Northern Iowa hosts Banks and Belmont

Belmont Bruins (13-9, 9-2 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (11-11, 7-5 MVC)

Cedar Falls, Iowa; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Belmont plays Northern Iowa after Jailyn Banks scored 26 points in Belmont's 67-52 win over the Drake Bulldogs.

The Panthers have gone 4-4 at home. Northern Iowa is ninth in the MVC scoring 64.5 points while shooting 40.6% from the field.

The Bruins are 9-2 in MVC play. Belmont is sixth in the MVC scoring 69.7 points per game and is shooting 38.6%.

Northern Iowa averages 64.5 points per game, 3.6 fewer points than the 68.1 Belmont allows. Belmont has shot at a 38.6% rate from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points higher than the 38.3% shooting opponents of Northern Iowa have averaged.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

Hilary Fuller is scoring 14.0 points per game with 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist for the Bruins. Avery Strickland is averaging 14.6 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 46.8% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 5-5, averaging 69.4 points, 33.2 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.

Bruins: 8-2, averaging 73.0 points, 33.7 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 10.6 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.1 points.

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