SIUE Cougars (10-16, 6-9 OVC)
vs. Belmont Bruins (16-7, 12-2 OVC)
Sat., Feb. 19, 2 p.m. CT
Nashville, Tenn. (Curb Event Center)

Video: ESPN+
Radio: WSIE 88.7 The Sound (Randy Moehlman)
Audio: SIUECougarNetwork.com
Live Stats: www.SIUEStats.com

All-Time Series: Belmont leads 11-3
First Meeting: Dec. 29, 2012
Result: L, 66-52 at Nashville, Tenn.
Last Meeting: Dec. 30, 2021
Result: L, 87-49 at Edwardsville, Ill.
Current Series Streak: Belmont W9

OPENING TIP
• The field of eight teams for the OVC Tournament is set, and SIUE will be a part of it. The only thing left is to determine the Cougars' seed with three games left on the schedule.
• The OVC Tournament, which begins March 2 in Evansville, Indiana, will be a merit-based system whereas the No. 5 seed plays the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed plays the No. 7 seed in the opening round. On day two, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds play the winners. Those winners move on to the semifinals against the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
• Mikayla Kinnard scored a career-high 29 points Thursday at Tennessee State and added a career-best five steals.
• The Cougars scored 44 points off the bench Thursday. It is the fourth time the bench has scored more than the starters this season.
• Gabby Nikitinaite was named the Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week for a fourth time Tuesday. She averaged 16.7 points per game last week against Eastern Illinois, UT Martin and Tennessee Tech.
• SIUE attempted 41 free throws Thursday at Tennessee State, which is the most since attempting 42 against Morehead State in 2014.
• The Cougars are now ranked No. 5 nationally in free throw attempts with 539 and No. 9 nationally in free throws made with 281.
• SIUE broke a five-game losing streak Thursday at Tennessee State.
• SIUE shot 70 percent (7-10) from three-point range against UT Martin. That's SIUE's best faring from three-point range since the Cougars shot better than 70 percent against Utah Valley on Dec. 3, 2016.
• The Cougars have four double-digit, come-from-behind victories this season: SEMO (Jan. 15), Tennessee State (Jan. 27), SEMO again (Jan. 29), and Tennessee State again (Feb. 12).
• The Cougars are 13th nationally in steals (276) and 14th nationally in turnovers forced (21.08 per game).