Belmont at Illinois State 11/6/19 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Belmont Bruins take to the road and visit Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois on Wednesday to play the Illinois State Redbirds in the opening game of the college basketball regular season for both. The Bruins were 27-6 last season. Rick Byrd stepped down after 33 seasons and eight trips to the Big Dance following the season and Casey Alexander took the reins. Alexander will have three top players returning from last season including Nick Musznski, Grayson Murphy and Caleb Hollander.

Five freshmen and two transfers highlight the new faces joining the Bruins. Three sophomores will lead Belmont and Grayson Murphy is expected to be the leader following a superb freshman season. The top transfer is Tyler Scanlon who averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds last season with Boston University. Shooting guard may be the weak link but Nick Hopkins is projected to fill that role.

Illinois State eighth-year coach Dan Mueller will have just one starter back from last season. Zach Copeland scored an average of 9.6 points per game last season as a junior and his average should increase in 2019-20. Jaycee Hillsman, Keith Fisher and Dedric Boyd, who are all transfers, will likely start for the Redbirds, during a season that can only be described as a rebuild.

Hillsman and Fisher played together at San Jose State and that chemistry will help the Redbirds during a season where much patience will be needed. In 2018-19, the Redbirds scored an average of 68.4 points per game while allowing an average of 70.02 per game. The point differential on the negative side should increase this season as the Redbirds will struggle on both ends of the court.