GAME NOTES: Despite winning their fifth consecutive regular season conference championship, the Belmont Bruins fell six points short of a berth in the NCAA Tournament and will look to start fresh as they begin their 2014-15 season on the road in a non-conference game against the Wright State Raiders.

Belmont had a solid 2013-14 campaign as it finished 26-10 overall, including a very impressive 14-2 record in Ohio Valley Conference play. Yet the Bruins weren't able to transition their regular season success into the OVC Tournament as they were defeated in the championship game, missing the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in the past nine seasons.

Similar to Belmont, Wright State also fell by six points in the championship game of its conference tournament, missing out on what would have been just the team's third appearance in the Big Dance. The Raiders were above average in 2013-14, going 21-15 overall and finishing with a 10-6 record in Horizon League play, the same conference record they held in 2012-13.

These two teams haven't played each other since 2009. In that game, Wright State defeated Belmont to improve their all time record against the Bruins to 3-1.

Although they have lost last season's OVC Player of the Year in forward J.J. Mann (18.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg), the Bruins are entering this season as favorites to win the OVC once again. Belmont has the strongest returning backcourt in the conference, as senior guard Reece Chamberlain (10.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.5 apg) and junior guard Craig Bradshaw (15.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg) combined for over 1,000 minutes last season, and their veteran presence will be a key to Belmont's success. Another positive note for the Bruins is their new key player in the frontcourt, sophomore forward Evan Bradds. If his freshman year is any indication, Bradds (8.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) should be able to fill the void left by the departed Mann. A final reason to be enthusiastic about the Bruins is their depth, as they have four players on the team this season who played at least five minutes a game in 2013-14. The most important of those players is Caleb Chowbay (3.0 ppg, 1.2 apg), who appeared in 36 games last season.

Unlike Belmont, Wright State will see several of their key players gone from last season. Among their top six scorers from last season, only junior forward JT Yoho (7.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg) will be returning. Wright State will rely upon senior guards Reggie Arceneaux (7.1 ppg, 2.2 apg), Krishawn Hopkins (5.3 ppg, 2.1 apg), and Kendall Griffin (5.1 ppg, 2.7 reb) to lead the backcourt. As for the frontcourt, Yoho and junior college transfer Michael Karena will be given the challenging task of providing balance. Head coach Billy Donlon signed seven recruits during the off-season, including freshman guard Grant Evans, who averaged 25.5 ppg as a high school senior in Indiana. Evans and the other recruits signal that Wright State may be more focused on putting together a solid bench, and preparing for the future.

Wright State's roster has gone through a heavy overhaul and is a far cry from the team that was one win away from a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Belmont on the other hand still has two of its top three scorers from last season, and has won five regular season titles in a row. Although Wright State's defense could pose a problem for Belmont's high scoring offense, the Raiders may lack the offensive weapons to keep pace even in a lower scoring affair.