Saturday, November 24
4 p.m. ET – Kennesaw State (1-5) vs Belmont (4-0)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Game Notes

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team finally returns home after a five-game road stretch to host Belmont Saturday at 4 p.m.
» The Owls look to break out of their current five-game skid after dropping all three of their games at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament this past weekend.
» Redshirt Junior Tyler Hooker has been a machine for the Owls as of late, setting a new career-high with 29 points against Eastern Kentucky. Hooker has recorded 10 or more points in all but one game this season.
» Senior Kyle Clarke also had a record day against EKU logging a career-high 20 points, marking the first time two Owls scored 20 or more points in a game since Nick Masterson and James Scott at Lipscomb last season.
» Kennesaw State ranks fourth in the ASUN averaging three blocks per game. Redshirt freshman Antonio Spencer and junior Isaac Mbuyamba rank tied for fifth and seventh in the league with six and five blocks, respectively.
» KSU had a huge influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January.
» KSU returns three players that started in 15 games or more last year in senior Kyle Clarke, red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker and junior Isaac Mbuyamba.
» KSU has been very active around the rim to open the season, averaging 36.5 rebounds per game to rank fifth in the conference. Three Owls are currently averaging five or more rebounds per game, led by redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley with a 5.5 rpg average.

The Matchup
Saturday's game marks the 16th time these former ASUN rivals have squared off on the court. Belmont owns a 13-2 series record against the Owls having won the last 10 games.

The Bruins are 4-0 on the year, including an 87-83 victory over preseason ASUN favorites Lipscomb. Belmont has the top-scoring offense in the OVC, seventh in the NCAA, averaging 95.8 points per game.

Five Bruins are currently averaging over 10 points per game led by senior Dylan Windler with an 18 ppg average. Windler is also the team's top rebounder averaging 6.8 boards per game. Freshman Nick Muszynski has been a big presence in his first year at Belmont ranked second on the team averaging 17 points per game while ranked third in the nation with a 4.33 blocks per game average.

Last Time Out
Tyler Hooker and Kyle Clarke both recorded career-highs, scoring over 20 points against Eastern Kentucky in KSU's Paradise Jam Tournament finale. Hooker and Clarke were also two of four Owls to record seven rebounds in the game, both career-high marks.

EKU (3-3) got on the board first with five straight points from Nick Mayo before Hooker drained a three-pointer to give the Owls (1-5) their first points of the day. The two teams traded buckets until a 6-0 run for KSU, capped off by a jumper from freshman Ugo Obineke, tied the game at 17.

The Colonels regained their lead with an 8-2 run to lead 25-19 with 6:59 to play. EKU kept the Owls at bay throughout the rest of the half as both teams went shot-for-shot. Hooker and Mayo each finished the first half in double-figures, with Hooker going 6-of-7 from the free throw line, but EKU had the edge leading 39-33.

The squads traded buckets to open the second half, but the Colonels began to pull away, sinking three straight treys to lead 50-38. That set the tone for EKU as the Colonels got hot from beyond the arc, going 10-of-15 from the three-point line in the second half.

EKU maintained a double-digit lead until Hooker went off for 10 straight points to pull the Owls within four, 52-48, at the 14:29 mark. The Colonels responded with back-to-back threes to spark a 9-2 run and regain a double-digit lead, 61-50.  

While the Owls did a good job of getting to the free throw line, going 19-of-20 from the charity stripe in the second half, EKU remained hot from deep to build a 20-point lead, 90-70, with under five minutes to play.

The Owls made 31 free throws in the game, tied for the third most all-time in KSU Division I history.

Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has put on a scoring display throughout the early portion of the season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game. Against Eastern Kentucky, he went 7-of-13 from the floor and 13-of-14 from the free throw line to record a career-high 29 points.

His current 17.8 points per game average ranks second in the ASUN. He is one of only three players in the league to net over 100 points so far this season. Hooker is tied for second in the conference with 28 made free throws on the year, going 28-of-32 at the charity stripe.

