GAME NOTES: Into the postseason for the third year in a row, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels take on the Norfolk State Spartans in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament on Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena.

Eastern Kentucky, which is representing the Ohio Valley Conference, made it to the semifinals of the league tournament but bowed to eventual champion Belmont by a score of 53-52. The loss, now 11 days ago, snapped a three-game win streak for the Colonels and was just the second for the program since the end of January.

The Spartans, members of the MEAC, also bowed in the semifinals of their conference tournament, going down to the Hampton Pirates last week, 75-64. Despite the setback, Norfolk State has still put up 20 wins for the third time in the Division I era, with all of those efforts coming in the last four campaigns.

The last meeting between the squads took place on Nov. 24, 2012 as EKU posted a 68-44 win.

The winner of this game advances to the next round against an opponent to be determined.

Over the course of 33 games, the Spartans have averaged an even 70.0 ppg, thanks to the efforts of Jeff Short, an All-MEAC First-Team performer who was responsible for a hefty 19.2 ppg as he shot 49.9 percent from the field. Playing just over 34 minutes per contest, Short also made good on 82.0 percent of his chances at the free-throw line and paced the program with 65 3- pointers. RaShid Gaston checks in with 15.3 ppg and has been close to averaging a double-double thanks to his 9.5 rpg, although that, and his 61.6 percent effort from the field, is still not enough to make up for a mere 55.5 percent effort at the charity stripe. D'Shon Taylor accounts for another 13.0 ppg and is also someone who can hit the glass (5.1 rpg) as the team beats opponents in the rebounding department by almost five per game.

The stars of the show for Eastern Kentucky basketball these days are Corey Walden and Eric Stutz who both earned All-OVC First-Team honors. Stutz, who when he takes the floor on Tuesday will become EKU's all-time leader in games played with 131, is a stellar 62.3 percent accurate from the floor as he averages 15.6 ppg, while topping the list with 5.7 rpg. He has also shown the ability to hit the perimeter shot at 48.9 percent, although those conversions come at a rate of less than one per game.

Walden has also been a solid shooter from the field at 53.7 percent, although his efforts on the outside (38-of-119) are not nearly as impressive. Walden did try to do everything that was asked of him, from hitting the glass (3.7 rpg) to leading the program with 104 assists and being one of the nation's top thieves with 90 steals in his 29 appearances. Add in Timmy Knipp (10.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and the Colonels have a very solid core of players to lean on.

The Spartans will have to ask more than just Short to step up his game if they are to compete against Walden and Stutz. However, the chances of Norfolk State getting out of the first round of this event are slim at best.