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No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky will face No. 9 seed Cleveland State in the first round of the CBI Tournament in Daytona Beach on Sunday morning. The Colonels came up short of the NCAA Tournament when they lost to Liberty in the Atlantic Sun Tournament earlier this month. Cleveland State had its Big Dance hopes dashed in a loss to Northern Kentucky in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
Eastern Kentucky put together a solid season in the Atlantic Sun, going 12-6 in conference play to finish in third place behind Liberty and Kennesaw State. The Colonels had their NCAA Tournament chances come crashing down in a loss to Liberty in the conference tournament, but they covered the 12.5-point spread in the 79-73 final. They were ultimately unable to overcome 29 points from Liberty’s Darius McGhee, who was the conference player of the year. Eastern Kentucky was able to extend its season by accepting an invite to this event, though.
.@devontaeblanton makes it a 3-point game late pic.twitter.com/l8AxQHz07E
— EKUHoops (@EKUHoops) March 3, 2023
The Colonels have been struggling to shoot the ball with consistency throughout the season, ranked No. 305 in effective field goal percentage. They are shooting 31.5% from 3-point range, 47.8% from inside the arc and 65.1% at the charity stripe. Eastern Kentucky has been able to salvage some of its possessions with a low turnover rate and a high offensive rebounding percentage. It is facing a Cleveland State defense that is No. 73 in effective field goal percentage and No. 58 in turnover rate. The Vikings are No. 358 on the defensive boards, though. Junior guard Devontae Blanton leads Eastern Kentucky with 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Junior forward Michael Moreno is also in double figures with 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
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