Ohio Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 19: Kevin McClain #11 of the Belmont Bruins celebrates with teammates during the second half against the Temple Owls in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 19, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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JACKSONVILLE, FL – MARCH 21: Nick Muszynski #33 of the Belmont Bruins (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

5. Belmont Bruins

2019-20 record: 26-7 (15-3 in OVC)

The last two seasons for 48-year old Casey Alexander have been pretty good you could say. Last season he led Lipscomb to a runner-up finish in the NIT and in his first season on the other side of the Battle of the Boulevard, after coaching Lipscomb for six seasons, he led Belmont to a 26-7 record replacing the legendary Rick Byrd and has amassed a 55-15 record in that time.

Things were looking real good entering this season with most of their roster intact with only senior forward Tyler Scanlon and guard Nick Hopkins leaving. But, late in the summer word got around that leading scorer junior guard Adam Kunkel had entered the transfer portal, leaving a 16.5-point and 39% three-point shooting hole on the roster when he decided to leave for Xavier.

This year’s team will undoubtedly be led by juniors Grayson Murphy and Nick Muszynski who have both been contributors since they arrived in Nashville three years ago. The 6’11 Muszynski was second on the team in scoring behind Kunkel at 15.3 points and pulled down 6.4 rebounds per game, while Murphy led the team in nearly every other category, rebounding (7.4), assists (6.2), and steals (2.6) in addition to the nearly 10 points per game he scored.

To help fill the void of Kunkel’s absence, Alexander has six new faces including the No. prospect from the state of Iowa, 6’9 forward Evan Brauns, and 6’2 guard JaCobi Wood who led Cleveland High School to the No.1 ranking in Tennessee while averaging 29 points, 5.7 rebounds, and five assists as a senior.

Luke Smith sat out last season after transferring from the University of the South where he led the Southern Athletic Association Conference in scoring at 20.1 points per contest. The Bruins may not have the roster they expected when last season ended, but Coach Alexander still has the pieces to be considered contenders in the OVC in 2020-21.