The University of Central Arkansas Bears men’s basketball team is set to play two away games in the ASUN Conference this week. The Bears, who currently hold a 7-8 overall record and are 2-0 in conference play, will face Bellarmine University on Thursday, January 8 at 6 p.m. CT in Louisville, Kentucky. They will then travel to Richmond, Kentucky to play Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday, January 10 at 3 p.m. CT.
Last week, the Bears opened their ASUN season with home victories over Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Stetson. This marks the first time since the 2021-2022 season that Central Arkansas has started conference play with two wins. Despite these successes at home, the team has yet to secure a win on the road this season; most of those away games have been against nationally ranked teams.
During their current two-game winning streak, Ty Robinson has led Central Arkansas in scoring with an average of 23.5 points per game—scoring 27 points against FGCU and 20 against Stetson. For the season, Robinson averages 14.7 points, along with 5.3 rebounds and two assists per game. Camren Hunter also contributed significantly during conference play so far, averaging 19 points over the first two games and holding a season average of 16.9 points per game.
The Bears have averaged 89 points in their initial ASUN matchups while shooting efficiently: they made 51% of their field goals, hit 40% from three-point range, and converted on 79% of free throws.
Bellarmine enters Thursday’s contest after losing its first two ASUN games on the road—to West Georgia by two points and to Queens University of Charlotte by a margin of twenty-two points. Jack Karasinski leads Bellarmine’s scoring efforts this season with an average of 21.3 points per game overall and has increased his output to an average of 22.5 points in conference games so far.
As a team through their first two ASUN contests, Bellarmine is averaging 80.5 points per game while shooting at a rate of 55% from the field, making nearly forty percent from beyond the arc and converting sixty-eight percent from the free throw line.
Eastern Kentucky also comes into Saturday’s matchup following consecutive losses to West Georgia and Queens University of Charlotte—the former by just two points and the latter by twelve. Juan Cranford Jr., leading EKU’s offense for the season with an average of thirteen point one points per game overall (and sixteen during conference play), heads up a Colonels squad that is averaging eighty-two point five points in ASUN action while shooting forty-six percent from the field.
Both upcoming games will be broadcast live on ESPN+, The Bear 91.3 FM, Jack 92.7 FM or can be followed via live online statistics.
