beating Queens 79-77.  JU fell to Kennesaw State, 83-79, on Saturday.   
 
- Robert McCray V, a transfer from Wake Forest, leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game.  The 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore guard has hit on 51 percent of his shots from the field and averages 1.44 steals per game.
 
-  Bryce Workman, a 6-foot-7 forward, averaged 12.3 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds through the first nine games of the season, but hasn't played since Dec. 6 against Central Florida.
 
-  Jacksonville averages 74.4 points per game and has allowed 75.1 points per contest.  The Dolphins have made 44.5 percent of their shots from the field.  JU is last in the ASUN in 3-point shooting (31.8 percent).
 
INSIDE THE MATCH-UP
-  EKU (+4.78) and Jacksonville (+3.53) are the top two teams in the ASUN Conference in rebounding margin.
 
-  Jacksonville turns the ball over more than any other ASUN team (14.58 per game), but the Dolphins lead the league in steals (8.32 per game).  JU is second in the conference with 13.37 turnovers forced per game.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-  EKU leads the all-time series 3-1.  The first meeting between the programs came on Dec. 7, 2016, an 80-76 victory for the Colonels in Jacksonville.  The teams have played twice as members of the ASUN Conference, both times in Jacksonville.  JU won on Feb. 9, 2022 by a score of 81-68.  EKU earned a 56-52 win last season.
 
-  In last year's win on Feb. 24, 2023, Cooper Robb hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.  Blanton scored a game-best 13 points.  Cozart grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.  EKU held the Dolphins scoreless for more than six minutes, taking a 12-point lead, 54-42, with 4:44 left to play.  Jacksonville came right back and rolled off a late 10-0 run to get within two.