Getty Belmont's Nick Muszynski looks to help the Bruins win a big rivalry game on Thursday night.
The Nashville rivalry of the Lipscomb Bisons (5-2) and Belmont Bruins (5-3) continues on Thursday, Dec. 2.
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
The game (8 p.m. ET start time) isn’t on TV, but anyone in the US can watch Lipscomb vs Belmont live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ will have exclusive coverage of hundreds of college basketball games during the 2021-22 season. It also includes dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $6.99 for a month or $69.99 for a year.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month. Separately, the three streaming services would cost a total $20.97 per month, so you’re saving about 33 percent:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Lipscomb vs Belmont live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Lipscomb vs Belmont Basketball 2021 Preview
Neighboring schools Lipscomb and Belmont will keep its non-conference rivalry intact despite Belmont making another conference move after the season.
Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said “we’ll always play” according to Joe Sullivan of the Tennessean.
The rivalry already survived conference moves nine years ago when the Belmont Bruins left the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2012. Belmont, now in the Ohio Valley Confer ence, will join the Missouri Valley Conference next.
“The rivalry is obviously unique due to the proximity of the schools and the lengthy history involved,” Belmont head coach Casey Alexander said per Sullivan. “What makes it great to me is the similarities between the two schools and more specifically the two programs. I can vouch that both are great places.”
Belmont comes into the game winners with a 2-2 mark in its past four games. The Bruins look to bounce back from a 63-61 loss to Dayton on Nov. 28.
Lipscomb also beat Dayton last month, 78-59, on Nov. 17 before falling to Tennessee Tech 88-77 on Nov. 23. The Bisons then beat NAIA Kentucky Christian 86-67 on Nov. 28.
Jacob Ognacevic leads Lipscomb in scoring with 17.7 points per game. He also averages five rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest.
Ognacevic notably shoots 60% from three-point range. The Bisons are dangerous from beyond the arc with a 44.6% mark for first in the nation.
Top Bisons three-point shooters include Tommy Murr, who shoots 53.8% and averages 9.4 points per game. K.J. Johnson makes 50% of his threes and averages 8.9 points per contest. Greg Jones has a 42.9% mark with his 11.9 points per game average.
Belmont will need to solve the three-point game. The Bruins allow 34% shooting from beyond the arc, which ranks 219th nationally. Overall, the Bruins give up 72.8 points per game.
Nick Muszynski leads Belmont in scoring with 18.5 points per game. He also averages 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks per night.
Ben Sheppard averages 16.3 points per game. He also posts 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest.
The rivalry has been all Belmont of late with 17-2 mark in the past 19 meetings, Acuff told Sullivan. The Bisons own a 75-72 series edge overall per Sullivan.
“However, it’s amazing, if you go back and look how close all the games have been. They’ve been very few blowouts,” Acuff told Sullivan.