Hooker is the Owls top returning scorer from last season, averaging 10.8 points per game. He also recorded 79 assists and 38 steals last year.

Now Boarding
The Owls have been big on the glass recording 219 total rebounds to lead the league and rank 35th in the nation. Six Owls have recorded over 20 rebounds on the year with Bryson Lockley, Kosta Jankovic and Isaac Mbuyamba logging over 30.

KSU's current 36.5 rebounds per game average would break the previous Division I single-season record of 35.9 set in 2016-17.

Four Owls rank among the league's top-20 rebounders, tied with Jacksonville for the most of any team in the conference.

The Serbian Showstopper
Senior Kosta Jankovic has been lights out for the Owls averaging 9.5 points per game to rank second on the team.

He recorded a career-high 13 points against Missouri, marking the third time this season he has finished in double-figures. In his career, Jankovic has scored over 10 points in 12 games, three of those games coming this season.

Jankovic recorded nine of his 10 points against Kansas State in the first half, logging seven of KSU's first nine points of the game to give the Owls an early 9-8 lead. He put on the another first half performance at Samford, recording KSU's first two buckets of the night, logging four of his seven points in the opening minutes.

Blocking Out The Sun
Freshman Antonio Spencer and junior Isaac Mbuyamba have begun to establish their presence around the net this season, combining for 11 of KSU's 18 total blocks.

Spencer leads the team with six rebounds followed by Mbuyamba with five to rank tied for fifth and seventh, respectively, in the ASUN. Mbuyamba is the Owls top returning blocker after recording 26 stuffs last season to ranks sixth in the league.

As a team, the Owls are averaging three blocks per game to rank fourth in the league with their 18 total blocks placing them second.

Got It On Lockley
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley has enjoyed a tremendous all-around performance in the early portion of the season. He is currently leading the team with 33 total rebounds to rank seventh in the ASUN. He is the only Owl with 10 or more offensive and defensive rebounds.

Lockley is averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, surpassing his 3.4 average from last year.

In addition to that, Lockley is averaging 4.8 points per game while recording three blocks and four steals.

Free Money
The Owls have made the most of their chances at the charity stripe so far this season, making 72 buckets from the line to rank fifth in the ASUN.

In KSU's recent game against Eastern Kentucky, the Owls sank 31 free throws which is tied for third most all-time in a single-game.

Tyler Hooker currently ranks tied for second in conference with 28 made free throws on the year, shooting 77.8 percent from the line. Three Owls are currently shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.

Like The Energizer Bunny
Tyler Hooker just keeps going and going, running the floor for the Owls so far this year, averaging 34.8 minutes per game to rank second the conference. Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley is not far behind ranked third in the league, averaging 33.7 minutes per game.

Hooker and Lockley both rank among the nation's top-25 for total minutes played so far this season with 209 and 202 total minutes, respectively.

Senior Kosta Jankovic is the third Owl to average at least 30 minutes on the floor (30.7).

To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have a formidable non-conference schedule this season, featuring five matchups against Power-5 teams.

After the Owls' season-opener, they jump right into the deep end, traveling to face last year's elite eight squad of Kansas State. The following week KSU heads to the Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Tournament. KSU opens the tournament against SEC foe Missouri with the potential to face either Oregon State or Old Dominion in the second round.

KSU then returns to the states to take on perennial OVC powerhouse Belmont before squaring off against the likes of Georgia, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech before opening conference play.

Protect The Nest
The Owls have done a good job of protecting their home court recording eight wins in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2015-16 campaign, KSU has only recorded eight home wins three times since joining Division I (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10).

Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.

The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conference 

Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08).came during the 2016-17 when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth. KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).

Looking Ahead
Following Saturday's game, the Owls square off against in-state rival Georgia, taking on the Bulldogs in Athens Tuesday (Nov. 27) at 7 p.m.

 

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